
Biological Grasshopper Bait
Overview
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Grasshopper Bait - 1 lb. Pack - treats up to 1 acre $39.95 Total Price (Shipping is included) |
Grasshopper Bait - 5 lb. Pack - treats up to 5 acres $79.95 Total Price (Shipping is included) |
This product is Label OMRI
The grasshopper bait Nosema Locustae undergoes a rigorous review to ensure that they comply with USDA organic standards.
AN EXTRAORDINARY WAY TO CONTROL GRASSHOPPERS. This single-celled protozoan infects and kills over 90 species of grasshoppers, locusts, and some species of crickets. Nosema Iocustae is non-toxic to humans, livestock, wild animals, birds, fish, and pets. Should be applied early in the season as over-wintering hoppers emerge. Apply 1-2 pounds per acre, broadcasting around entire infected area as well as outlying areas such as drying grasses and fields. A second application may be necessary to treat heavily infected areas 4-6 weeks later. Nosema is applied to large flake wheat bran which serves as a bait. Grasshoppers are attracted to the bran because of its high protein content.
After indigesting the bait grasshoppers are infected with the Nosema. The Nosema grows and reproduces in the fat bodies inside the grasshoppers, then begins destroying cells causing grasshoppers to become lethargic, greatly reducing food consumption, and eventually death. In 7-10 days, grasshoppers will begin to move slowly and their food consumption will begin to drop and many may have died or should begin to die. After this time at least 50-60% of the remaining grasshoppers should be infected to the point that they will not live to reproduce, and 25-50% of the survivors will be infected. The disease is contagious and newly hatched grasshoppers become infected by cannibalizing diseased grasshoppers in the area.
A cycle is then started and the disease continues throughout the fields and continue through new hatches. Identified and developed by the United States Department of Agriculture during 20 years of research. Nosema was approved on large scale government grasshoppers control programs, and has been successfully used on thousands of acres by private property owners as well as county, state, and government agencies throughout the United States. It has also been approved for usage overseas by U.S.A.I.D.
Spores of the parasite are impregnated into wheat bran flakes and applied on the field. It takes one to three weeks for the grasshoppers to be infected. Following ingestion, the spore ruptures and activates the disease in the grasshopper. Infected individuals are lethargic and slow, making them easy prey for birds. Nosema locustae is not toxic to birds, animals, or other insects.
Growers are advised to locate spring hatching areas. Bait broadcast over these locations will sicken and kill the nymphs. Nosema is effective against adults too but most effective against the second and third instars. Reports on the success of N. locustae are mixed. It is not a good "rescue" treatment and will not result in instant adult mortality. According to Jerome Onsager, one of the first Nosema researchers at the USDA Rangeland Insect Laboratory in Bozeman, Montana, Nosema was developed as a long-term management tool, not to provide instant control. Onsager says that Nosema research has been most successful on rangeland. Information on the USDA's grasshopper IPM project is available from Research Entomologists Jerry Onsager or David Branson
Why Use Nosema Locustae
They are the cost-effective way to eliminate grasshoppers:
- They work: both are approved by USDA-APHIS for grasshopper control. Baits based on Nosema locustae were originally developed by the USDA. and have been tested extensively by US and other government agencies, and by universities.
- Nosema locustae provides enduring protection, necessary because grasshoppers hatch over about a six week period. Cannibalism also kills grasshoppers which migrate through the treated area. Nosema carries over to the next year, as well. Modern chemicals won’t endure. Waiting until a crop is infested and then using chemicals won’t reduce the grasshopper migration from the hatching beds. They will simply replace those killed in the crop. Also, without treating the hatching beds, the grasshoppers will generally be back the next year.
- The Nosema Locustae approach attacks younger grasshoppers, which are easiest to kill, Waiting until they infest a crop and using chemicals means the grasshoppers are older and harder to kill. Also, killing them in hatching beds reduces the competition for food there, which lessens the need for survivors to migrate to crops.
- The approach is inexpensive. It’s not necessary to treat the whole crop, just its boundaries and the neighboring hatching beds (or even just the hatching “hot spots” within them).
When Is The Best Time To Apply Grasshopper Bait.
Springtime, while grasshoppers are still nymphs, is the best time for communities or neighborhoods to work together to suppress grasshopper populations. Treating as wide an area as possible is the key to success. When grasshoppers become adults,
They can travel great distances and may not remain in one area long enough for an insecticide to be effective.
HOW TO IDENTIFY NYMPHS
Grasshoppers go through 5 nymph stages before becoming adults. Look closely at a few individuals to assess the size of their wing pads (see diagram below). Grasshoppers
That are able to fly have already reached the adult stage. Mobility increases after the 4th instar, grasshopper bait may take a little longer to be effective on 5th instar, or adult stages.
General Sizes of Grasshopper Stages
Stage Size
- 1st instar 1/4 inch
- 2nd instar 3/8 inch
- 3rd instar 1/2 inch
- 4th instar 3/4 inch
- 5th instar 1 inch
- Adult 1.5 inches
Note: Size is approximate, and depending on species, can
vary by 1/4 to 1/2 inch.