Triple Digits!! Drought! Grasshoppers!! Is there any Hope?

I have been trying to start a little business of growing plants for resale. I would like to supplement our income. Some of you may know that my DH has been totally disabled for 15 years now. We really didn't quite have the opportunity to prepare for retirement like we had planned on.

I got a great deal on a huge greenhouse. I made some great trades and got plants that I didn't have before. I propagated lots of new starts. I planted seeds and got great results. The plants just went through winter like it wasn't even there. I thought I was on my way.

Summer came on way too soon! The heat (of course you all already know this) has broken records already this year. Of course we are in the middle of a drought.

This week the grasshoppers came and came and keep coming. They have removed leaves from plants overnight in some cases. I am talking about nice healthy 8' tall rose of sharon plants.

I don't normally use any chemicals. I tried every remedy I could find online, but nothing has worked. Today I took extreme measures and bought some pesticide spray. My DH sprayed the plants. The bad news is it only lasts for about three days. It also kills all of my good insects and worse thing of all it kills the cats that I treasure turning into butterflies. I don't know if it is going to kill the grasshoppers off or not. I can only hope it does. I have never minded the eaten leaves from the cats and have had so many butterflies this year it has been a sight to behold.

My plants are burned from the sun, dried from the drought and now eaten by the grasshoppers. Some of the plants look like they went through a forest fire.

I just needed to vent!!

I know that DG friends will have many new plants to share with me, and I am grateful for that for sure. I am blessed with good health. Most of all I am blessed right now with the central air working. I am so fortunate that my tomatoes are just beautiful this year and nothing has blemished them for the most part. No chemicals or even soap sprays were needed so far on them. They are ripening just a few a day and that is so nice instead of so many ripening so fast that I don't get to enjoy them. Bell peppers and eggplants and okra and squash are just fine. I thank the Lord above for all these things.

I can't even begin to compare my problems with so many others.

I still start my day in the swing every morning with my DH and coffee. I listen to the birds singing. (I wish they would swoop down and eat some darned grasshoppers.) I get to see a few hummers. I hear the cattle lowing in the pastures around me. (We sold our cattle Tuesday due to no grass in the pastures. The neighbors don't have enough either, but my DH just refuses to let our cows go without enough to eat. So when the grass went, the cows went too.) Sitting in that swing and watching the sur rise and hearing natures sounds is a blessed way to begin your day.

I am just whining over such foolish things I know. We will get cows again when the drought ends. I will have plants again when things are right for them. I still have veggies, and I still have some plants that are not affected.

So why am I whining? Sorry, I'll try to get a grip on it and start back to counting my blessings. I'll have to write them down and name them one by one. I do have many blessings. My friends here on DG is one of the best blessings I could ever ask for.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Now it is your turn. Let it out my friends. Let it out. I know this stuff is getting to you also. I know that Dave himself lost many plants last year due to things out of his control. I never heard Dave whine about it though. These things are certainly out of my control, so I will stop whining!

Charlene

Hello Charlene, sorry about your plants and having to give up the cows. It surely is hot, we are fighting the good fight around here trying to keep things alive. When you raise those plants you become attached to them and it hurts to lose them.
Things will get better, patience my dear.
Your friend,
Josephine.

Get some guinea fowl for the grasshoppers. They work daylight till dark eating bugs and hoppers seem to be their favorite bug. They solved my hopper problems along with crickets, May/June bugs and numerous other pests. They eat anything that moves.

I'm having a problem with grasshoppers eating the leaves off my okra, sunflowers and even some of my herbs like the basil! I just made a spray of water with a little dishsoap and sprayed all the leaves. Supposedly, it keeps the bugs from eating because of the soap. I haven't seen additional munching in a couple of days. I'm guessing that it is the grasshoppers because they are hopping around. The good news is there are also frogs hopping all over the garden too. I don't know if they eat the GH's or not? I know frogs eat bugs. In the evenings, I see the dragonflies swarming around the garden, which is a welcome sight because I know they are eating some of those pests!

There is also this suspicious looking bug crawling around. It is a blue and reddish-orange color, looks kinda like a bettle and runs very fast. I don't know what it is but when I water the garden in the morn with the spray hose, those things are running for cover-very bright colors almost neon looking.

Then there are those leaf hoppers that I keep finding. Do they eat leaves? These are those big turquoise colored leaf hoppers. I really don't like those things they are very sneaky trying to hide from me all the time. I guess the frogs have a hard time getting them too! I use a glove to remove them.

I would love nothing better than to have some chickens (or guineas or ducks) to control the bug population. They are all wonderful pest controllers!! There is an article in the current Mother Earth News, "Poultry: Secret Weapon for Organic Pest Control". Many success stories about poultry completely cleaning up the yard of pests, including grasshoppers, scorpions, spiders, all that icky stuff. As well as turning up the soil for the garden and leaving some nice fertilizer too. I'd post it here, but not too successful at that?

I look forward to the day I have some chickens to raise.

Vent away, Charlene. This above-average heat is very trying. But hopefully we'll get some rain, or at least some "cooler" temperatures come Sunday. Know that we're all here for you.

Carla

Charlene, I'm so sorry you're having these problems! Hot, dry weather favors grasshopper populations. I've heard about something called Nolo that people usefor grasshoppers, but haven't used it myself yet. Strangely enough the grasshoppers aren't very numerous here this year...not sure why they aren't. And even the Katydids didn't show up in large numbers, either. But just remember...this too will pass.

I have a chicken and Guinea army and I have also started growing Horehound which is a natural grasshopper repellent. You cant win but you can cause a stalemate. Also, grasshoppers infestations are generally worse in drought years. Someone told me it was due to a fungus and destroys the eggs. I have no idea if that is true.

Got similar grasshopper issues here too charlene. Vent away I say! I do hope your other bug populations do ok though. I just love seeing the butterflies out and about. I haven't had much time to spend in the garden and now it's too hot. And everything looks fried. We got an inch of rain a couple days ago but it didn't do much. Kinda sad for my last gardening season here. Can't do the guinea idea where I am now. Any other proven anti-grasshopper strategies out there?

Kim

Charlene,
You have my complete sympathy. Every grasshopper known to man must live in Texas this year. I have tried talking to the USDA as well as the local AgriLife agents. All I have ever gotten from them are platitudes and impossible suggestions, such as, "The most effective way to control grasshoppers is to till the soil to a depth of 3"." What rancher in his right mind is going to disc all his pastures, especially during a drought when what is left of his forage grasses is barely hanging on as small crowns and roots. Nolo bait does work, but it is very slow (It takes weeks.) since the protozoan has to build up to lethal levels in their systems. It works best against grasshopper nymphs and has little effect on adults. Using pesticides is frustrating because most have to come in contact with the grasshopper. The problem with grasshoppers is they fly and they hate a vacuum. Grasshoppers will just move in from the surrounding areas. It is so discouraging to walk outside and see a cloud of grasshoppers of all sizes, from nymphs to 4" grasshoppers, fly and jump ahead of me with every step I take. I would need hundreds of guinea hens and chickens. Very impractical and every coyote in the county would thank me for the juicy snacks.
A fungus, Entomophthora grylli, as well as a nematode, Mermis nigriscens), that will naturally infect grasshoppers and reduce their populations, but only in a very wet year. Even then, the number reduced is small. They are still a problem.

What we need is county wide help. We are still in an exceptional drought — no rain at all in June, 1/4" in May and 5-1/2" in April (almost all at once). The grasshoppers have eaten large quantities of grass that should have gone to the cows. Very few of my plants have escaped their jaws. To date I have lost quite a number of expensive Brugmansias, several citrus trees and two apple trees. The apple and citrus trees were striped of their leaves and bark. My Rose of Sharons are leafless as are all my rose bushes. My mop head hydrangeas are still OK, but my PeeGee and oakleaf hydrangeas are mere sticks. My Hamelia patens is disappearing, but while the lantana flowers are gone, at least the bush still has its leaves.

Maybe you could concentrate on raising plants that are not as palatable to grasshoppers or try using a systemic. Sometimes you have to go with the big guns. I will have to get out and use it on everything but the edibles before everything disappears.

Betty, I have to feel for you too! It is so sad to see all of this destruction. I would love to have guinea hens again, but the coyotes ate the last ones so fast it wasn't funny. I gave my chickens to a needy family because we have so much work to do already that we needed to eliminate something. That was the something we chose to do without.

Maybe over the winter, I'll build a guinea proof fence around the front where most of the problem is. I could turn them in there in the day time and close them up at night. I'd have to do a lot of wing clipping, but it would be worth it.

You and I are pretty much in the same boat I guess. Along with so many others the drought is hard on us.

Our neighbors still have their cows, but there is no grass for them. One neighbor behind us has been luckier as he has more acreage per cow than the others. So, there is still a meager meal for his cows. When we took ours to the sale we were shocked at how much weight they had already lost. Our huge bull was down to 1700 pounds. We had estimated his weight at around 2300 previously with the help of a friend who is always within a few pounds of being right on the money.

We have ponds, but my DH had been filling our rubbermaid tanks daily and keeping them in the shade. We had put some supplement feed out also. That is so much more than some of the neighbors are doing. We had no idea that the cows had lost as much weight as they had lost. They really had only started to show signs of losing weight. My DH is so picky about his cows that he took such good care of them. We took a beating on the money part as we got just a little over half of what we would normally get. There were so many cows at the auction due to the drought. The buyers could be choosy and they didn't have to bid high.

We had one cow that had just calved and we couldn't pen her and the calf. She has all the grass that is left to herself now. We will probably keep her for a bit.

I am going to use some of the clay spray on my plants next week. I have ordered it. It coats the plants white. The grasshoppers supposedly don't get on them. I sure don't have to worry about the rain washing it off!

I am going to put nolo out, but I don't hold out much hope for it working. I am also making up some garlic oil. None of these things harm the other insects, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Strangely enough the hoppers are not in my veggie garden. I garden in tires, and I wonder if that is what is keeping them away?

Charlene

You can still use chickens and Guinea if you have coyote. My orchard is infested with coyote but I just built a coyote proof coop that doesnt require you to lock up at night. I built it up on poles about five feet off the ground. The poles are the slick aluminum so raccoons and coyotes are stopped in their tracks. I then setup perches about 2 and 4 feet off the ground. The chickens have to fly from perch to perch to get up to the coop. The perches are far enough away from each other that other animals cant use them. It has been working fine and the only chicken I lost was one that refused to nest in the coop.

Some sort of hunch cautioned me not to plant much garden this year and it was sad to watch what little I had die. I've saved rinse water from the dishes for the trees but the Pink Lady and Arlie apples are goners. The fig crops are dropping faster than I can harvest and process - losing at least half. The flavor, though, is amazing - very intense.

We'll be going into stage 3 restrictions this week - which means one designated day every other week we can water for two hours at night. I'm thinking - why bother? That little bit will just prolong the misery.

San Antonio is now the 7th largest and one of the fastest growing cities. That's nice, I guess, but the C of C and other ballyhoo'ers should tone it down a bit. We are in danger of outgrowing our resources.

I hate grasshoppers. We have black and red ones you can slap a saddle on and then we have the same size green and yellow. They are gross to step on but bye bye grasshopper.

One year when my DGD was around 4 she did not want to get out of the truck. I looked where her eyes were looking and it was the big green and yellow one. I went over and stepped on it and she said "Take that you s-u-c-k-e-r!!" It was one of the funniest things I ever heard. I don't know where she got that but she sure drug out sucker when she said it. I still have to laugh. Kids say the cutest things.

I know we still have grasshoppers but I hope that made you smile. Even the part about the grasshopper makes me smile.
:o)

It is so hot and dry that even the frostweed is dying here.

Hope things look up for you soon Charlene. Hate that the first year of your plant venture turned sour. I will do a rain dance in your honor (in private thank you).

Yuska, I don't think SAWS restrictions are as severe as you are suggesting. Even in Stage 3, hand-held watering with a hose is allowed 24/7. I do a lot of my watering that way these days, a bit time-consuming, but it can be done by doing certain areas each day or every few days. Drip irrigation would be allowed 3 times a week, although not too many people have that set up.
http://www.saws.org/conservation/aquifermgmt/stage3.shtml

I didn't mean to infer that hand-held watering isn't permitted - but with temps hovering in the 90's even early in the day, I'd rather not invite heat exhaustion or skin cancer. I was referring to the sprinkler restrictions on lawn watering - our HOA wants the grass to be green -

I have been watering by handheld hose as well, however, in the back of the lot but still stuff has died. The leaves have shriveled to a crisp on the second pawpaw tree.

I should have had drip lines installed on a timer by now, but instead spent $650 to have a special pressure valve installed for the line from the street. SAWS puts so much pressure out to push the supply to the customers farther away that those of us inside 1604 have had to deal with ruptures and leaks and big bills.

Still, I'm grateful that we do have good water and I understand our need to conserve year-round. It's just that when we see parks being watered during prohibited hours that we feel more could be done.

We don't even get our water from the Edwards Aquifer, but we're supposed to follow the same water restrictions as SAWS has in place. I've had my share of water line breaks and leaks. That can be expensive...not to mention it's such a hassle. Seems like SAWS could give its customers some kind of break on bills for those putting in drip irrigation.

Charlene I empathize with you. this is our first summer in our new house and it has been so heartbreaking to see my new landscaping slowly die a silent death. we have hit 107 for several consecutive days and before that it was anywhere from 101-104. no amount of water that we pour on has helped. we have had 1/4 inch rain in a month. I ripped out one whole bed this afternoon....it was just futile.

Well, we worked as much today as was humanly possible. I put a wet towel on my head and put a hat over that. We are putting up a frame for a shade cloth over some of the plants. Hopefully we will survive the elements to see a few of the plants survive. LOL

The wet towel under the hat must have been a sight to see, but it really made a difference. I would get a bit hot and then re-wet the towel with cold water. We went inside for the hottest part of the day. Thank goodness we had a little breeze blowing for most of the day. Even though it was hot air blowing, the wet towels we wore made it feel cooler.

We drank lots of water. After church and our family reunion tomorrow, we should be able to get the shade cloth on the frame. That is a start, of what may be several more shade cloth frames.

The sadness of having to sell the cows (we had all 28 of them named), seemed a little eased today. Because of not filling the watering troughs, we had much more water pressure and I was able to get more water on my plants. We are on a farm to market road that offers water service. We have never hooked up to it as we have a pretty good well. I hadn't realized that the watering of the cows was taking the pressure down so much. So, I guess that things (as usual) always work out for the best.

I am so sorry for everyone who is suffering so much because of this high heat and drought that we are going through.

That chicken coop idea sounds great. I would have to see it to see exactly how it is made. I am thinking guineas would be better for me though. They don't eat the plants like the chickens do. The chickens scratch too much also. I know one thing for sure that the guineas do also and that is keep snakes away. Whoa to the snake who is attacked by guineas. They will gang up on a snake and shake it to death. They will make a circle and take turns shaking the thing. So that would be one more advantage to guineas.

We used to have lots of guineas. They are fairly easy to train to go into a shed at night. You have to start when they are chicks though. They really prefer to roost in trees at night.

We had about 1/2 inch of rain in May, but none in June at all. I don't think there is any predicted in the near future.

I know the Lord will take care of us. I trust him to be watching over us and taking care of us. I know that plants can be replaced. I know that cows can be replaced. I don't know his plans, but I know that he takes care of us who turn to him.

I know one thing for sure. My weight loss plan works better with me working so hard to stay ahead of the grasshoppers, the heat and the drought. That may be part of his plan for me. I have never worked so hard, but also never felt better lately. Even though the work is hard, every little plant that puts out a green leaf makes me smile. So, I love the work, because I love the rewards. Now, of course I wouldn't be adverse to the Lord giving us a bit of help. I trust him though and I know that all will be fine as long as we rely upon him.

The sunrise is still beautiful and the sunset just as pretty. The birds songs are still sweet and the butterflies and humming birds still make me stop to watch them. I guess he wants us to appreciate what we have, and know that he will provide what we need.

I have an ongoing battle with depression. I always win the battle though, partly because I never miss my medicine and most of all because I have a personal physician who is always with me. Sometimes, I think that it is the bad things we go through that make the little rewards so sweet.

So, tomorrow, I will try not to focus on the grasshoppers, but watch for the butterflies and hummers. I will try not to notice the heat, but appreciate the wet towel that I so proudly adorn myself with. I will try not to think about the drought, but I will notice the great water pressure that I have.

There, now my venting is over and I am ready to listen to others vent for a while. Time for me to notice the good things and focus on those.

Happy fourth to everyone!! What a great country we live in. Thank God for our Independence and our freedom.

Charlene

Charlene, I am happy that you look for the silver lining.I didn't realize that the plants were supplementing your income.I hope some of that rain fell on you. Have you thought about selling seeds on ebay. I am amazed how much people charge for some things!

I did my rain dance and some got the rain....did you get any Charlene??

Well, my rain gauge was on it's side, so I can't say for sure, but I'd bet we got at least a half of an inch.

KEEP DANCING Sheila!!!

The dust is settled, and it has cooled off nicely. The greedy side of me wants more. The grateful side of me is a happy camper!!

Everybody DANCE!! (The raindance that is!)

Charlene

The paper was wet this morning so we must have had a shower early this morning. Stayed up late last night and slept late this am. I love retirement!

I am going to try to find shade to move all my pots into. It is horrible trying to keep anything alive. I don't know how nurseries do it. If I want to tackle more I bet Lowes has a lot marked down. But I think I have enough.

You never know I may go look this evening. Everybody pray I don't as anything they have half dead will only in this heat become 100% dead here.

Got to go weed the weeds that are not wilted. Don't need them hugging the water if we get any. lol

The people who are really in trouble are the landscape/maintenance business folks. My yardman has mowed and manicured my front lawn to HOA standards for more than 10 years, but I had to cut him back to every other week, and may have to restrict the work even further. I've arranged a couple of handyman type jobs for him but can't help much beyond that.

Some of the neighbors have stopped watering altogether and maybe I should, too.

Yes. Many people here have just given up on lawns and plants. Two years of the worst drought in the nation. You are hitting a critical stage down in San Antonio with the aquifer. I cant believe that Lake Travis is at 49% and dropping 1 foot a day in Austin. I read the Farmer's Almanac for Texas and it said July will suck, August will be normal and Sept-Oct will be above normal for central Texas. I am banking on that.

we got not quite a 1/2 inch this morning...just a very slow, gentle rain. like charlene, I wish for more, but, it is fairly cool outside and we didn't "lose" any of the rain due to run-off. I am very thankful for what we got.

No, no, no! I'm not going to go with that what the almanac said about July! I refuse! Of course, realistically doesn't it always in that month? Still waiting, 30% chance here....okay, where is that rain...did it get lost or what? Not that I'm impatient....waiting, just check the remote water thingy, it seems to be working, will go out and lower the windows in the truck...worked last time.

DH said he sure needed to wash his truck, but then it would rain. I said do it, do it!!!

We only got enough to wet the surface but it did cool things down a little.

The breeze is a welcome addition today too.

We got about 7/8" yesterday, and slowly, so none of it ran off. We had 7.5" the week of 5/10, and all of my roses had blackspot. Since then, 7/8" the week of 6/7, and the rain yesterday. The metroplex seems to have gotten more, but it always seems to go east instead of northeast.

RAIN! Fierce lightning and thunder, then a quick shower that lasted almost three minutes. Not enough to revive anything, but at least the a/c can be turned off for now. The sun is out again and the roofs are already dry. Better than nothing, perhaps.

Yuska, I am like you about the AC. I am concerned that ours never gets to go off. Last year we put that foam board w/alum backing in our windows. Looks like we are going to go get some again for this year.

I was hoping for a roofed area across the front of our mobile home to keep the sun off, but the budget says cover the windows again instead. It doesn't look too good, but it sure does help. This is an older mobile home and I think the insulation is not doing it's job. Of course it is parked in the boiling sun. We have lots of trees planted, and they are surviving so far. It will of course be a few years before they do any good. I am thinking that in Jan. we will be able to get the roofed area across the front and that will make it so much better next year. I am just praying for the AC to hold out this year. It never goes off! I did turn it off this morning for a while when it was nice and cool due to the rain. I have two window units in storage from the old antique shop, so if it does falter, we won't melt while it is getting repaired. We'll just have to get someone to help us put the window units in the windows right quick!

The rain was so nice this morning and I am not even going to complain that it wasn't enough. "He" knows what we can handle and will give us whatever we need. It may not always be what we think we need!

My DH says that if we can pipe oil across the country, we should be able to pipe flood waters to drought areas. He says the insurance companies and the states together would soon recoup whatever the cost would be in savings. Sounds reasonable to me. Of course the government is never really interested in what is reasonable.

Now don't get me wrong, I know that we are lucky to be living in our USA and have much better governing systems in place than other countries do. For that I am grateful for sure.

The people who are being flooded would sure be glad to have their excess water piped away and those in droughts would sure be glad to get that water. If we can pipe the oil, why not the water? Just a thought.

Charlene

Please ask the rain gods to extend the rain into north Fayette County!!! I'm sitting here looking at the weather radar and watching the rain cells move from west to east, too far north to do me any good. The last time we had any significant rain — more than a few 1/100ths — was mid April.

Charlene, I'm so sorry you had to get rid of all 28 cows. Most of the cows we have were born here on the ranch. Those we have purchased are registered Angus with excellent pedigrees. I'd like to keep those few and the 'recip' cows that are carrying implanted embryos, but we have run out of grass and will have to start buying hay, if we can find any, and liquid feed. I'm agonizing over the decisions that have to be made. I know them all by names. I know their history.

Sheila_FW, I envy your retirement. I'm busier now than before I retired.

Betty....Trust me we are very busy, that is why a day when I can sleep a bit later is so sweet. I really don't know how we ever found time to work!

youre allowed to vent Charleen.. heck we all have to sometime or we would all be crazier than we already are. I agree with you that the Lord onl;y gives us what we can handle but with all that has gone on with me theres been times ive asked for a vacation from what he thinks I can handle..lol.. Ill put in a few words to give you a break too!!
sending supportive hugs
Kathleen

Thanks Kathleen. If anyone knows what the Lord can let us take before giving us some slack it is you! When I think of all you have been through, I don't even feel like I've got a gripe coming.

Betty, a few of our cows were auction barn buys, but most were bought from a friend who has a reg angus bull mated to mostly angus cows. Our bull was reg angus. We also had them all named. I hope you get it figured out. My DH just didn't think our cows would get enough from purchased hay and feed as they would need. He felt like it was better for them to go to someone with grass. They probably went to feed lots, but at least we don't have to watch them go down on our pastures.

We took quite a beating at the sale barn. I hope you can do better somehow.

We love having the cows, but the drought this year after the two year drought before it sure makes you want to rethink it.

I am thinking the pastures could serve us better growing something besides cows. In a drought at least we wouldn't be selling off named animals that we have grown attached to.

Betty, I will say a prayer for you. Trust that "he" has a plan for you and his plan is the one that will work out best for you. "His" plan and ours are not always the same. "His" plan is at work now and we just need to trust him and know that all will be well in the end.

Easy for me to say, huh? I know how you feel, believe me I do. This too will pass.

Charlene

Charleen,,dont know if this will make sense but here goes..I never compare what Ive been thru to what someone else is going thru.Each of us are different, each of us have our own breaking points so to speak. so when someone is upset, hurting or down its a big deal to them. so go ahead and vent away!!! you got to get rid of the stress somehow!..lol and having friends who will listen is a huge help you got my phone number call me if you need.
Hugs
Kathleen