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You are here: Home / Flowers & Plants / Garden Pest: Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

Updated on July 11, 2017

Garden Pest: Eastern Lubber Grasshopper

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Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers
Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers

Aren’t they cute? Don’t let their small size and cuteness fool you. These tiny little insects will grow up to be 3 inches long, with a voracious appetite.

The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, or Texas grasshopper, is a flightless insect that can become locally heavily populated. We had them in our yard last year – it seemed like they were everywhere we looked. And let me tell you, these things can eat a lot. They had preferences for certain ornamental plants, which quickly disappeared from our garden.

Adult eastern lubbergrasshopers
Adult eastern lubber grasshoppers

Why were they so prevalent? They don’t have any natural predators. These grasshoppers are toxic and can make animals and birds sick (or even kill them) when they try to eat them.

And talk about scare tactics, the larger ones (which I swear were close to four or five inches) open their bright pink wings and hiss at you when you approach. It’s enough to make you do a double-take.

This is the second batch of hatchlings I have seen so far this spring. Unlike last year, we will stomp them on site, before they can get to adult stage and start eating our vegetables and flowers.

You can see a photo of the adult grasshopper here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/8811

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Article by Garden Experiments / Flowers & Plants, Vegetables, Wildlife / garden pest

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Comments

  1. Jay says

    July 24, 2013 at 6:01 pm

    Those are really cool grasshoppers. With my children so interested in insects it is usually pretty easy to take care of grasshoppers. They just pick them off and play with them for a while. Perhaps it can be considered inhumaine for my children to forget to feed them – though I do see your point of getting rid of them quickly before they take over.

  2. Daily says

    May 15, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    We dont have them, but hey I+m in Croatia, Europe. They dont look like something Id like to see arround my garden.

    • Garden Experiments says

      May 15, 2014 at 2:25 pm

      Thanks for visiting my blog! I have a feeling most people would agree with you and don’t want to see these grasshoppers around their garden 🙂

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Welcome! My name is Kathy and I live in Mississippi Zone 7B. Gardening has always relaxed and rooted me (literally!). It's my happy place. With over 25 years of gardening, I am far from an expert, but I learn from all my experiments. This blog talks about the plants, backyard critters, and more that have made my garden special. Read More

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