Grasshoppers destroying yard - Ask Extension
Grasshoppers are destroying my new landscape at my Marshall Fire rebuilt home in Louisville. Photo of Snow Crab Apple tree which has all the leaves ea...
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Grasshoppers destroying yard #878939
Asked July 26, 2024, 4:23 PM EDT
Grasshoppers are destroying my new landscape at my Marshall Fire rebuilt home in Louisville. Photo of Snow Crab Apple tree which has all the leaves eaten off. Will it survive? Anything I can do? Should I use Trizicide at this point since nothing else worked: garlic, lavender, Neem oil, diatomaceous earth, flour.
Boulder County Colorado
Expert Response
Hello,
Thank you for contacting CSU Extension about your snow crabapple tree and the damage done by grasshoppers.
Although grasshoppers are more prone to eating plants and some garden vegetables, when populations are high (as they have been this summer), they will also attack trees and shrubs. Defoliation of larger trees has a limited impact unless the defoliation continues for more than a year. Small trees and shrubs are most seriously impacted.
It's hard to say whether your tree will survive with such extensive damage. At this point, a "wait and see" approach will be best; i.e., if it doesn't leaf out in the spring, you may need to consider replacing it.
There isn't anything you can use on the tree at this point. The grasshoppers are going to leave it alone since there's no foliage for them to eat.
However, I'm providing you with links to two information sheets from CSU Extension that you may find helpful now for other plants that have been damaged and for preparing for next spring's/summer's "crop" of grasshoppers if you replace this crabapple:
https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/insects-diseases/1447-grasshoppers/
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/grasshopper-control-in-gardens-small-acreages-5-536
Please don't hesitate to contact us again if you have additional questions.
Regards,
Colorado Master Gardener
CSU Extension Boulder County
Thank you for contacting CSU Extension about your snow crabapple tree and the damage done by grasshoppers.
Although grasshoppers are more prone to eating plants and some garden vegetables, when populations are high (as they have been this summer), they will also attack trees and shrubs. Defoliation of larger trees has a limited impact unless the defoliation continues for more than a year. Small trees and shrubs are most seriously impacted.
It's hard to say whether your tree will survive with such extensive damage. At this point, a "wait and see" approach will be best; i.e., if it doesn't leaf out in the spring, you may need to consider replacing it.
There isn't anything you can use on the tree at this point. The grasshoppers are going to leave it alone since there's no foliage for them to eat.
However, I'm providing you with links to two information sheets from CSU Extension that you may find helpful now for other plants that have been damaged and for preparing for next spring's/summer's "crop" of grasshoppers if you replace this crabapple:
https://planttalk.colostate.edu/topics/insects-diseases/1447-grasshoppers/
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/insects/grasshopper-control-in-gardens-small-acreages-5-536
Please don't hesitate to contact us again if you have additional questions.
Regards,
Colorado Master Gardener
CSU Extension Boulder County
