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About This Episode
A reader needs help getting rid of grasshoppers. Plus, Grumpy’s gripe of the week.
Question Of The Week
“Do you have any advice for getting rid of grasshoppers? They’re a plague, eating everything in my garden beds.” – Courtney
Grumpy Gardener: If the number of grasshoppers is less than biblical, you can kill them by picking him off your plants and dropping them into a bucket filled with soapy water. But you’re going to have to inspect your plants every day because grasshoppers are voracious. So you can’t just do this once, you’re gonna have to be vigilant. Another control is spreading floating row covers over your plants, so grasshoppers can’t get to them. Or you might try spraying your plants according to label directions with natural insecticides like Neem oil or spinosad. However, these products may be natural, but they will kill bees. So remember you can spray the foliage, but never spray the flowers.
Gripe Of The Week
Where we live, September is not fall. You know, you look at the calendar and we split it up into three-month sections, you know, January, February, March; and then April, May and June; June, July, and August. And then like in September, you know, it’s supposed to turn cool. That’s supposed to be the start of fall. It isn’t here. And meanwhile, it’s the same as it was in August. That’s why I call September the month of Saugust, ’cause it just never cools off here. You know, it’s still 90 degrees. So that is my gripe. I just wish that when Labor Day came, it meant we switched off into a nice, comfortable air that we could sit out without our hair frizzing. But it just don’t happen.
About Ask Grumpy
Ask Grumpy is a podcast featuring Steve Bender, also known as Southern Living’s Grumpy Gardener. For more than 20 years, Grumpy has been sharing advice on what to grow, when to plant, and how to manage just about anything in your garden. Tune in for short episodes every Wednesday and Saturday as Grumpy answers reader questions, solves seasonal conundrums, and provides need-to-know advice for gardeners with his very Grumpy sense of humor. Be sure to follow Ask Grumpy on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen so you don’t miss an episode.
Editor’s Note: Please be mindful that this transcript does not go through our standard editorial process and may contain inaccuracies and grammatical errors.