harvester
02-18-2009, 06:58 AM
I have been replying to a post in this forum about geese in the garden, and it reminded me to ask you all for help and suggestions for our problem on our new farmette.
We are living in a whole new area for us and discovered that this place has literally biblical porportions of grasshoppers and gigantic locusts in the summer! I would imagine only those who live here and egypt could possible understand the plague porportions of these things!
You have to cover your eyes and shut your mouth just to walk across the yard. Then have someone pick them off your body before you come in the house. They still get in.
They were responsible for eating roughly 4-5 gallons of cherries off of my new little cherry tree, destroying my strawberry bed along with all of my raspberries etc that were literally eaten to the ground in about 3 days time.
They ruined our garden that was doing so well and out of a 30' x 50' garden i managed to save about 5 radishes.
Our thought was to invest big time in birds. Granted ive never had to feed a chicken in the three years we have lived here through the summer due to the grasshoppers and locusts they eat on. We thought of guinneas but I hear they have a huge range and would probably end up all over the place chasing them. Turkeys tend to get on a grasshopper and chase it until its caught, could be in the next neighborhood over by that time. Ive decided to go with banty chickens. Having them before i know they dont like to range too far from home.
If anyone has any suggestions or better ideas please post them, im willing to try just about anything at this point.
We are living in a whole new area for us and discovered that this place has literally biblical porportions of grasshoppers and gigantic locusts in the summer! I would imagine only those who live here and egypt could possible understand the plague porportions of these things!
You have to cover your eyes and shut your mouth just to walk across the yard. Then have someone pick them off your body before you come in the house. They still get in.
They were responsible for eating roughly 4-5 gallons of cherries off of my new little cherry tree, destroying my strawberry bed along with all of my raspberries etc that were literally eaten to the ground in about 3 days time.
They ruined our garden that was doing so well and out of a 30' x 50' garden i managed to save about 5 radishes.
Our thought was to invest big time in birds. Granted ive never had to feed a chicken in the three years we have lived here through the summer due to the grasshoppers and locusts they eat on. We thought of guinneas but I hear they have a huge range and would probably end up all over the place chasing them. Turkeys tend to get on a grasshopper and chase it until its caught, could be in the next neighborhood over by that time. Ive decided to go with banty chickens. Having them before i know they dont like to range too far from home.
If anyone has any suggestions or better ideas please post them, im willing to try just about anything at this point.