What Is Nomesa Locustae: Using Nomesa Locustae In The Garden

A Grasshopper On A Green Leaf
(Image credit: Stas-Bejsov)

Contrary to what the cartoons may have you believe, grasshoppers are voracious critters that can ruin an entire garden in just a matter of days. Getting rid of these plant-eating machines is often a tightrope walk between killing the grasshoppers and keeping the food safe for your family. Nosema locustae pest control will solve both of these problems. It's completely organic, doesn't interact with any humans or animals, and will kill off most of the grasshoppers in your garden within one season. Using nosema locustae in the garden is possibly the easiest and safest way to rid your crops of grasshoppers, once and for all.

Nosema Locustae Bait for Gardens

What is nosema locustae and how does it work so well? It's a one-celled organism called a protozoan that can infect and kill only grasshoppers. This microscopic creature is mixed with wheat bran, which the grasshoppers love to eat. The bugs eat the nosema locustae bait and the protozoan infects the stomach of the bug, causing the young ones to die and the older ones to infect the rest. Grasshoppers are cannibals, so the older and tougher individuals that survive the initial infection still carry the bug. When uninfected bugs eat the infected ones, they contract the disease. Even those bugs that survive eat little, move around a lot less and lay fewer eggs, lessening the chance of them infesting other areas of the property. The few eggs they do lay come out already infested, so the chance of a second generation surviving is very low.

How to Use Nomesa Locustae Pest Control

Learning how to use nosema locustae bait is as simple as broadcasting it over your garden and the surrounding area. Spread the bait early in the spring before the baby grasshoppers hatch. The young will eat the bait along with the more mature specimens. This will give the bait the best chance of killing off both current generations of hoppers. If you're an organic grower, this method, along with sensible mowing to remove high grassy fields, is an effective way to remove grasshoppers without having to resort to chemical means. This naturally-occurring organism will kill off grasshoppers without affecting any birds or animals that may use them as food.