How To Use Cheesecloth As Defense Against Grasshoppers

Maintaining your yard takes intention and effort. The reward is being able to enjoy basking in the garden right after sunset when the light transitions to an ethereal golden blue. If you've invested the time to cultivate a beautiful garden with a variety of trees, vegetables, and flowers it can be devastating when creatures sneak in and decimate your plants. A major perpetrator of plant damage is grasshoppers. While there are many ways to get rid of grasshoppers, one of the easiest methods is to use a simple cheesecloth to cover your plants, which is one of the least toxic solutions to curb their rampant chomping.

Although some bugs can protect your garden and there are some environmental benefits to having a few grasshoppers around (they're a food source for lizards, birds, and spiders and they fertilize certain plants), they are herbivores known for their relentless destruction of vegetables on both farms and home gardens. While they gravitate to corn, lettuce, carrots, and a few other vegetables, when their numbers swell, they're known to feed outside of their normal plant preferences. 

Take a look at what you've got in the garden. If it's a vegetable, a flower, sprouts seeds, or has leaves, it's fair game. If you're at the point where you've spotted many grasshoppers and are already noticing munched-out leaf skeletons they've left behind, we advise covering as many plants as you can with cheesecloth and utilizing additional grasshopper removal techniques. Buy cheesecloths in bulk if needed and simply cover the plants. Remove them before pollination season starts.

If your grasshopper problem is pretty bad, you could always pretend your home is part of a fairy tale on an enchanted land with willing animal helpers. Get assistance from toads and small snakes — you could import these predators because they like to eat grasshoppers. If you're fine with a Harry Potter vibe in the garden and don't mind more slithering than usual, this might be a great solution.