Save The Lilies!

   Those dratted Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are the bane of just about every gardener on the Coast.  Ever since those critters showed up (basically after Hurricane Camille back in 1969), they have reproduced in great numbers.  Now, millions of the critters hatch each spring and start to munch any plant within sight. It is horrible especially since not many sprays kill them.  There was even one point in time that Pop had resorted to actually spraying with gasoline just to kill them.  At that time, the ground was literally covered...every last inch of it.  It was like something from a horror movie.  Now, I just try to do the "stomp and smash" dance.  It does not even make a dent in the population but does make me feel like I am at least trying.  That said, the plants suffer greatly.

  It seems as if these grasshoppers have an affinity for lilies of any kind.  The soft leaves and stalks are eaten to the ground then the critters start on the bulbs themselves.  Years ago, it was not uncommon to see yards and even fields fully covered in the red blooms of the Lycoris lilies or Red Spider Lilies (also known as Red Hat Ladies and Naked Ladies to the locals.  Both names due to the fact that the blooms sit on top of a spindly stalk with no leaves in sight.)  Now, you are lucky to find a few popping up here and there.  It saddens me to think that one insect can obliterate an entire yard of lilies overnight.  The lubber grasshoppers can if the numbers are vast enough.

  Imagine my surprise when I found a single Spider Lily blooming in the midst of the Zinnias.  Perhaps the grasshoppers overlooked one lily or perhaps they do not care for Zinnias to the point that they avoid them.  It does not matter.  What does matter is that I had the joy of finding the lily after the rains today.  The discovery has ignited a fire inside of me!  My new quest is to find some natural spray (I refuse to spray gas on my garden!) to rid the place of these horrid, toxic critters that have no natural predators.  It is time to break out the "kitchen chemistry" trials in search of something to save the lilies!