Usually, if something sounds to good to be true, it is. Somewhere hidden in the midst of things is a catch that brings trouble one way or another. I found out the hard way. Today, while out prowling about the hillside, I made the mistake of getting a tad too close to the compost pile. Normally, there is nothing wrong with that whatsoever but today, I was "caught"!
My meanderings took me far down to the compost and beyond. While there, I noticed that the compost pile must be doing a good job of composting because it was being overtaken by some bright green plant. I admit that I have been lax on mowing the area since I have been putting in a new living room floor. Still, that green was really bright and drew me to investigate just what plant was flourishing so. Big mistake. Never...never get too close to catchweed! You will be caught, for sure! That stuff is remarkably clingy! I have never felt so wrapped up in a weed in my entire life! That stuff is like nature's Velcro!
Catchweed, stickywilly, Velcro plant, bedstraw or cleavers...you can call it what you please but I call it a nuisance! The plant's square stems are covered with tiny hook like hairs that grab hold to you and cling like crazy! This weed can cause machinery to come to a standstill and literally coat a critter with a plant jacket. This clinging is the dispersal method of the plant. It assures that the plant will be spread far and wide...which, in my opinion, is a terrible thing! Cutting it with the lawnmower will not kill it so I am thinking that a good dousing with homemade weedkiller is in the works. There is no use in letting that stuff take advantage of my nice compost while it spreads like wildfire. Catchweed...get rid of it quick or it will catch hold and create a major mess!
Late summer and on into fall, finds that the Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are in their decline. Usually, this is the time of year that their lives come to an end and the continuation of their existence depends purely on the egg cases deposited in the sand. Come springtime, those egg cases will split open and thirty or so tiny grasshoppers will dig their way out of a hole in the ground. That is when the popular (yeah, right) dance begins. Dubbed the "Grasshopper Stomp" by my kids so many years ago, the dance remains the only surefire way to eliminate masses of the grasshoppers in a single blow. Very few insecticides work. The only "sprays" that do kill the critters are straight gasoline and a concoction made up of hot sauce. The gas kills them in their tracks while the hot sauce melts their exoskeletons. Neither is a preferred method so the Stomp is repeated on a daily basis during the months of April and May. Then, throughout the summer, individual critters are smashed. Why do we try to eradicate these critters? They are destructive, to say the least. The Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers are not picky eaters and will totally strip a garden overnight eating both the plants and the fruit/vegetables thereon. Once the garden is devoid of green, they climb trees, munch the lawn and will even gnaw holes in window screens! For those who do not know, these grasshoppers can reach upwards of four inches in length and appear to have an appetite of an elephant.
All of this is a shame, however, as the critters really are pretty. This is one of those beautiful creatures with an ugly unseen side. If they were not so destructive, the critters could live in peace in my garden. I do not even mind a few missing plants....just not an entire missing garden! The grasshoppers are a myriad of colors with black, red and yellow being the most dominant. The hatchlings are brick red and soft. Once their exoskeletons harden, they become black with red stripes on either side. After the first moult, the grasshoppers obtain their true colors. Yellow joins the red and black on the exoskeletons. The grasshoppers now have wings, albeit useless for flying. The wings are sometimes used as a threatening device and are unfurled to show size. It is then that the bright red inner wings are apparent. The critters will also hiss and spew a foul-smelling liquid if harassed. They are also toxic if eaten.
The critters live up to their name of Lubber. If you look up the definition of "Lubber", you will find it means "a large, clumsy person". These are rather large, clumsy grasshoppers. This lack of speed and agility does at least make them easily caught and smashed. It is just a shame that something so attractive is such a destructive nuisance!
At daybreak, the Boysenberries were sparkling like jewels on the vines. My bucket was fast filling to the brim which made me smile as I thought of the delicious pie that I had made just the night before. These, however, would be made into jelly. Picking was easy since these berries are huge. Normally, I reach in, grab a berry and plop it in the bucket with nary a thought. Perhaps I should change my method as one berry was covered with critters! Ugh!
One adult leaffooted bug was surrounded by a whole slew of nymphs. This, in itself, was a tad strange as the bugs do not care for their young. They lay the eggs and leave. The eggs and nymphs are left on their own. But it was not the presence of the adult that frustrated me. Those rascals were sucking the juice right out of my berries! Nope, not happening! Sorry. Bugs you have to go. While I hate spraying chemicals on my plants that provide food, I am not adverse to snipping a limb and tossing it into the frog pond. There the frogs can do the dirty work. Sure enough, once the branch hit the water, the nymphs scattered. This sent the frogs into a feeding frenzy which did nothing but make me smile! Way to go, froggies!
The leaffooted bugs are a regular nuisance as they not only suck the juice from fruit, they can ruin entire crops depending upon their numbers. With my berries under attack, it was only commonsense to eradicate this bunch while they were still nymphs. It only takes a few days before they mature enough to lay a billion (at least it seems that way) eggs on the underside of the leaves. Our lack of winter this past year seems to have graced us with more bugs than necessary. My contribution is to feed the frogs as many as possible. Love my frogs!
As I did chores inside the Little Bayou House, I could hear a familiar che-che-che of a grasshopper through the open windows. While critter sounds are normally soothing to me, this one irritated me. I knew what that critter was up to with that raspy noise! Somewhere out there in amongst the jungle that I call a garden, a female Eastern Lubber Grasshopper was ready to do her thing and lay about a bazillion eggs. Somewhere out there, she was sitting there rubbing her little wings or legs or whatever together as she tried to call to a suitable mate. Somewhere out there trouble was brewing and it irritated me. This action bothered me because I knew she was getting ready to spew eggs out into the soft soil and make millions of little ones come next spring. (Ok, so maybe not that many but it sure seems like it when they eat entire gardens.)
I hurried to finish the chores so I could go on a grasshopper hunt. I needed to get that big, old mama before she laid her eggs. This would save me a lot of hassle come next April. These old legs are getting tired of doing that "Grasshopper Stomp" dance for about three weeks come springtime. Each female will lay about five "pods" that contain around fifty eggs. That is two hundred and fifty or so little plant-eating critters per each female. Now go figure that there are probably a good thousand (or more) females hopping about the property and you can see why I am adamant about smacking each one I can find. Problem is....those critters are good at hiding!
This afternoon while on our hike, Mark and I found one fat female crawling up the side of the shed. After her photo ops, she sadly (not!) met her demise. That lessened my work in the spring at least a tad! Now to hunt down about another nine hundred and ninety-nine critters!
