Grasshoppers are killing my branches

[DouglasHolub]

We've got a lot of grasshoppers here in eastern Oklahoma this year. They are eating the stems of my cannabis plants. They just eat the outer skin of the stems. When they eat enough so that they remove a complete circle around the stem, the whole stem dies above the circle. I've sprayed with neem oil and garlic. The neem oil doesn't seem to do much. I just started spraying with the garlic and cayenne pepper, and I think that is going to work pretty well. We also are raising some guineas to turn loose in the garden next year. But in the meantime, is there anything I can do to save the stems once the outer skin has been removed? Some kind of salve or jelly that could help the stem heal itself?

 

[oldskol4evr]

We've got a lot of grasshoppers here in eastern Oklahoma this year. They are eating the stems of my cannabis plants. They just eat the outer skin of the stems. When they eat enough so that they remove a complete circle around the stem, the whole stem dies above the circle. I've sprayed with neem oil and garlic. The neem oil doesn't seem to do much. I just started spraying with the garlic and cayenne pepper, and I think that is going to work pretty well. We also are raising some guineas to turn loose in the garden next year. But in the meantime, is there anything I can do to save the stems once the outer skin has been removed? Some kind of salve or jelly that could help the stem heal itself?

you can put a piece of tape around the stem,same for snapping a branch by accident ,im down by the border,i use cold press neem oil every other week bt once a month,but go a step futher,i spray the soil also,they were tearing my corn a new ass,started the spray of soil and they wont lurk around waiting for the leaves to dry,i spray right before dark let dry over night not to hurt my bee colony,they loving the pumpkins hahaah,try spraying the soil with your mix too,cayenne and garlic work great for a minute,you can see the spiders scat,but come right back when the leaves are dry,so i alternate ,the neem and bt,bad worm catipillar this year,puts some whoop ass on them,so far corn is 4 ft tall in a month,just might get this stand complete before cool weather comes,if you dont know what BT is BACILLUS THURICIDE,southern ag what im using,even my reg lizards are pissed i stopped them in there tracks

 

[kalopatchkid]

You sure they are grasshopper and not mice or rats?

 

[DouglasHolub]

You sure they are grasshopper and not mice or rats?

Good thought. That makes more sense. I would expect the grasshoppers to be eating the leaves, not the stems.

 

[kalopatchkid]

A few outdoor guys I was following last year were having lots of problems with mice girdling their plants. I'd set out some traps and see what happens.

 

[Jmaes Mabley]

Probably cutworms. Moth Larvae/Caterpillars.

 

[DouglasHolub]

I'm 70%-80% sure that it is stink bugs that are eating my branches. I've killed about a dozen, and every time I saw one, they were sitting near or on top of some damaged stem. Grasshoppers were usually sitting on undamaged stems, and the only time I ever saw a grasshopper munching on something, it was munching on a leaf, not a stem. And when I spray the stems with garlic juice, I don't see the stink bugs for a few days. And I've seen a few praying mantis which eat stink bugs. I think next spring I'll buy some praying mantis eggs. Thanks for all the suggestions. I've got 32 seven foot tall ACDC and Harlequin plants which we start harvesting next week. If you add up all the partial damage, I probably lost the equivalent of two or three plants.

 

[Seraphine]

Next year treat your lawn for grubs, either use milky spore (organic) or an insecticide that kills grubs. That will greatly reduce the amount of Japanese beetles in the summer. If they are cut worms, they hide in the soil during the day and climb up your crops at night to feed. You could sprinkle some diatomaceous earth on the soil around your plants. Azamax will also kill cutworms and any other crop damaging caterpillar. There is a bioinsectide that will kill the grasshoppers (I think caterpillars too), it’s called nosema locustae. It’s a treated bran that the grasshoppers eats and the fungus infects and kills them. It’s Inexpensive and can buy online. You could pick up some lady bugs for the aphids, this late in the season you might have to order them online.