| Abstract |
Grasshopper pest species have been and continue to be a hazard to agriculturalists in western North America. Grasshoppers are the major, above ground, insect consumer of vegetation on grasslands. They have an important role in the ecosystem as prey for other animals and in nutrient cycling. When grasshoppers damage crops or threaten to consume too much forage, insecticides are now used to control their populations. The goal of early control efforts with the first synthetic insecticides was 100% mortality of all grasshoppers. This goal, on rangelands in the United States, has largely been replaced with the reduced area and agent treatment strategy. This strategy preferentially uses a more selective insecticide applied with incomplete coverage in a manner that returns pest grasshopper populations to sub-economic densities and conserves more of their natural enemies and nonpest insect species. In the western United States, the USDA-APHIS-PPQ conducts yearly pest grasshopper population surveys to determine the hazard of outbreak for the next year. In Canada, provincial governments and private industry provide grasshopper outbreak forecast maps to agriculturalists. Insecticidal bait suitable for grasshoppers and a variety of broad-spectrum insecticides applied with complete coverage of outbreaks are currently utilized in Canada to manage outbreaks. |
