{"id":12752,"date":"2023-03-23T03:38:50","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T08:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/?p=12752"},"modified":"2023-03-23T03:38:50","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T08:38:50","slug":"are-grasshoppers-helpful-or-harmful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.forestwildlife.org\/are-grasshoppers-helpful-or-harmful\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Grasshoppers Helpful Or Harmful?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Grasshoppers are a pretty common sight each summer. You have probably seen them hopping around your yard or heard them chirping out their songs. If you have a garden, you may have also noticed bug damage left behind by your hungry resident grasshoppers. So, you may be wondering: are grasshoppers helpful or harmful? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading as we explore the answer to this question and what you can do to keep your grasshopper populations from growing out of control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are Grasshoppers Helpful or Harmful?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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There are as many as 20,000 species of grasshopper in the world<\/a>. With this in mind, it\u2019s impossible to make a blanket statement about whether or not they are helpful or harmful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All grasshoppers eat plant matter, with most consuming around 16 times their own weight in food each day. Some eat more, while others eat less.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, not all grasshoppers eat the same kind of plants. Some, such as those that morph into locusts<\/a>, can be extremely damaging to crops; others feed almost exclusively on grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally speaking, grasshoppers are considered pests. But unless you have a large infestation of them munching away on your garden veggies, you\u2019re probably not going to notice too many negative effects from them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Are Grasshoppers Helpful?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grasshoppers aren\u2019t known for their pollination skills, but they can sometimes be helpful in other ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many birds and animals eat grasshoppers as a staple food source. These include rodents such as moles and rats and birds such as chickens and crested flycatchers.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, as part of the food chain, the existence of grasshoppers supports a natural balance in their native environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, in some parts of the world, people eat grasshoppers as well. They are a good survival food in some areas and considered a tasty delicacy in others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, the droppings grasshoppers leave behind serve as a natural fertilizer for the soil, enriching it and enabling future plant growth by restoring precious nutrients.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Are Grasshoppers Harmful?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned above, grasshoppers eat lots and lots of plant material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the time, they are loners, so you won\u2019t have to worry about too many of them congregating in your yard or garden. That said, even a few grasshoppers can produce significant crop damage, especially in times of drought and food shortage.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are about 20 species of grasshopper in the world that can morph into locusts. When they do this, they will swarm together by the thousands, if not millions, devouring all plant life in their path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this destructive example doesn\u2019t happen very often, it gives you an idea of just how harmful some types of grasshoppers can become.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out this video to learn more about how grasshoppers turn into locusts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2x5eOBJ37iE<\/a>