It may go without saying, but southern Manitoba is dealing with a lot of grasshoppers this year. And it appears we have got our hot, dry summer to thank.

Ben Signer is a Sales Agronomist with Marc Hutlet Seeds near Ste. Anne.

"Grasshoppers are among many insects that thrive in dry, warm weather," says Signer.

According to Signer, there are 85 species of grasshoppers in Manitoba, though only four of them are pest species here in our province. Of those four, the two most common this year are the migratory and the two-striped grasshoppers.

Not only have the grasshoppers done a lot of damage this year, but Signer says they are also a nuisance for farmers walking in their fields.

"I've started going into fields with long pants and long sleeves again, just because of how uncomfortable," he says.

Signer says they knew already back in June that grasshoppers would be a problem this year, which is when they started hatching.

"At this point, we haven't had those rains that usually bring down the grasshopper population," he says. "So there's a lot of adults and they have been basically laying eggs since kind of mid-July, and that continues throughout the fall here."

Because of dry conditions, Signer says grasshopper populations have been building in southern Manitoba for the last couple of years. He notes these insects tend to use ditches and grassy areas as their breeding grounds. Over time, they start to move into crops, and then as harvest progresses, they relocate to whatever field is the greenest. Right now that means corn and soybeans.

"Corn is kind of an interesting one because the corn leaves are very coarse, they are not a preferred feed for grasshoppers," explains Signer. "So we've definitely seen that they've moved kind of into those ear tips and have started feeding on the kernels there. So there's a lot more damage than we're used to."

Signer says because of where we are at with harvest, there probably will not be a lot of spraying going on for grasshoppers.

"If you are spraying for grasshoppers at this point, it's probably more of a feeling of revenge than something that's going to protect your yield," he suggests. "We're also kind of within that window where the pre-harvest intervals for most herbicides are going to be an issue in terms of harvest."

Signer says the rain we have received in the last week will certainly take some of the pressure off of the remaining crops still standing, with respect to grasshopper's feeding.

Meanwhile, looking ahead to next year, Signer says really the only way for the grasshopper cycle to collapse is if we have very wet soil conditions during emergence when the insects hatch from their eggs.

"If those ditches are full of water in mid-June, that's where you are going to bring that population of grasshoppers down," he says. "But if it stays dry like this, we're going to see continued high populations until that weather pattern changes."