Grasshopper Management in Winter Wheat

Emerging winter wheat can be particularly vulnerable to damage. Adult grasshoppers are more difficult to control and can fly into emerging winter wheat fields from surrounding grassy areas.

Treatment thresholds for emerging winter wheat are lower. Border treatments applied as insecticidal sprays or seed treatments are the main recommendation for protecting emerging winter wheat. Typically, spraying 150 feet beyond the edge of the crop or 1-2 passes with treated seed around the perimeter of the field is a sufficient border. For adults, the higher end of the label rate is recommended. When applying border sprays, timing is important. Border sprays beyond the edge of the crop need to be applied just before the wheat emerges; if it’s applied too early there may not be enough residual, and if it’s applied too late damage may have already occurred. Systemic seed treatments eliminate the timing concern, but systemic insecticides require feeding to be active, though damage should be slowed considerably.