Affiliate disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. Please see full disclosure.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.
Do Grasshoppers Eat Tomato Plants?
Yes, mature grasshoppers eat tomato plants, but they don’t really want to. Grasshoppers prefer other garden plants, including lettuce, carrot, raspberry, bean, and corn leaves. But if there’s a food shortage, a drought, or a population explosion, then yes, they’ll eat your tomato plants.
While they’re not keen on tomato leaves, if they’re struggling to find other food, then they’ll eat your tomato plants.
They’ll strip a tomato plant of all its healthy green leaves, essentially killing the plant, as it has nothing left to photosynthesize with.
Do Grasshoppers Eat Ripe Tomatoes?
Yes. When hungry, grasshoppers will eat ripe tomatoes. Along with basically any other soft and plant tissue they encounter. This lack of discrimination and their voraciousness is what makes them so destructive.
One or two grasshoppers are manageable, but when they swarm, the effects can be devastating.
Other Dangers of Grasshopper Infestations
Not only do they eat your plants, but grasshoppers can theoretically carry diseases from one plant to another. Plus, of course, they cause so much damage that they leave your tomato plants depleted and vulnerable to disease and other pests.
And, according to research from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, grasshoppers can transmit certain diseases from rangeland plants to hoofed livestock.
Do Crickets Eat Tomatoes?
Yes, crickets eat tomatoes. They’re omnivorous, so they’ll go for pretty much anything, including your tomato plants and ripe or even rotten tomatoes. Along with most other fruits and veggies, other insects, other crickets, and more.
Like grasshoppers, crickets are voracious feeders, and they’ll pretty much consume anything in their path.
How Do I Keep Grasshoppers Off My Tomatoes?
There are plenty of natural ways to keep grasshoppers off your tomatoes. Yes, you can kill grasshoppers by picking them off one by one and by encouraging natural predators, but there are a number of other steps you can take to repel grasshoppers before they become a problem.
Keep the Area Free of Weeds
Keep the area around your tomatoes clear and free of weeds and debris so that there’s fewer places for grasshoppers and grasshopper nymphs, as well as other pests to hide.
Molasses and Water Mix
Similar to how you control slugs with stale beer, you can use molasses and water to control grasshoppers. Simply put a jar or dish of 1 part molasses to 10 parts water, buried half in the ground, near your tomatoes. The grasshoppers prefer the molasses to your tomato plants, so dive in to feed and drown themselves. It’s a bit gruesome, but it’s definitely effective.
Periodically empty the jar and refresh it. You’ll likely need to leave the jar in place for a few weeks if you’ve got a significant grasshopper infestation.
Companion Planting to Repel Grasshoppers
If you’re a regular reader, you know I’m a huge fan of companion planting, not just to keep grasshoppers off your tomatoes, but as a slow, effective ecological form of insect, pest, and disease control. Plus it helps to bring balance and biodiversity, not just in wildlife populations, but also in good bacteria populations and soil health.
Plants grasshoppers hate include:
- Dianthus
- Lilacs
- Forsythia
- Crepe myrtle
- Verbena
- Sage
- Juniper
- Jasmine
- Salvia
And then there’s the idea of giving grasshoppers what they really want so they leave your vegetable garden alone. Plant a “barrier” of tall grass around the perimeter of your growing space. This gives them their preferred food source and somewhere for the bugs to complete the grasshopper’s life cycle. Give them what they want, and employ other natural control methods, and the adult grasshoppers should stay away from your tomato plants.
Attracting Natural Predators to Kill Grasshoppers
For natural grasshopper control, you want to attract predatory insects, similar to how you control tomato hornworm. To do that, plant bold, bright flowers that robber flies and predatory wasps are attracted to. These include:
- Sunflowers
- Marigolds
- Calendula
- Asters
- Alyssum
Creating a suitable habitat for toads and large spiders is also a very good idea. As is making your garden bird-friendly with native trees and bushes, a water source, a few bird feeders, and a potential nesting area. Countless bird species love grasshoppers and will happily devour as many as they can as these insects are packed with essential protein and are a valuable food source.
Bring in the Chickens!
If you’ve got chickens (or you could even borrow your neighbor’s flock), you’ve got a built-in grasshopper eating machine! It provides enrichment and tasty food for your hens, who will very quickly eat grasshoppers in large numbers. Just be cautious, otherwise your chickens may also snack on your tomato plants and whatever else you may have growing.
Natural Insecticide to Get Rid of Grasshoppers
Another way to naturally get rid of grasshoppers from your tomatoes is by making your own garlic spray. Garlic has been shown to be effective against grasshoppers as they don’t like the smell or taste of it.
Blend a full bulb of garlic with around 32 ounces (1 liter) of water and 1 ounce (30 mls) of liquid dish soap. Let the mixture steep for 24 hours to infuse the garlic compounds into the liquid. Then strain out the garlic pieces and put the remaining liquid in a spray bottle. Then spray the leaves of your tomato plants every few days, and after rain.
Neem Oil for Natural Grasshopper Control
Neem oil is a brilliant natural way to get rid of grasshoppers. A type of natural insecticide, neem oil simultaneously stunts grasshopper growth and repels them. Plus, studies show that when exposed to neem oil, grasshopper nymphs become lethargic and solitary, rather than swarming, and so become easier prey and less problematic.
Making neem spray is super easy. Add 1 tablespoon of pure, high-quality neem oil to 3 quarts of warm water and 1 teaspoon of mild liquid soap. I use Dr Bronner’s castile soap as it’s an effective natural product. Then simply spray the solution onto your tomato plants and the surrounding soil. You’ll need to reapply every few days and always after rainfall until you get the population under control.
NOTE: Neem oil is toxic to cats, so please use another option if cats visit your garden. Or use neem LEAF powder instead of oil in the mixture.
What Is the Best Natural Grasshopper Repellent?
As you can see, there are a tonne of natural grasshopper repellent options. But neem oil or any of the plants listed above, alongside geranium and clove oils are the most effective options.
Other Common Tomato Pests
Tomatoes are a popular choice in the vegetable garden, but unfortunately they are vulnerable to a number of insect pests. Some of the most common tomato pests include aphids, cutworms, flea beetles, root-knot nematodes, blister beetles, tomato fruitworms, leaf-footed bugs, slugs, snails, borers, thrips, aphids, stink bugs, hornworms, silverleaf whitefly, two-spotted spider mites, and more.
These pests can cause damage to tomato plants by eating the leaves or fruits of the plant or by introducing diseases. It is important to identify these pests early on to prevent them from causing too much damage.
Inspect your plants regularly for signs of infestation such as wilting leaves or holes in the fruit. If you do find any pests on your tomatoes, take action quickly to prevent further damage. Many of the methods described for getting rid of grasshoppers will also work for many other garden pests that like to snack on tomatoes.