The USDA’s pesticide spraying program for crickets and grasshoppers across the West violated the National Environmental Policy Act, according to a federal judge. TrendingIdaho meat packer files ...

Landowners asked for help managing a grasshopper infestation, but there was pushback to a government plan to spray pesticide. Now, ranchers are left wondering how to control the ravenous insects.

The court ruling means APHIS will have to more closely consider the effects of spraying on insects and animals and overhaul its ”spray-first” approach to grasshopper control.

Officials urged landowners to spray for grasshoppers earlier this year, but the point at which insecticides are effective has passed. The weather this spring helped the grasshopper population grow.

A federal judge has ordered USDA to re-evaluate the environmental impacts of its grasshopper and Mormon cricket suppression program in the West within two years. The agency’s Animal and Plant […] ...

You can spray the ground and non-flowering plants, if needed, with conventional insecticides that list grasshoppers on the label. Neem oil and pyrethrins can also be effective, but your primary ...