Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Control Program

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Control Program offers assistance to agricultural landowners in the suppression of economically damaging infestations of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets on private and state owned lands.

The program provides pest management information and insecticide bait for agricultural landowners to control damaging populations of these pests. Our program also strives to minimize potential negative environmental impacts from application of insecticides. Participants are required to abide by the EPA approved product labels and follow principles of sound pesticide stewardship.

This program is managed by the ISDA Invasive Species program however, grasshoppers and Mormon crickets are native species in Idaho. Despite being native species, both grasshopper and Mormon cricket populations can reach outbreak levels, causing serious economic harm to Idaho’s agriculture industry. Our program goals are not to eradicate these species but to suppress them to economically sustainable levels.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is an important partner in the overall program. USDA APHIS conducts statewide surveys to determine the density and species composition of grasshopper populations on rangelands as well as suppression projects. Visit their Rangeland Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Suppression Program Video to learn more.

To qualify for assistance through ISDA’s program, you must meet the following criteria:

• Own or manage at least 5 acres of agricultural use land in Idaho (pasture, crop, rangeland)

• Actively experiencing a grasshopper or Mormon cricket infestation that meets the economic threshold (8 grasshopper OR 3 Mormon crickets per square meter)

For additional information on program qualifications please visit the FAQs page.

If you need assistance with grasshopper or Mormon cricket infestations, click the black box below to submit a Request for Assistance Form.

Click on the images below to view the Handbooks