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	Grasshopper Population Density
	Publication #: MP-123 Date Published: 07/21/2026 Publication Author(s): Scott Schell A. Latchininsky

Description:
Accurately estimating grasshopper population density is important to determine if the economic threshold has been reached (the density at which the cost of damage will be greater than the cost of treatment). This threshold varies with region, cost of treatment, plant growth/condition, forage value, and grasshopper development/species. A density that almost certainly would warrant treatment in all regions of the West is 24 grasshoppers/yd2, and control is rarely justified at densities of less than 14 grasshoppers/yd2. This latter density of pest species can cause a 30 percent forage loss on typical rangeland. Economics change in drought conditions when the range is producing less forage and replacement forage costs are high.

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