Are grasshoppers about to overrun the Bay Area?

Dear JOAN: I have a fairly strange concern. Has the grasshopper populace increased or perhaps migrated to Morgan Hill?

In the 12 yrs I’ve lived in the city, I had under no circumstances viewed a grasshopper when I walk my tiny doggie, Zeus, but this calendar year, I see two, maybe three each and every working day now. Or have I just been non-observant in the past?

John Schmitz, Morgan Hill

Pricey JOHN: All indications are those people few grasshoppers you have been observing will be joined by others. Many, quite a few other folks.

Very last yr was a bad 12 months for grasshoppers. Properly, negative for us, great for them. An additional 12 months of drought generated a bumper crop of grasshoppers in California as well as the Midwest and South. That infestation, followed by yet one more dry wintertime and heat spring could necessarily mean even bigger quantities this calendar year.

Grasshoppers create only 1 generation of offspring just about every yr, and sizzling, dry ailments essentially improve that generation. When you have a chilly, wet wintertime, couple grasshoppers will hatch, but again-to-back again-to-back again drought several years usually means we close up with a total great deal of hoppers.

Just one way to repel grasshoppers in the early days of an infestation and shield your yard and other plants is to spray them with a strong-smelling repellent. Garlic, vinegar and scorching pepper sprays are productive. For newly sprouted plants, using floating row cover — a light-weight cloth for plants — will enable protect them.

Pricey JOAN: I have a neighbor who makes it possible for her miniature poodle to be off-leash when the girl is in the avenue close to her dwelling. This wouldn’t be a trouble other than that when they are out and I wander by, the pet will come jogging to me barking menacingly.

This family had a further miniature poodle right before this a single that ran at me 1 day and nipped my ankle.  I have consulted our animal services persons about this, and they have frequented the residence and stated the leash law, but the household carries on to permit their puppy go unleashed when they are on the street.

It is an ongoing conflict with this relatives and me. I should really be able to wander earlier their house without the need of becoming harassed by their pet. Is there anything at all I can do to prevent this from taking place in the foreseeable future?

Nelle, El Cerrito

Dear NELLE: You have a couple of possibilities, none of which is great. You want the pet proprietors to action up and be dependable, and they apparently are unwilling.