Seeing a lot of grasshoppers in the Phoenix area? You're not alone

PHOENIX - Grasshoppers have quickly become a common sight in the Valley, but why?

"A lot of rain has brought a lot of activity into the Phoenix area and probably across the state of Arizona," said Steve Greenhalgh with Arizona Pest Prevention.

They seem to be taking over in certain areas, and yet other areas in the Valley aren’t seeing anything.

Greenhalgh says there’s no reason to panic.

"This particular insect is an occasional invader if you will. It’s very seasonal, and we haven’t seen a problem like this perhaps in years with grasshoppers," he said.

Last year the Phoenix area saw an infestation of beetles, and unless you have a garden to protect, there’s not much you need to do.

"Plants are a target. So there’s always a potential for the grasshoppers to get into their gardens. Diatomaceous earth is a product that can be purchased at a hardware store or a qualified pest control company," Greenhalgh said.

Overall, with the excessive rain, Arizonans can expect a very active season of crawling critters.

"From the scorpions and the mosquitos and the roaches and the crickets, grasshoppers just add to that," he said.

It likely won’t last too long before they migrate away.

"With the rain, we had the desert flower. We had a lot of foliage, a lot of green. Now the heat is hitting. A lot of that is starting to die out, and when that starts to die out, much like anything, grasshoppers lose their food source," Greenhalgh explained.