What does Alberta Agriculture say about the control of grasshoppers? I can tell you one thing....vinegar traps won't do a single thing regarding the grasshopper population. You might catch some fruit flies if you have any.

If the vinegar traps don't work, and I doubt they will, forget all the ehow and ask.com advice and do what a really knowledgeable extension service recommends.

Here is a link that might be useful: Colorado State Grasshopper Control

mama, the original poster lives in Alberta, Canada where the rules of pest control are very different from the states.

I doubt the traps will do anything either but i felt I had to do something!

The crappy thing about grasshoppers is they move around a lot so you can kill them all one day and the next day have a new lot to deal will.

I'm trying to keep pesticides out of the garden and am thinking I will treat the garden plants with DE, neem oil and use some fine netting to protect my more precise plants.... outside of the garden I'm gonna spray (malathion) in the evening when they are sunny themselves and hope it limits the amount the jump/fly in.

All I can do is hope and try. :)

Any chance of using row covers to protect the plants on a temporary basis?

praying mantis will do the best so you don't have to use bug sprays on your garden they can be bought at any time of the year. in the beginning and end of season you can get egg cases, during the season like now you can get adults on most reptile sites that sell bugs go to kingssnake.com, go under the insect heading and look for mantis. also if you don't have too many or a big garden you can catch them although easier said then done. also putting up bird houses will give a place for birds to nest and birds just love grass hoppers just look up what birds are in your area that eats them to make sure you are getting the right kind of bird house, I know here in the states people can go to an extension at a collage for information on local birds and garden info. hope this gives you some ideas and help