LETHBRIDGE, ALTA. --
It's been a whirlwind season for farmers in southern Alberta who have had to deal with dry weather and extreme heat. Now, uninvited insects are adding more misery to their already-wounded crops.
The region's grasshopper population is booming and the pesky insects are ripping through farmers' crops, leaving behind a trail of devastation.
One of the biggest hurdles is that grasshopper infestations aren't an easy thing to control.
"Most insecticides are non-selective so, if you have to go in because you have a problem with something like grasshoppers in your crops, you're also going to hurt all the beneficial insects," said research coordinator for Farming Smarter Chris Gretzinger.