News for the active lifestyle in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis

THEY'RE BACK! EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THESE CREATURES

4/23/2020

It’s up for debate. Are they creepy creatures or the stunning work of nature? One thing is for sure, if you love your garden, Eastern Lubber grasshoppers aren’t your friends.

Here’s everything you need to know about these oversized, lumbering grasshoppers that invade Florida yards in the spring and summer:

The Eastern Lubber grasshopper is a large and destructive garden pest. Lubbers are one of the few grasshopper species that occur in such significant numbers that they can cause significant damage to citrus and vegetable crops, as well as ornamental landscape plants," according to the University of Florida.
These giants are unable to fly and are clumsy jumpers, so they take to climbing plants and trees to forage on new growth at the tips of branches.
The colors of Eastern Lubbers vary drastically as they age. The immature insects, called nymphs, look like a different species from the adults. When the young ones first emerge on plants, they are solid black with a red stripe and only about half an inch long.
The nymphs tend to congregate in groups on plants, so where there is one, there are typically several.
As these grasshoppers age and molt several times, they become black with a yellow stripe before their final yellow and brown coloring with red under their wings. Adults measure two to three inches long and have a thick body.
As much as gardeners despise them, lizards and birds don’t care for them either. When alarmed, lubbers spread their wings, hiss, and can expel a fine toxic spray that makes them unappetizing.
Shortly after the brown and yellow adults emerge, the mature females begin laying clusters of pods with 30 to 80 eggs in each. The busy females can lay egg pods every two weeks.
Eggs take about 200 days to develop and hatch from the ground in early spring.
The highest number of adult Eastern Lubbers in Florida is typically found in July and August

How the heck do you get rid of them?
Gardeners that come across these robust pests know that managing them is a difficult challenge. The smaller black nymphs can be controlled by spraying an insecticide like Raid directly on them or dusting them with Diatomaceous Earth powder which is more environmentally friendly. However, as these Lubbers grow, their exterior becomes harder and more resistant to sprays and powders. The yellowish adults are incredibly hardy, so gardeners are left with the unenviable task of removing them from plants manually and putting a shoe to them or placing them in a resealable plastic bag with a cotton ball soaked in acetone (nail polish remover) to be discarded.
Gardeners can also use bran bait containing corn oil and insecticide to attract and kill lubbers. However, these big grasshoppers are less likely to eat bait if there’s attractive vegetation in the area.

Another option is to spray a pyrethroid insecticide directly on the mature lubbers. Other insecticides used on lubber grasshoppers with varying results include spinosad, carbaryl, permethrin, bifenthrin, and cyhalothrin.

Here’s some useless facts on Eastern Lubbers:

Lubbers bright color pattern is believed to be a warning to predators that they aren’t palatable.
These large insects are widely used in biology classes for dissection.
Male and female lubbers make noise by rubbing their wings together.
“Lubber” is derived from an old English word “lobre” which means lazy or clumsy.
Eastern lubbers are found from North Carolina to Florida, and west to central Texas.

There are two different names for the same species, a Romalea microptera (Palisot de Beauvois) and Romalea guttata (Houttuyn).

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here. Discover the area's online entertainment calendar here. Also download the area's free mobile app.

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MOUNT DORA HOSTS 'VIRTUAL' 5K RACE

4/13/2020

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During these times of social distancing, one of the activities that is deemed essential is exercise that follows the CDC’s guidelines. In an effort to help people be creative with social distancing and get healthy exercise, the City of Mount Dora is hosting a three-day Virtual 5K Race.

May 1 through May 3, participants can choose their own course, which can be in their neighborhood, down a trail, or even on their bedroom treadmill. After the 3.106 miles has been run, walked or jogged, the time can be recorded on social media with the hashtags: #WeRunThisCity and #MountDoraVirtual5K. Anyone who logs their time will receive a participation medal in the mail from the City.

“Leisure Services staff are excited to host our first virtual race when it is needed most due to social distancing requirements,” said Mount Dora Leisure Services Director Amy Jewell. “We hope the race motivates and inspires people to set a new personal goal, challenge a friend, enjoy nature, or exercise with family members.”

The $22 race registration is open to anyone that signs up remotely at www.cityofmountdorarecreation.com. For more information, email [email protected].
For more news in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here or download the area's free mobile app.

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PICKLEBALL COURTS IN MOUNT DORA TO BE REDUCED IN SIZE

4/1/2020

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In order to comply with a mandate issued in January 2020, all pickleball courts in Mount Dora, as well as all of Lake County, will be reduced in court size by fifty percent by the May 1 deadline. The number of courts will remain the same.

The impetus for the requirement to cut the size of the courts was to provide recreational spaces for less strenuous exercise for seniors, as well as low-impact recreation like shuffleboard and lawn bowling. Mini pickleball has quickly grown in popularity because it requires significantly less effort and exertion by its players. In doubles matches, the most common form of the game, only an abbreviated swing is required to reach a ball on the smaller courts. The racquet, rules, balls and net height remain unchanged in the updated version of the game.

The mandate follows the successful implementation of the change in other states like Oregon, North Dakota, Arizona, Alabama, Idaho, Montana and West Virginia that resulted in more seniors on the courts.

“Mini pickleball is on the rise, faster than the original game,” said April Primis, president of the Pickleball Association of North America (PANA). “It opens the game up to more players because there isn’t much movement required.”

Pickleball instructors are also on board with the smaller-sized courts. “We’ll definitely see an uptick in the number of people that want to learn the updated game because the lessened physicality provides a way for even couch potatoes to enjoy it,” said Ima Joquin, an avid Lake County pickleball player and instructor.

Mount Dora currently has several pickleball courts in its parks and neighborhoods that will meet next month’s required size modifications or close until they are able to do so. The number of courts will not be affected. Click here for additional important details.

For more news and events in Mount Dora, Tavares & Eustis, this month, click here. Discover the area's online entertainment calendar here. Also download the area's free mobile app.

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Outdoor Life

THEY'RE BACK! EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THESE CREATURES

MOUNT DORA HOSTS 'VIRTUAL' 5K RACE

PICKLEBALL COURTS IN MOUNT DORA TO BE REDUCED IN SIZE

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