Grasshoppers are known to eat a variety of plants. But what they really like is cereal crops. That is to say plants with leaves. Typically, grasshoppers do not eat cactus.
What Does a Grasshopper Eat?
While a grasshopper will not eat cactus, there are a lot of plants that they will eat. A few species of grasshopper well eat other insects or even dead animals (source). Their favorite foods are green leaves, plant stems, fruits, vegetables, or flowers.
Mini leaf-eating insects focus on only one type of leaf or plant. In the case of a grasshopper, they are much less picky.
If their normal food source is scarce grasshoppers will eat, rotting meat, feces, moss, fungi, weaker insects, or spiders.
How to Attact a Grasshopper
If you want to attract a grasshopper and observe it eating, leave out any of these goods and they’ll come running (or jumping anyway).
- Lettuce
- Kale
- Cabbage
You don’t need to worry about them harming you either. Grasshoppers don’t bite.
Do Grasshoppers Naturally Live by Cactus?
While the preferred habitat for most grasshoppers is going to be Prairie or grassland, grasshoppers can live in the desert. They just don’t eat cactus. If you want to learn more about how a grasshopper lives in the desert, check out this article.
I found more often than that when people are trying to figure out if a grasshopper eats cactus they’re really talking more about succulents. If you find a grasshopper or two in the house and you’re wondering how in the world it’s feeding itself, it’s not eating your succulent cactus.
The grasshoppers can eat your other succulents though. But, the leaves to grow back.
Related: Succulents with Yellow Flowers
Bottom Line
Grasshoppers do not eat cactus.
While we wouldn’t rule out a desperately hungry grasshopper from trying to eat a cactus to stay alive, you don’t need to worry about it.