John Hall wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
Yesterday I heard (from an acquaintance of a friend, so cannot vouch
> for the veracity, merely relate it as told to me) that someone near
> here accidentally dropped a container of garlic butter, which popped
> open and splattered the contents on the ground. He was amazed to see,
> several minutes later, hundreds of grasshoppers eagerly eating it. >
> He was even more amazed to see, about fifteen minutes later, hundreds
> of dead grasshoppers. Apparently the Alberta Agricultural Research
> organisation (IIRC) is following up on this.
>
> Is this an Old Wives' tale, or an Urban/Rural Legend?
>
> It won't cost anyone much to try this out.
Interesting, one web site lists garlic as a grasshopper repellant. However, my guess is that the grasshoppers asphixiated themselves, since they breathe through spiracles in their legs and the butter probably clogged them up pretty good.
-- Salty