(CAÑON CITY, Colo.) — Springing from the grass and coating sidewalks, those pesky critters are back with a vengeance in Southern Colorado. A local flower farm shared their unique way of fighting against grasshoppers.

Ellen’s Flowers is one of Southern Colorado’s largest organic flower farms, and the owners take pride in not using pesticides. Still, they knew they had to find a solution to what they call the “hopper-apocalypse,” and are using turkeys to gobble them up.

Ellen Kercher and Matt Koster, the owners of Ellen’s Flowers, have lived in Cañon City for the past four years and said 2024 has been among the worst for grasshoppers.

“The biggest pest we have on the farm are grasshoppers, so utilizing turkeys’ instinct to hunt grasshoppers, saves us so much money,” Kercher explained. “Otherwise we would have to be just dumping pesticide on the flowers to prevent grasshoppers from chewing off the flowers.”

The owners of Ellen’s Flowers are calling it the “Hopper-Apocalypse”.

The farm in Cañon City sits on five acres and produces more than 150 varieties of locally grown, pesticide-free flowers. In the summer, 20,000 sunflowers are grown, and the show-stopper in the fall is the dahlia flower.

By not using pesticides, the owners of Ellen’s Flowers are helping to save the bees by creating a pollinator paradise.

“We see so many different organisms coming onto the farm and that’s something that drives a lot of happiness for me, so that’s a major focus for us,” Kercher said.

The owners have had a lot of success using turkeys to combat their grasshopper problem and said they will never look back.

“Moving forward if anything, we’ll just have more turkeys,” Koster said.

While the turkeys are busy guarding the flowers and getting plump for Thanksgiving, the owners can give back to the community with their “Flowers For A Cause” campaign. Their goal is to donate 50 locally grown, pesticide-free bouquets to assisted living facilities in an attempt to spread joy.

“Sadly enough, when you go in there and you’re seeing your loved one, they’re not that nice of a place,” Koster explained. “So, the idea was just maybe thinking that some flowers that are grown in a clean, ethical way, that you can feel good about giving to someone, hopefully that can brighten up their space, and brighten up their day.”

The “Flowers For A Cause” campaign at Ellen’s Flowers is still in the planning stages. The owners encourage the community to follow their social media page for updates, Ellen’s Flowers on Facebook, or @ellens_flowers on Instagram.