How should I remove an army of grasshoppers trapped inside the car's grille?

[Frizzle Fry]

tl;dr: How can I remove a large number of grasshoppers trapped inside the grille below the front bumper?

So I'm visiting Grasslands National Park in Saskatchewan, Canada, and drove through several swarms of grasshoppers along the way. There was no way to avoid the poor guys; even slowing down to half speed didn't stop the hailstorm of grasshoppers pelting the front of the car and becoming trapped behind the grille.

We arrived at the campsite and, within moments, a prairie dog climbed up and inside the front bumper — there are actually holes in the wheel wells perfectly sized for ground squirrels. At first I was alarmed because I could hear him rattling around inside the bumper, but I soon realized he was part of the cleaning crew and happy to be remunerated in fried grasshopper snacks.

Does anyone have ideas on how to remove the grasshoppers? I'm not even sure what that part of the car does, but I'm thinking it shouldn't be filled with grasshoppers

Also: I don't want to discourage anyone from visiting Grasslands. It's well worth your time and is uniquely beautiful and awe inspiring. There are chargers at the visitor centre and 30 amp service at the campsite. And the prairie dogs are cute.

 

[kgvickers]

Before your next visit:

VS301 Fia Bug Screen - Front End Universal 20 Inches Inches Height X 62 Inches Width

www.rvautoparts.com

I’d start with trying to find a vacuum cleaner attachment thin enough to get in there and remove as much bug goo as possible.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

That bug screen is genius! Shop vac with the right attachment should go a long way but still might need to be professionally cleaned.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Update: I spent about an hour scooping out as many grasshoppers as I could with a tent peg, and then 45 mins with the pressure washer. It was unbelievable how many grasshoppers were packed in there — easily a grocery bag full. Many partial bodies still trapped inside so will find out if servicing is necessary.

I also learned that grasshoppers are only abundant for about two weeks every year at Grasslands. Next time will use a mesh screen!

 

[Poprex911]

Update: I spent about an hour scooping out as many grasshoppers as I could with a tent peg, and then 45 mins with the pressure washer. It was unbelievable how many grasshoppers were packed in there — easily a grocery bag full. Many partial bodies still trapped inside so will find out if servicing is necessary.

I also learned that grasshoppers are only abundant for about two weeks every year at Grasslands. Next time will use a mesh screen!

I would recommend getting a foam cannon and using a Concentrated Bug and Tar Remover from chemical guys and just keep reapplying and letting it soak in. do not let this sit to long otherwise it will become hard as a rock.

If its already hard if you have a hose nozzle set it on mister and let it spray the area for about an hour to get hydrated and soft then apply the Concentrated Bug and Tar Remover.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Thank you, that is good advice! I didn’t have the opportunity to do much beyond the pressure wash (which included some bug remover) as we were on the road, so the remaining bodies may have hardened into concrete, as you say. Foam and soaking is a good idea.

I'm also happy to report that blasting the area with high pressure warm water didn't seem to hurt the metal radiator heatsink inside. (The radiator area at the back actually extends at least twice as far upwards — my photo only shows the lower half.)

Probably everyone has some bugs in their radiator, but I was concerned about it being totally packed.

Before, during, and after:

 

[Graems]

Just saw your post about grasshoppers. I had the same problem. I just found out about what looks like a good solution from RPM Tesla.
Just looked under the radiator cover. What a mess of grasshoppers.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Thanks for sharing — that looks like a heaping helping of grasshoppers! I ended up taking my Model Y to Tesla for servicing. It was $210 CAD to clean out the grasshopper bodies, which seems reasonable to me (tho I had also paid $60 at the pressure wash station.) Next time I’m in grasshopperland I’m going to install a screen! : )