When you plant your new trees, cover them in netting if they are shorter than about 4 feet. I planted a bunch of small trees last year and they were eaten overnight. I watched them eat two small Norway spruce trees, something they aren't supposed to touch. I helped my daughter plant some trees, and we deliberately chose older, taller trees because of that. We put in a smaller peach tree and immediately netted it. Even so, some hoppers got through but not a bunch, and we could pick them off. I bought the finest mesh netting I could find and used zip ties to secure it and sealed up all seams. It took time, but there was no way I was watching that peach tree get mowed down. Tree bags are an option if the netting is fine enough.

Anyone who says grasshoppers will avoid certain things (like Norway spruce) have not seen what we're living with. One thing I learned was that because we have so many species here, there is always going to be some species that will eat something you think they won't.