"ratSenoL" wrote in message
om...
One of my baby Monterrey oaks is just covered with little bitty green
caterpillars, and I presume they are the ones responsible for the
holes in the new leaves. We sprayed it with rather diluted Ivory
liquid soap, but they don't seem to be leaving. Is there something
else we should be using, preferably low to nontoxic in nature? Or are
these one of these pests we should try to ignore as they really don't
do that much harm (not sure hubby can do that!)?

They'll eat most of the leaves and stunt its growth. I had success this
year with a cup of Dr. Bronner's peppermint soap, a cup of Palmolive dish
detergent, a cup of Listerine, and a can of beer........... It's what I had
lying around........ I added water to make two gallons and sprayed when the
new leaves were budding. So far, so good.