catapillers munching away in garden
 

Xref: kermit rec.gardens.edible:70347

Any suggestions for running off those pesky caterpillars? They are those
little white pest, about an inch long and they are starting to annoy me. I
work too hard growing stuff to feed it all to bugs :)

njb

catapillers munching away in garden
 

"norma briggs" wrote in message
...
Any suggestions for running off those pesky caterpillars? They are
those
little white pest, about an inch long and they are starting to annoy
me. I
work too hard growing stuff to feed it all to bugs :)

njb

Let the ducks eat them. Chickens will do it, too, but you have to be
careful with chickens because they also like some of your garden plants.

Or, you can pick them all off and drop them into a can of soapy water.


Ray

catapillers munching away in garden
 

norma briggs wrote:

Any suggestions for running off those pesky caterpillars? They are those
little white pest, about an inch long and they are starting to annoy me. I
work too hard growing stuff to feed it all to bugs :)

njb


Use Sevin dust.
Bill

catapillers munching away in garden
 

In article ,
Bill Bolle wrote:

norma briggs wrote:

Any suggestions for running off those pesky caterpillars? They are those
little white pest, about an inch long and they are starting to annoy me. I
work too hard growing stuff to feed it all to bugs :)

njb


Use Sevin dust.
Bill


Agreed....

K.

--
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...

,,Cat's Haven Hobby Farm,,Katraatcenturyteldotnet,,

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...user id=katra

catapillers munching away in garden
 

Looks like it's up to me to disagree....

First of all, before any kind of treatment, it's always good to positively
identify the pest. There are online sites with pictures, or you can ask
more detailed questions here. It's helpful to know what kind of plants the
caterpillars are attacking, and where you live.

Once you have identified the caterpillar, you have several options. If they
will turn into beautiful butterflies, you may wish to leave them alone. I
plant extra dill and parsley each year for this purpose. You can wait a bit
and see if your local birds clean them up (it helps if you have a bird
friendly yard, with shelter and a water source). You can hand-pick them,
dropping them into a bucket of soapy water. Sometimes a sharp blast from
the hose is effective.

If you feel you need to take it to the next level, please consider using a
Bt formulation instead of Sevin. Bt is a naturally occurring bacteria that
disrupts the digestive system of caterpillars and leads to their death. It
is available in most garden centers and is not expensive. (Mosquito
"dunks", used to kill mosquito larvae, are another form of Bt.) It normally
comes as a powder, which is mixed with water and sprayed on the plants. The
caterpillars stop feeding soon after ingesting it, and die a day or two
later. It has a minimal environmental impact, although you shouldn't spray
it around indiscriminately.

Cheers,
Sue

--


Bill Bolle wrote:

norma briggs wrote:

Any suggestions for running off those pesky caterpillars? They are
those
little white pest, about an inch long and they are starting to annoy
me. I
work too hard growing stuff to feed it all to bugs :)

njb


Use Sevin dust.
Bill


Agreed....

K.

catapillers munching away in garden
 

In article , "SugarChile" wrote:
If you feel you need to take it to the next level, please consider using a
Bt formulation instead of Sevin. Bt is a naturally occurring bacteria that
disrupts the digestive system of caterpillars and leads to their death. It
is available in most garden centers and is not expensive. (Mosquito
"dunks", used to kill mosquito larvae, are another form of Bt.) It normally
comes as a powder, which is mixed with water and sprayed on the plants. The
caterpillars stop feeding soon after ingesting it, and die a day or two
later. It has a minimal environmental impact, although you shouldn't spray
it around indiscriminately.

Do you know a brand name offhand? I don't remember seeing any of this
stuff at local garden centers.

I have had good luck against tomato hornworms using soap-based sprays,
with the side effect that the formerly-scruffy tomatoes went berserk
and grew HUGE, and made more tomatoes than we could possibly eat.
(Probably due to potassium salts in the soap)

~REZ~

catapillers munching away in garden
 

Dipel is one brand commonly available in a good garden center, and there are
a lot of places online that sell it. You can also search under "Bacillus
thuringiensis "

Sue

--


If you feel you need to take it to the next level, please consider using
a
Bt formulation instead of Sevin.
Do you know a brand name offhand? I don't remember seeing any of this
stuff at local garden centers.


~REZ~

catapillers munching away in garden
 

Bill Bolle wrote in message ...
norma briggs wrote:

Any suggestions for running off those pesky caterpillars? They are those
little white pest, about an inch long and they are starting to annoy me. I
work too hard growing stuff to feed it all to bugs :)

njb


Use Sevin dust.
Bill

Actually Sevin is a poor first choice because it is such a broad
spectrum pesticide it kills off predatory insects and pollinators
along with the target pest.
A good choice would be BT which is a bacterial pesticide that
specifically targets caterpillars and is marketed as Dipel or
Thuricide.

catapillers munching away in garden
 

norma briggs wrote:

Any suggestions for running off those pesky caterpillars? They are
those
little white pest, about an inch long and they are starting to annoy
me. I
work too hard growing stuff to feed it all to bugs :)

njb

Thanks everyone! I really do value your advice. My policy is to use as few
chemicals as possible. I know I will always have bug problems being on the
Texas Gulf coast-bugs love that hot humid weather.

My problem has not reached a real crisis level yet... a few plants have
leaves that look like lace--but I want to be ready. I know its not the kind
of caterpillars that turn into butterflies cause they have not touched the
dill or the parsley. I plant extra dill just for those guys and gals since
they usually munch it bare. I call them caterpillars cause I don't know what
else to call them, have seen them all my life and as a kid used to think
they were poisonous to touch....lol...kids.

catapillers munching away in garden
 

On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:53:16 GMT, (Rez)
wrote:


:)
:)I have had good luck against tomato hornworms using soap-based sprays,
:)with the side effect that the formerly-scruffy tomatoes went berserk
:)and grew HUGE, and made more tomatoes than we could possibly eat.
:)(Probably due to potassium salts in the soap)
:)
:)~REZ~

What kind of soap, Rez? Those with scrawny tomatoes want to know!

Ev

catapillers munching away in garden
 

In article , wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 17:53:16 GMT, (Rez)
wrote:
:)I have had good luck against tomato hornworms using soap-based sprays,
:)with the side effect that the formerly-scruffy tomatoes went berserk
:)and grew HUGE, and made more tomatoes than we could possibly eat.
:)(Probably due to potassium salts in the soap)
What kind of soap, Rez? Those with scrawny tomatoes want to know!

Garden-Safe Insecticidal Soap by Schultz. Not only did it kill off the
hornworms, the formerly-scrawny tomatoes soon looked like they ate
passing children -- you almost didn't dare go in there with 'em :)

They got lots of water and heat (this being the SoCal desert), but no
one fertilized them or did another thing with 'em (the area had got
some horse manure the year before, but last year's tomatoes didn't
grow like these!) And our soil (using the word loosely, it's mostly
sand) tests almost nitrogen-free, and so alkaline [calcium salts] that
it's off the scale. Not exactly great garden dirt.

~REZ~

catapillers munching away in garden
 

In article , "norma briggs" wrote:
they usually munch it bare. I call them caterpillars cause I don't know what
else to call them, have seen them all my life and as a kid used to think
they were poisonous to touch....lol...kids.

Some of the big hairy caterpillers that turn into big pretty
butterflies will irritate the crap out of young skin. I remember
getting hives from touching them when I was a little kid, tho they
don't bother me now. So in a way, you were right :)

~REZ~

catapillers munching away in garden
 

In article , "SugarChile" wrote:
Dipel is one brand commonly available in a good garden center, and there are
a lot of places online that sell it. You can also search under "Bacillus
thuringiensis "

Thankx! saved for reference.

~REZ~

catapillers munching away in garden
 

:)
:)I have had good luck against tomato hornworms using soap-based sprays,
:)with the side effect that the formerly-scruffy tomatoes went berserk
:)and grew HUGE, and made more tomatoes than we could possibly eat.
:)(Probably due to potassium salts in the soap)
:)
:)~REZ~

What kind of soap, Rez? Those with scrawny tomatoes want to know!

Ev
No kidding...I wanna know too...