Hi

Sorry for the post's but I have just bought a house with my 1st garden, so
it's all a bit new! What effective, and environmental friendly methods, can
people recommend for controlling these critters?

Cheers

Monty

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from Monty Chatu contains these words:

Hi

Sorry for the post's but I have just bought a house with my 1st garden,
so
it's all a bit new! What effective, and environmental friendly methods,
can
people recommend for controlling these critters?

What kind of caterpillars do you want to control, in a new garden ?
In the UK there are very few caterpillars around at this time of year.

Janet

Had them all winter here (on the cabbages) in Somerset. :-((

Even the so-called cold snaps didn't get shot of them!!

for effective and environmentally friendly caterpillar control my opinion is you can t beat the squashing em with ya fingers method.

most leaf pests tend to target new growth and operate on the underside of foliage. if you tour your garden once a week you ll get to know what the various stages of healthy new growth look like and can then zone in on areas that look stunted or distorted.

caterpillars in particular have a habit of sticking the underside of one leaf to the upper surface of another .

i think a 21st century approach to garden pest control should include an appreciation of the concept of " sub-lethal damamge " meaning a few holes in a few leaves don t cause sleepless nights.

other caterpillars management strategies would include...
checking the underside of foliage for eggs at the appropriate time of year
awareness of moth pollinated flowers
awareness of the moth inviting effects of garden/security lighting
promotion of bat habitats

cant think of anything else...by the way one arm of the computer chair fell off today and it actually makes it much easier to nip to the fridge and back.

ajr wrote:


"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from Monty Chatu contains these words:

Hi

Sorry for the post's but I have just bought a house with my 1st garden,
so
it's all a bit new! What effective, and environmental friendly methods,
can
people recommend for controlling these critters?

What kind of caterpillars do you want to control, in a new garden ?
In the UK there are very few caterpillars around at this time of year.

Janet

Had them all winter here (on the cabbages) in Somerset. :-((

Even the so-called cold snaps didn't get shot of them!!

What did the caterpillars on your cabbages look like?



--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/

Monty Chatu wrote:
Hi

Sorry for the post's but I have just bought a house with my 1st
garden, so it's all a bit new! What effective, and environmental
friendly methods, can people recommend for controlling these
critters?


The environmentally friendly thing to do is to set aside 20% of your
cabbages specifically for the caterpillars.
Then, go around the other 80% and carefully, carefully I said,
transfer all the caterpillars that you find to the conservation area.
What a joy it is to have someone in the group who cares.
:-))

--
ned

http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk
last update 09.04.2005

"Neil Jones" wrote in message
...
ajr wrote:


"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from Monty Chatu contains these words:

Hi

Sorry for the post's but I have just bought a house with my 1st garden,
so
it's all a bit new! What effective, and environmental friendly
methods,
can
people recommend for controlling these critters?

What kind of caterpillars do you want to control, in a new garden ?
In the UK there are very few caterpillars around at this time of year.

Janet

Had them all winter here (on the cabbages) in Somerset. :-((

Even the so-called cold snaps didn't get shot of them!!

What did the caterpillars on your cabbages look like?



--
Neil Jones- http://www.butterflyguy.com/


Neil,

According to my 'Dr. Hessayon' book and the old chap (i.e.: local expert on
all gardening matters!) at the hardware shop:

1. The ones that thrived until mid-December ('frost' for a couple of
nights) were Large Cabbage Whites.

2. The ones that were/are still present are Cabbage Moth - although their
colouring looks darker in the book.

Nothing exciting I'm afraid!!

Cheers,

Andrew

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from Monty Chatu contains these words:

Hi

Sorry for the post's but I have just bought a house with my 1st garden,
so
it's all a bit new! What effective, and environmental friendly methods,
can
people recommend for controlling these critters?

What kind of caterpillars do you want to control, in a new garden ?
In the UK there are very few caterpillars around at this time of year.

Janet

I'd have said the same, but found some on a rosemary bush yesterday. They
were small green ones, and had made themselves little homes by sticking all
the leaves in a single shoot together with silk.

Duncan