How to get rid of caterpillars

Video: Get Rid of Pest Caterpillars In The Garden Once And For All!

Content

Steps
Method 1 of 3: Using natural remedies
Method 2 of 3: Using soap, pesticides, and other caterpillar control agents
Method 3 of 3: Controlling Your Backyard Tracks
Tips
Warnings

Caterpillars are larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, which include butterflies, moths and moths. You can easily recognize caterpillars: the body of these creatures is soft and shaped like worms. Numerous caterpillar species vary in shape and color, but they all cause significant damage to trees and other plants.Most caterpillars appear in gardens and vegetable gardens in early autumn, but they can be found at any other time during the warm season. If you need to get rid of caterpillars, start pest control with natural methods. If that doesn't work, try soap-based insecticides or other products that can help fight garden pests. Finally, try to identify which species of caterpillars have attacked your garden so that it will be easier for you to choose the best method and get rid of the little gluttons.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Using natural remedies

1 Use preparations based on the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki (BTk). Under natural conditions, bacteria of this species live in soil, where they develop on dead and decaying remains. These bacteria are used to control caterpillars, as they have a negative effect on the digestive system of the larvae of harmful insects. Moreover, this method of pest control is considered completely safe, since these bacteria are harmless to humans and pets. Moreover, dead caterpillars do not pose a danger to insectivorous animals (including birds).
- When you use a BTk-based product, you need to treat the plants at a specific time, since the bacteria only start working after the caterpillars have eaten them. Read the instructions for the bacterial preparation carefully and follow all directions. Usually it is recommended to process the plants in two passes. The first time you spray the plants with the solution ten days after the caterpillars hatch from the eggs, the second time is two weeks later, when the caterpillars are still in their early stages of development.
- A BTk-based product (such as Bitoxibacillin or Lepidocide) can be purchased at most gardening and gardening stores, as well as large home improvement supermarkets. These funds are produced in the form of a powder, which must be diluted in water according to the instructions and sprayed with the resulting solution of plants affected by caterpillars.
2 Make your garden attractive to birds. Birds are natural enemies of caterpillars, so with their help you can control the number of pests. Try to attract birds to your garden: place birdbaths on its territory, hang feeders and place one or even two birdhouses. Feathered helpers will definitely fly to your garden!
- If you have a cat in your house and he is allowed to walk in the garden, be sure to wear a collar with a bell on your pet. Its ringing will warn the birds if the cat gets too close.
- If possible, get chickens - these birds will help you get rid of harmful caterpillars in the garden. Chickens feed on caterpillars, so they will pick up pests from the plants without you having to do it yourself.
3 Use burlap to catch caterpillars living in trees. If caterpillars have settled on the garden tree, wrap burlap around the trunk. Caterpillars usually hide during the daytime, and burlap is an excellent hiding place that allows the caterpillars to hide from the scorching sunlight. Once the caterpillars are in the burlap, you can kill a large number of pests at the same time.
- This method is especially suitable for controlling gypsy moth larvae that live in trees.
4 Drown the caterpillars in the water. If you are not afraid to touch the caterpillars, this method will help you eliminate pests in the garden, and you will not have to spray chemical pesticides or other harmful substances on the plants.
- Take a bucket and fill it halfway with water. Choose a bucket that is sized according to the number of caterpillars you will be fighting. If you only need to kill a few maggots, just take an empty coffee can. If there are a lot of tracks, you will need a larger container, for example, a twenty-liter plastic bucket for gardening.
- Add dish soap. If you have a small bucket, just add 50 ml of detergent to it. If you are using a large bucket, use more detergent. In this case, there is no need to adhere to exact proportions.
- Collect caterpillars and throw them into the water, where they will die. You can put gloves on your hands if you like.
5 Collect the caterpillars and move them away from your garden. After a while, the caterpillars will turn into butterflies and moths, which play an important role in pollination of plants. So think about it, maybe it is worth taking the caterpillars to another place (for example, in a nearby woodland) where they will live without posing a threat to your vegetables and fruits.
- If you decide to relocate the caterpillars, collect them in a bucket or jar. Take the larvae to an area where they won't be a problem for you. Gently tilt the jar so that the caterpillars move from the container to the leaves or branch of the tree.

Method 2 of 3: Using soap, pesticides, and other caterpillar control agents

1 Use pyrethrins. Pyrethrins are a group of natural pesticides that are obtained from plants of the Asteraceae family. They are poisonous to many pests, including caterpillars. When used correctly, pyrethrins are safe for humans and pets, but can cause toxicity if consumed in large quantities. This product is sold in many shops for gardeners and gardeners. Most often, this insecticide is sprayed directly on the affected plants, and the active substance is destroyed after a few days under the influence of sunlight.
- When you shop for a pesticide containing pyrethrins, you may notice that some products contain ingredients labeled "pyrethroids." These substances are synthetic analogs of pyrethrins.
- If you want to protect beneficial insects from this pesticide, treat the affected plants early in the morning, then cover them with an old sheet and let them sit for 24 hours.
2 Prepare a soapy solution to combat the caterpillars. Such a spray must be sprayed directly onto the caterpillars, since its effect is due to the fact that the soap destroys the skin of the larvae. Take a spray bottle and mix 1 liter of water and 2 tablespoons of liquid soap in it. Mix the contents well and spray directly onto the caterpillars you find in the garden.
- Make sure you choose a biodegradable plant-based soap first. In this case, the spray will be safe for plants, animals and beneficial insects living in your garden.
3 Buy chemical pesticides for your garden. Chemical control methods should be viewed as a last resort, resorted to only in the most extreme cases. Do not forget that chemical pesticides have a detrimental effect not only on pests, but also on beneficial insects and the surrounding nature as a whole. If you are left with no other choice and must use pesticides, make sure you choose the one formulated to combat caterpillars. All the information you need can be found on the drug label.
- Be especially careful if you have small children and pets. Remember that contact with pesticides can pose a serious hazard to them.
- Avoid treating your garden plants with pesticides if you will be using them for food.

Method 3 of 3: Controlling Your Backyard Tracks

1 Plant plants that attract beneficial insects. Some plants, such as aster, yarrow, coriander, fennel and dill, attract beneficial insects (predatory insects that feed on butterfly larvae) into the garden, which destroy caterpillars. Plant them on your plot in the spring and, if necessary, renew planting throughout the gardening season, so that your garden is always a desirable place for predatory insects.
- The above plants serve as an additional food source for beneficial insects, so they will return to your garden again and again, even if all harmful caterpillars are destroyed.
2 Use insect screens. Fine mesh protection nets are a special fabric that is pulled over the plants to keep out insects. This barrier prevents butterflies and moths from reaching plants and laying eggs, from which caterpillars later hatch.
- This method of protection is ideal for foliar crops, as well as plants that consume roots, tubers, bulbs and shoots. The yield of these crops is independent of pollination, so growing under a net will not negatively affect the amount of vegetables grown.
3 Determine which caterpillars you are dealing with. In the garden, you can find a variety of caterpillars, which differ from each other in shape and size: large, small, covered with hairs or outwardly resembling worms. If you have not found caterpillars on the plants, but you see holes in the leaves, most likely some harmful caterpillars have settled in your garden.
- Most caterpillars can be removed using one or the other of the methods described above. However, this does not apply to the cocoon-moth caterpillars, which often live on garden trees. These larvae build cobweb-like webs in which they live. Traditional methods will not help you fight cocoon moths, but you can cut off tree branches where you see larvae nests, and then burn them along with the pests.
- Caterpillars do not bite, and most of these creatures are harmless to humans. However, you need to be aware that touching some types of caterpillars can cause severe skin irritation. There are many types of caterpillars, contact with which threatens to cause burns. They look different from each other, so you need to remember a general rule: if the caterpillar is covered with hairs or it has bristles, touching it can irritate the skin. These burns do not pose a serious health hazard, but are very painful, so try not to touch these creatures unless you know for sure that the species is safe.

Tips

In spring and summer, predatory wasps use caterpillars as food for their larvae.
If there are only a few caterpillars living in the garden that do not significantly harm your plants, consider whether you should get rid of them.