Remove Caterpillars:

Yikes, what happened to my ams! Caterpillar infestation, t's what happened, but e no fear te is a caterpillar BAILOUT. First, you need to know the facts. One, some caterpillars target specific flowers. The tobacco (am) bud worm dines on flowers like am, petunia and nicotiana, & the damage be sev t in some parts of the country people e discontinued the use of ams and petunia. Two, caterpillars are resistant to commercial garden pesticides. It's true, so DON'T waste y money. Three, most caterpillars survive winter as pupa in the soil when most overwintering insects are killed, so they ADAPT. So, how do you keep y garden from becoming a salad bar. Well before you remove the caterpillars, you first need to know t te ARE caterpillars in y garden (& not just y roommate.)

EARLY DETECTION

H are signs t you may e new tenants. Note t sometimes the amount of damage progresses through the growing season, becoming most noticeable in late summer. Overwintering in the soil as pupae, the insects usually emerge in late April or May as night-flying moths or butterflies to lay eggs on the undersides of leaves. Caterpillars soon hatch and migrate to buds and leaves, we they feed. This cycle recur five times in a growing season.

• chewed flowers & buds


• holes in flowers & buds


• buds t fail to open


• flowering fails/(loss of color)


• dark droppings near the holes

USE YOUR HANDS

Still arguably the best method in small plants, the most ctical control is hand picking the caterpillars. Tobacco bud worm larvae are most active during dusk and best discovd at this time. During daylight hs, they often hide around the base of the plant. Open one of the buds, & you'll probably find a young caterpillar feeding. Mature caterpillars feed on open flowers and leaves, & they be difficult to spot. They camouflage their bodies to take on the color of what they e recly eaten from the red of am flowers to the greens of diffnt foliage. Be careful, some caterpillars e toxic spikes, so wear gloves.

NEEM OIL

Picking ten caterpillars is fine, but what if you e a hundred? Neem oil is a substance with natural insecticidal properties & is a natural alternative to traditional chemical treatms. It comes from a tree native to eastern India & Burma & is both biodegradable & nontoxic. Warning: Neem does e some systemic effect in plants. Sy areas of the plant we caterpillars tend to cluster.

NANA'S BUG JUICE

Most methods of insecticidal sying will affect the blossoms & foliage as well as the caterpillars. Nana's Bug Juice or The Garlic & Pepper Sy Treatm is less harsh.

• 2 cloves of garlic


• 2 tablespoons cayenne pepper


• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Mix all the ingredis into a blender. �Mix thoroughly and strain through a cheesecloth to get a clear liquid. �P this into a sy bottle. �(You may add water but the potency of the juice will be reduced. �Set the sy bottle on "mist" & mist the affec plants. Use a 16 ounce (.53 litre) sy bottle. �Make sure to get the undersides of the leaves. Note: The juice is chemical free & safe for edible & non-edible plants. �More info be found in Sal Gilbertie's book Herb Gardening At Its Best.

THURICIDE

Dipel, B. Thuriengiensis sy, Thuricide, or Bt for short is highly effective against most species of caterpillars. Thuricide is bacteria-based, meaning te are living microorganisms t specifically target certain organisms like caterpillars. �It is a bacterial stomach poison which must be dilu, syed onto foliage, & inges by the actively feeding caterpillar, which dies 3-5 days later. Bt is safe to beneficial insects, bees, & mammals. It is broken down by sunlight within a few days, so repea applications may be necessary. The problem with Bt is t caterpillars e to CONSUME it. On ams, we the caterpillars drill into the buds and eat little of the outside surface, Bt is not effective. On petunias, we caterpillars eat a great deal of the blossom, Bt provide some margin of control. Note: Bt is currly not sold in California due to strict & costly environmal laws, but if you 't get it, try dusting the plant with plain fl. This bloats the caterpillar & acts as a stomach poison.

SUMMARY

These methods will work but an ounce of previon is still the BEST defense. If you prev moths & butterflies from laying their eggs in the first place then you are way ahead. First, you could cover the plant with a mosquito net and this will keep all the bugs out, but you may e to hand pollinate and t's more ious n picking the bugs off. Second, maintain the good quality of the soil by adding mulch, well rot animal manure, organic compost, or worm castings (or worm compost). Ensure y plants e a good supply of potassium (potash) in the soil. This helps build cell walls and toughens the leaves making them unpalatable to insects. If pot ams or ot tender pnnial host plants are kept between seasons, remove the soil to eliminate pupae and repot the plants before overwintering. Third, moths are attrac to lights. When moths are abundant, turn off exterior lights. This may reduce the number of egg masses laid on nearby foliage. That's it, but keep in mind when it comes time to throw in the towel. If y pot am is more caterpillar n am, it's time to get anot one.