If you ever thought that a caterpillar wasn't a threat to your garden, you were wrong. Caterpillars may look cute, but they can destroy an entire plant in search of energy. A single larva can grow exponentially within a week and feed on your garden plants. If you don't check on them daily, you may not notice the damage to your tomatoes, cabbages, and many other plants until it's too late. So what can you do to get rid of these pests before they eat your entire plant without using pesticides or chemicals? Find out more about how to go green belowFight caterpillarscan.
Fight small, green caterpillars: remove them by hand
Once you've found the caterpillars that have caused damage to your plants, you should take the opportunity to make sure they don't come back. Simply throwing the larva as far as your arm will allow may seem less cruel, but that doesn't stop these voracious eaters from coming back tomorrow and doing it all again. The simplest methodto destroy these pests, is to simply crush them. You can also take a bucket or bowl of soapy water into the garden and throw in any caterpillars you can catch.
While you're at it, be sure to tear off and discard any curled leaves from your plants, as these leaves often hide larvae.
Pests in the garden – get rid of caterpillars naturally
With intensive cover cropping, you plant a selection of herbs and spices alongside your usual crops or plants. The herbs help mask the smell of nearby plants, which typically attract caterpillars. The most commonly used herbs in high-intensity cover crop cultivation include:
- peppermint
- Lavender
- mugwort
- sage
Aside from giving off a strong scent that deters caterpillars, you can also harvest mature herbs for your personal use throughout the growing season.
What to do about green caterpillars on plants?
A pepper mixture can deter caterpillars from eating plants. To do this, first mix a tablespoon of dried red pepper flakes, a whole, chopped onion and a teaspoon of liquid soap with 4 liters of water. After stirring the mixture thoroughly, let it sit for at least 24 hours. Then fill some of the solution into a spray bottle and spray the affected plants with it.
Not only does this mixture deter the grubs from climbing up the plant, but the strong flavor also deters them from biting off more of it.
Eliminate green caterpillars: Spray a soap and water mixture on the plant
All you need is an organic liquid soap, water and a spray bottle. Dissolve a small amount of soap in the water in the bottle by shaking the mixture, then spray the affected plants. Be sure to spray both the top of the leaves and the underside. Gently unwrap folded or rolled up leaves and spray these areas as well. The surface of your plants becomes slippery, making it impossible for the green caterpillars to walk on them and eat your plants. Don't worry, it doesn't harm them, it just forces them to look for food elsewhere.
Fight pests in the garden with home remedies: neem oil
A homemade neem oil spray is an easy way to get rid of caterpillars. However, you should know that this brew also kills bees. Therefore, only use it at dusk when the bees have returned to their homes for the day. Mix 60 ml of neem oil with 4 l of water at room temperature. Spraying this mixture on the areas in your garden where you have seen grubs will kill them by suffocation. Test the neem oil spray on a small area to make sure your plants don't react negatively before spraying it throughout the garden.
Vinegar against pests
Vinegar worksnatural way against many pests, also against green caterpillars. All you need is a mixture of 4 liters of water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Spray it on the affected plants and it will keep the larvae away.
Attract birds to your garden
Another option is to bring a natural predator into play. Since birds eat caterpillars, you can place a bird feeder or bird house near the infested plants to help the birds increase the caterpillar populationreduce naturally.
You can also place chickens in your garden. They wander around and eat all the maggots for you.
Keep green caterpillars away
There are many ways to deter caterpillars from invading your garden. Hedges around the perimeter of your garden reduce the likelihood of moths and butterflies that lay caterpillar eggs being blown into your garden. Other options include fences, garden walls or trellises.
Only you know for sure which of these methods will work best in your garden. Try out some of these methods and see which method you prefer to use to get rid of maggotsto keep in check.
