Scary, Hairy, Black Caterpillars

Photo Credit: Catepillar - FromSandToGlass - Flickr

We all love beautiful butterflies, and we all know that butterflies come from caterpillars.  However, when your garden is crawling with the green caterpillars or, especially the scary, hairy, black caterpillars, they are not so beautiful anymore, they have to go.

First, not all caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies, some turn into moths. In the caterpillar stage, these creatures eat every leaf they can find and strip your trees bare.  They love your lettuce and cabbage even more than you do.  You need to regain control of your garden. Since you’re growing your produce organically, you don’t want to use harsh insecticide and pesticide sprays, and they kill the good bugs like earthworms and ladybugs.  You need to go to your kitchen and mix up a concoction to deal with these caterpillars.

Simple ingredients like garlic, fresh peppers and dish washing liquid make for a good start. The article below taken from the Home Guides website, shares a few excellent mixtures that you can try.  These mixtures can also rid your garden of other unwanted bugs and insects.

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Safety First

Test a drop of the mixture on your plant and check it 24 to 48 hours later. If there aren’t any signs of damage, it’s safe to treat caterpillars on the plant with it. Use pesticides on a calm day under 85 degrees Fahrenheit when no rain is expected. Early mornings before honeybees become active are best.
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See the full article at: Home Guides