Immediate Caterpillar Relief

[tlintx]

The last three mornings, I've gone out to find one of my seedlings stripped by black and yellow caterpillars.

They never go for the plants I have tons of extras of, just the ones where I'm down to two!

Is there anything I can do immediately to control this? I looked but there don't seem to be any present now. But that's what I thought yesterday, when I still had one Rosella Purple left.

I sprayed with neem, and I have copper, mancozeb, baking soda, bleach... next year I will also have bT! But is there anything I can try right now? And is there any chance my stripped seedlings might recover from a single or no leaf-state?

[greene]

If they are only on a few plants, why not just pick them off by hand and pop them into a bucket of soapy water?

[tlintx]

Because they are NINJA caterpillars. Seriously, I don't know if it's my eyes (probably) or if they're crawling off afterwards for a nap, but I can't see them. The two I caught I mushed. But I would have bet a doughnut there were none when I went to bed last night -- and the seedlings are a good 40 inches off the ground.

[coastal bend]

When you do get bt be sure and get Spinosad . I use the brand name Monterey but comes in other brands. I think Captain Jack is another brand It is a lot better than the older bt. I have heavey worm pressure here and the old bt would just not control the high pressure but spinosad did a great job. I only found one tom that the wroms had got to.

[tlintx]

Will do, I've really been spared most of the caterpillar devastation this year, it's just the last few days have been rough.

This morning my last Rosella Purple was chomped, along with a Principe Borghese. I spotted the culprit, finally -- he lacks the yellow stripe, which is what saved him, since he's about the same color as my potting mix. Too bad he took his siesta in the metal tray under the plants!

I think the only thing to do is start dispersing the seedlings into their future homes!

[matilda'skid]

Are these hornworms or large caterpillars? If so when you spray your plants with water sometimes you can see them better - either they move or the stem they are on moves differently because of their weight.

[tlintx]

I'll try that if anything is nibbled in the morning!

I think caterpillars. I didn't see a horn at either end? But then I wasn't really looking -- more thinking "AHA! GOTCHA!" When I poked it with a stick it curled up; it may already have been sick from the neem oil.

The problem is that they are very small until they polish off a couple of seedlings (seedlings that are six weeks old) and then they're large, but also not hungry anymore.

[b54red]

A quick dusting with Sevin or a spray with Sevin will get rid of the caterpillars very quickly. BT works well on most caterpillars. Last year I had some that multiple applications of BT did not deter so I used Sevin and wiped them out overnight with hundreds of them dead on the ground under my plants. This year I have been lucky with only minor problems with caterpillars. Just picking them off has been adequate most of the time and something seems to be eating them. I do have a lot of Assassin bugs on my tomatoes so maybe they eat them or maybe it is all the wasps flying around.

Bill

[nolabelle]

I just bought some Bonide Bug & Slug Bait because of the issue with snails and cutworms/caterpillars. It says not to use 3 days before harvest so I didn't put any in my herb pots. Just in the peppers, tomatoes and marigolds. So far I haven't seen any more snails on the marigolds.

For the herb pots, I've been going outside after dark and picking the nibblers by hand. One big one nearly cleaned an entire thyme plant of its leaves before I could find it.

I've attached a PDF of the product label.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by tlintx

The last three mornings, I've gone out to find one of my seedlings stripped by black and yellow caterpillars.

They never go for the plants I have tons of extras of, just the ones where I'm down to two!

Is there anything I can do immediately to control this? I looked but there don't seem to be any present now. But that's what I thought yesterday, when I still had one Rosella Purple left.

I sprayed with neem, and I have copper, mancozeb, baking soda, bleach... next year I will also have bT! But is there anything I can try right now? And is there any chance my stripped seedlings might recover from a single or no leaf-state?

They can sometimes recover, yes. And for immediate relief go buy some Bt now instead of waiting.

[tlintx]

No damage this morning, so hopefully I got the last one, and we're only a week or so from plant out, so that should help.

I can't go out this week -- no car. Also, the heat index is in the mid-110s and I have a toddler. (Did I mention it's HOT?) Is bt something you can buy at Home Depot? I just assumed I'd have to order it online!

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! Next year I'll definitely be better prepared -- and start twice as many seedlings as insurance.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by tlintx

Is bt something you can buy at Home Depot? I just assumed I'd have to order it online!

Safer Brand 8 oz. Caterpillar Killer

It is found many other places too. Pretty common. I just linked that one because almost everyone has a Walmart nearby.

[b54red]

Another way to apply BT is in the dust form which I prefer for my cabbages and broccoli type plants. I keep my duster filled with the dry form of BT that is called Dipel. It can be purchased in numerous places but the last I bought I got at an Ace Hardware store. The dust is easy for small applications but is not as easy when applying to large tomato plants that tower over you.

Bill

[b54red]

Oh well I had to use my own advice and spray some Sevin just before dark yesterday. I have been going out every day trying to keep my tomatoes tied up and pruned and for the last three days noticed a big increase in worms. At first it was just a few leaves on my peppers and okra and very few on my tomatoes which are wrapped up in Assassin bugs but by yesterday they had consumed half my okra leaves and were on at least a third of all my pepper leaves. By late afternoon I could see through most of my big foot across okra leaves and many of my pepper leaves. I think if I had waited til this morning my plants would have been stripped since I saw what appeared to be hundreds of thousands of them when tying up my peppers and picking my okra yesterday afternoon. I have never seen them get so thick on okra or peppers before. I have seen it a couple of times on tomatoes which are still not being hit by them very badly so I only sprayed the okra and peppers. I'm hoping the large supply of Assassin bugs or whatever is eating them on my tomatoes will continue to control them. I'm hoping I don't have to resort to the Sevin on my tomatoes but if they progress on them like they did on the okra and peppers I will have no choice.

Bill

[tlintx]

That's insane! I only saw... four or five total, the whole season? So far, anyway.

One of my Rosella Purples is coming back! And I mighthave a spare -- it was mixed in with the micros, so I'll know within a week or two.