Caterpillars!

My callas, tulips, swiss chard are all being chewed up by fat caterpillars. So far, my cure has been to just cut them in half. I really don't want to spray. Is there an alternative?

Best thing, and easiest, is to do what you prefer not doing...spray.

However, "spraying" doesn't mean your only choice is a hard core toxic substance. If you buy a product called Thuricide it will only affect caterpillars and nothing else. It is safe for human contact and also will not affect any birds that may eat the caterpillars (it does not affect warm-blooded animals).

A powdered form of the same ingredient (Bacillus thuringiensis) is sold by the name Dipel.

Even though it is safe to use, and targets caterpillars, I'd still use it only when necessary. Some caterpillars are beneficial and some are just plain beautiful in their mature form (think Swallowtail butterfly!). However, the ones attacking your Chard are most like cabbage worms or the like...zap em!

:-) Good advice, Shoe!

(Cabbage worms! Phooey on 'em, eh?) (They also taste bad, too! Pa-thooey!) :>"

Roast 'um first, Shoe!

I feed them to my turtle, he likes them.

hah! Howdy Cala/Susie! I don't reckon you roast them first though, or do ya!?

May your turtle eat heartily!

This weekend I'll find some and take a picture of those little pigs. I looked at pictures of "cabbage caterpillars" and these look different. Olive green with black stripes with the large ones are over 2 inches long.

Do the stripes run lengthwise (down the body) or from side to side? Just curious.

They run down the body. I'll see if I can find a few of those nasties. I'm sure they're munching away as I type this...

Went outside and low and behold, found two on a couple of kale plants. The darker one is the most common one I've been finding. It was about 2 inches long. As far as the lighter one goes, not sure if it's just younger or a different kind. Anyone know what these little pigs are?

Hard for me to see the pic (kinda dark and Im beginning to wonder if its my monitor or something; so many pics look dark on it now).

The one on the left is definitely one of the "cabbage worm" types...not a looper, not THE cabbage worm...looks more like a tomato fruit worm (or similar). Can't be sure though.

The one on the right...mercy! That is one ugly worm! Don't believe I've seen that one around here.

Baa is very good at IDing bugs...maybe she'll come along and take a look. (As for me, I'd still spray them, especially if they are out in full force. Also cus I love kale, too!)

The one on the right looks like some sort of Sphinx moth caterpillar. Does it have a little pointy thing on either end that points up?

Nope, no pointy things. Smooth all the way down. It's a dark caterpillar and it's the one I've found 99% of the time. I looked at pictures of the Sphinx moth caterpillar and the one's I have are not even close. No pretty patterns, just different shades of green and some black. Quite ugly and bland.

It was hard to get a pic of these guys since they wouldn't stay still. Next time I'll put a couple in a white container and try it that way.

Okay, here's a pic I took of a few I found munching on calendulas and my callas. Anyone know what these are? The largest one was just a little over 1.5 inches long.

Blech! Those ARE pretty ugly. I can see some coloring on them, but they don't look like anything I've seen. I will send this thread to another member that might be able to identify it. She's a hornworm lover, so maybe she's seen these.

Found them. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/2000/catnw/pht68.htm
Pseudorthodes irrorata [Noctuidae] During the summer, these guys are every where and now I know why--they're out munching every thing in my neck of the woods to fatten up during the spring.

Good job, Emily! How easy/difficult was it to use their key? Where did you start?

John

Hi John,

Someone over in the "Identification" forum suggested this link http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/2000/catnw/morph.htm#shape

I just read through the description and when I found some that sounded like the scoundrels I'm dealing with, I eventually found the right one. Also found out they are "cutworms". How do I keep them away from my lettuce without using systemic insecticides or something else so drastic. I like the ladybugs as they help keep the aphid population down and I don't want to harm the earthworms.

BT, as mentioned above. Safest thing you can use in your garden when it comes to caterpillars.

Thanks for the starting point! Saved it to my favorites. Shoe gave the best answer as far as a 'weapon of mass destruction' goes. So far, I have only used a sort of 'search and destroy/squish' approach. Usually while weeding.

John

Eeeewwww, no wonder they were ugly! I thought one looked like pics of a cutworm I'd seen, but I didn't know they came above ground.

I went through a bunch of plants today and only found a total of 12 worms. Big improvement from a couple of weeks ago. My callas are starting to grow back, although one of the worms was in the middle of eating a bloom. :( That one got an extra stomp.

LOL...you went the really cheap method of extermination.

yes, cheap and satisfying in a grim sort of way. I know where those little buggers hide and I will find them!

They're both definitely moths…they will eat just about anything. :P

langbr just pointed me to this thread, Emily. It looks like these little buggers are trying to take over Oregon! LOL I started this thread the other day:

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/495249/

and just found these same worms today when I was weeding.

Definitely Pseudorthodes irrorata [Noctuidae] Those things eat anything--found some munching on a huge rhubarb plant.

They are trying to destroy my daylilies and JA iris. I found some damage on my TB irises today too.

During my weekly caterpillar massacre, I found under 20 of them. I think my snip,snip, snip plan is working. Bwuhahahaahahaha... A nice clump of my Calla is actually blooming!

In the summer when the buggers that escaped my wrath turn in to moths, if any end up in my house, they get to fly around while being constantly tracked by 3 very excited cats, any of which will try to grab them out of the air. I'll even pick one of them up to give them better "swatting" access. The end is always the same. Dead moth.

The Bacillus thurengensis is definitely good and low-impact on other critters.

And hee, emilyrasmus. Kitty stalking is fun. One of my kitties also eats them afterwards. Another fun way to see caterpillars dead are wasps. When I had a garden in Indiana, I would see a cabbage caterpillar and think "oops, I better get that." I'd take off my garden gloves to grab it better and turn back, and there would be a wasp snatching up the caterpillar whole and taking it away to a horrible death - mwah hah hah. The only caterpillars in that garden that they didn't seem to eat were the fuzzy ones and the ones that could curl up deep in the cabbage heads.

I try to encourage the wasps here in Georgia now with flowers they like. Paper wasps are best though yellow jackets will also do - both can be nasty though if you get near their nests. The yellow jackets in my yard didn't care if I walked or gardened amongst them, though. I often even accidentally hit them with clods of English Ivy the previous homeowner had everywhere and that I had to manually pull out on hands and knees (thus up close and personal with an entourrage of yellow jackets buzzing around the foliage). They didn't care as long as I uncovered the occasional cricket or other insect for them to eat. Unfortunately the nest was on my neighbor's property - they weren't so appreciative, so dead yellow jacket nest - less yellow jackets for me. I moved a few queens harboring in my garden early this spring to somewhere out of the way in my woods. Here's hoping I'll have yellow jackets this year again.


And hee, concreteblonde to your friend the hornworm lover - I am not so appreciative when they eat my tomatoes. They are sneaky and some manage to allude the wasps' notice. I much prefer the long-tailed skippers (bean leaf rollers). At least they don't eat much and have a cute little house.