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Small, soft-bodied, worm-like creatures roam the trees, flowers, and leaves in hopes of finding a food source and a safe spot. Some caterpillars are completely naked, whilst others have spikes, hairs, and various other appendages. And no matter how beautiful they are, they are doing a lot of damage to your garden. So, how to get rid of caterpillars?
The only thing in common every species of caterpillar has is – destructiveness. See, caterpillars are the next ‘stage’ when it comes to butterflies and moths. They’re basically larvae through which these winged insects must go in order to sprout their wings and fly. As such, they need a lot of food and a shelter that will keep them safe until they hatch.
There’s no single caterpillar look; all species are unique and come in various colors, shapes, and even sizes. Your best bet at getting rid of them is identifying what you’re dealing with and acting accordingly. Caterpillars are most common during the fall but may, on occasion, appear in the summer as well (as long as it’s warm, they might be there).
Your first line of defense should be natural remedies that have no possibility of harming the local plant life or wildlife. If none of these methods work (which shouldn’t happen but it’s always a possibility), you’ll have to opt for insecticides or other commercially available products.
Get Rid of Caterpillars
Let’s start with natural methods!
Natural Methods
Natural methods should always be chosen first when it comes to dealing with an infestation of any kind (except with rats and mice; traps are your first line of defense there).
This is to prevent any unwanted health issues for you, your family, your pets, or the various plants and animals around your home.
So, let’s take a look at what you can do:
- BTk – BTk (Bacillus Thuringiensis var kurstaki) is a bacteria that appears on decaying soil material. The reason it’s on top of this list is that BTk can’t harm any animal other than caterpillars. When it comes to them, BTk interacts negatively with their digestive system, thus causing them to shut down. Even if a bird were to eat a dead caterpillar which was infected with BTk, it wouldn’t get hurt as BTk affects only caterpillars.
BTk application is specific. It won’t work if the caterpillar isn’t going to eat it, so there’s no use in spraying every single tree in your backyard. Instead, search for affected trees or plants. BTk’s generally come with instructions so be sure to read them over. In most cases, BTk needs to be applied twice; once when 10 days have passed since the caterpillar eggs have hatched and the second time about 2 weeks after the first time.
BTk is available almost everywhere and comes in powder form which you need to mix with water. Then, you’ve got yourself some BTk spray! Hooray! - Birds – Now, something that doesn’t involve you constantly doing something about the caterpillars. Birds are a caterpillar’s natural enemy and, as such, it might be a good idea to bring in some birds. Install bird feeders, bird baths, and maybe even a small birdhouse in your garden. If you own a cat, place a collar with a bell on it so the birds know when the cat is in the yard (so they can protect themselves).
Chickens are also a great choice but it isn’t as easy. You’ll have to prepare your yard to house the chickens and the environment needs to suit them. This takes time so if you aren’t keen on raising chickens, put your faith in other birds that come naturally.
Note: Keep in mind that bird feeders might attract other pests such as squirrels. - Burlap – Some caterpillars prefer living in trees, such as the gypsy moth caterpillar. Burlap is a great material that can be wrapped around the trees. This gives you the possibility to smash the caterpillars to bits underneath the burlap. It won’t affect the tree, but it will get rid of caterpillars!
- Drown Them – Depending on the number of caterpillars you’re dealing with, different bucket sizes may be required. Once you’ve figured out how many it is, fill the bucket with water and add some dish soap. The measurements aren’t important (since your only job here is to drown them), so don’t worry about it. You can be generous!
Pick up the caterpillars and put them into the water-filled bucket where they’ll drown!
Note: Some caterpillars have been known to sting through touch. Wear gloves or use a tool to pick them up. - Save Them – Finally, you can choose to preserve their existence and help them move. Butterflies and moths are important parts of the pollination process, so killing large swathes of them might not be smart. If you don’t want to harm them, collect them in a jar or something and take them elsewhere (a nearby wooded area should do just fine).
If none of these methods work and you’re still finding caterpillars in your garden, it’s time to start using pesticides, soap, and other methods.
The Use of Other Methods
Most of the following methods can be dangerous to other insects as well, so you’ll need to be careful. You don’t want to kill off the bees or something as they’re beneficial to the ecosystem.
In any case, most products contain specific instructions so be sure to read through everything, even the fine print.
- Pyrethrins – Pyrethrins are a pesticide which is completely natural as it is made from plants. The plants that we use to create pyrethrins are chrysanthemums (as some gardening enthusiast probably know a lot about). The downside of pyrethrins is that they’re toxic to most insects, but they’re toxic to most pests as well. They are safe for pets and humans although they can cause toxicity if ingested in massive amounts (just keep them away from your pets and children). Home improvement and garden stores usually have them so you won’t have to search for a long time to find them.
Simply spray the product on infested plants and that’s it. The product will degrade after a couple of days in the sun.
Note: If you want to preserve the beneficial insects in your garden, we recommend spraying the product in the morning and covering the plants with and old cloth or sheet for 24 hours. This will prevent the spray from spreading to other plants as well. - Soap Spray – Soap is effective against caterpillars because it completely destroys their skin, thus causing them to die. All you need is two tablespoons of soap mixed with one quart of water. Shake your mixture strongly until you’re certain everything is mixed together.
This method requires you to spray the caterpillars directly.
Note: Use biodegradable soap to prevent harm to plants, bugs, and animals that aren’t bothering you. - Commercial Pesticide – If all else fails, this is your only option. However, keep in mind that garden pesticides should be used only as a last resort because they aren’t exactly nice towards the environment. They will cause harm to caterpillars, beneficial insects, and the environment. When it comes to purchasing the correct one, just make sure that it works on caterpillars.
Note: It is very dangerous to use pesticide on plants that you’ll eat later (tomatoes, cucumber, apples, etc). Be very careful.
Well, that’s about it for the removal process. In most cases, the first couple of methods we mentioned (natural ones) will be enough to deal with your problem.
Otherwise, just make sure it doesn’t get to the point where you have to use pesticides!
Prevention and Control
Once you’re done with the caterpillar removal, you’ll want to prevent these infestations from happening in the future.
There are only a couple of things you could do but they’re more than enough to stop the caterpillars from causing any harm to your plants and garden ever again!
Add Useful Plants
Some plants and flowers such as yarrow and aster, cilantro, dill, or fennel are enough to attract insects that are good for your garden (mainly because they eat the other insects which cause damage to your plants – in this case, caterpillars).
There’s only one thing to look out for here and that’s keeping your plants healthy throughout the year. It might seem like a lot of work, but it’s less work than dealing with caterpillars all the time!
The great thing about this is that the beneficial insects won’t just go away after they’ve eaten all the caterpillars; the plants provide them with an alternative food source so they’ll stick around (they won’t destroy your plants, don’t worry).
Insect Barriers
Insect barriers are an effective way of keeping butterflies and moths away from your plants and thus, keeping them from laying eggs.
This is a great method for vegetables that grow in the fall because pollination isn’t as important as during other seasons so you won’t be reducing the number of vegetables grown.
Things to Look Out for
Identification is a key process in caterpillar removal. Most of them live on plants but tent caterpillars, for example, live in trees. On top of that, they make webs their home.
Every single one of the caterpillar removal methods we mentioned is enough to get rid of them, but regarding tent caterpillars, you can also get rid of the branches of the tree containing the nest. Once this is done, you’ll be able to burn the web nest.
Also, don’t touch caterpillars with your bare hands; some of them are harmless, whilst others can cause stings.
