I have a small home garden. I planted some purple passion spinach. Its growing beautifully, and I have three plants. The problem is there are these little green caterpillars that are eating it all! I noticed it on a fee leaves a while ago but didn't mind a leaf here or there. But they are eating it all now. Today, I harvested leaves from the plants and I had to throw hlalf of them away!!! I picked all of the big leaves and removed all of the caterpillars (its growing in a container) and killed them, some I threw away with the leaves. What do I do? I really don't want to put a pesticide on my food. Is there an organic or home remedy I can use?? Also, they are not eating any of my other plants.
bugs cannot stand citrus, so try using lemon juice, or peels from citrus. mixing garlic cloves and chili in water.
Okay you can use this. But you may not believe me but here it is. You need to use tobacco soak it in water and then spray it on the leafs. it should help.
You could always introduce a predatory pest into your garden, such as lizards, frogs or wasps. That will control the caterpillar population for sure. Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) can be used for controlling caterpillars. It’s probably the number one way of getting rid of caterpillars. It’s a bacteria that infects and kills caterpillars by destroying the lining of the guts. It is effective only on caterpillars and will not harm anything else. Just spray on foliage and let them eat it. Be sure to buy BTK (the “K” stands for kurstaki).
Hello Tazmen – so sorry to hear about your caterpillar problems. There are several products that you can use that are available at your local garden or home improvement center, including Sevin dust – which has a short pre-harvest interval required before eating. Check with the stores to see which brands of environmentally friendly and organic products that they carry –be sure to follow the instructions regarding product application and time to harvest. Ask about products with Neem oil and insecticidal soaps. Alternately you could get a “bird block” product – which is a fine mesh that allows the plant to grow but birds, rabbits, deer, and in your case caterpillars, would not be able to eat through. Your plants get all the sunlight and rain they need but the mesh stops any invasions. Best wishes on your garden!
