Caterpillars!!!

amy1plus2

The outside of my house seems to be infested with big long fat hairy caterpillars. They are all over my front door and walls. Anyone else have these or any advice as to what I can do??? In The Grove btw.

matt-dublin

Let then grow, then you'll have lots or butterflies fluttering around :-)

dr ro

a handy way to recycle your left over vegtables!

RosieJoe

Wait until the birds realise that your house is now the local takeaway

eleMental

see this is the thing i find about this forum. the OP has a legitimate concern about bugs on their greenery and the subsequent 3 responses are all (be it in light-hearted context) almost joking about it. im in the grove and ive the same problem, the whole hedge bordering my house with the next is destroyed by caterpillars, every single leaf is chewed and eaten and i would love to know what you can do about it....

and thats why people come on here, to chat to neighbours and people nearby to see if anyone has any solutions or ideas, not to get tongue-in-cheek jokey replies about bird takeaways and the prospect of butterflies.....

its kind of sad, you see it on so many posts here now where people voice genuine questions or requests only to be met with an "after-hours" kinda vibe which isnt very helpful.

again, i know its not meant in the serious way etc but i reckon its the reason alot of original regular posters abandoned this forum cos alot of the time you cant really take it very seriously... its a shame

loyatemu

I'd rather have light-hearted banter than the all-too-frequent rancorous arguments which genuinely do drive people away from the forum.

this enquiry is probably better made in the Gardening forum, so I'll move it there.

gbee

I would not think there is much to do about it, they are looking for a place to cocoon about now, they've stopped feeding or run out of food.

There seems to be an abundance of them this year and my birds are overfed so they are not taking them as in other years.

I've seen bumble bees this year too

redser7

Sorry to hijack the thread but it is related. Just yesterday I noticed eggs on the underside of my brocolli leaves. And in a few places swarms of tiny caterpillars had just hatched. Thankfully I only have a few plants so it was eaasy enough to rub them off. But just how do you prevent egg-laying on Brassicas? Or what do you do after they have laid their eggs? Must be a nightmare for anyone with a decent sized patch. Thanks

RosieJoe

eleMental wrote: »

see this is the thing i find about this forum. the OP has a legitimate concern about bugs on their greenery and the subsequent 3 responses are all (be it in light-hearted context) almost joking about it. im in the grove and ive the same problem, the whole hedge bordering my house with the next is destroyed by caterpillars, every single leaf is chewed and eaten and i would love to know what you can do about it....

and thats why people come on here, to chat to neighbours and people nearby to see if anyone has any solutions or ideas, not to get tongue-in-cheek jokey replies about bird takeaways and the prospect of butterflies.....

its kind of sad, you see it on so many posts here now where people voice genuine questions or requests only to be met with an "after-hours" kinda vibe which isnt very helpful.

again, i know its not meant in the serious way etc but i reckon its the reason alot of original regular posters abandoned this forum cos alot of the time you cant really take it very seriously... its a shame

If you actually read the OP you will see that the caterpillars are on their house and front door. There is no mention whatsoever of any greenery involvement. That's why I responded in a light hearted way.

And to quote the Mods, if you don't like the post then report it

Mothman

gbee wrote: »

I would not think there is much to do about it, they are looking for a place to cocoon about now, they've stopped feeding or run out of food.

There seems to be an abundance of them this year and my birds are overfed so they are not taking them as in other years.

As you say, when Caterpillars are fully grown (moth or butterfly) they often wander to look for pupation site. We don' know what species are involved here. If you can get some photos up then species may be determined and then the best course of action can be advised. Foodplant is often essential in determination as well. Often one needs to know the subject before being able to deal with them.

Regarding brassicas, once a week I go through patch and smudge out egg clusters and caterpillars by hand.