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Caterpillars are eating my flowers!

Fisher said:
Funny you mention moon flowers-- I assume you are talking about what we call Devil's Trumpet. I have a bunch of those white ones planted around a red Japanese maple and really really need to get rid of them. I just recently found out that they are very toxic to kids and pets and I have both. Apparently some people use the seeds of those for the hallucinogenic properties as well. Who knew a flower contained naturally occurring atropine.
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Yep that sounds like what I've described Never heard them called Devil's Trumpet before. They open up at dusk. Their bright white blooms stand out even in the dark. I didn't know they contained hallucinogenic properties also. Wonder why those hopped up rabbits invading my space didn't bother them like they did the Morning Glories? Learn something new everyday!
 
vesper said:
But...but...with every caterpillar you kill...... are you not wiping out the potential of a beautiful butterfly? hmmmmm.
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I'm quite sure these would be moths, there are millions of these caterpillars everywhere around here. Even if they were to be butterflies, wiping out a few of them probably wouldn't even make that much of a difference given how many of them there are.
 
vesper said:
Yep that sounds like what I've described Never heard them called Devil's Trumpet before. They open up at dusk. Their bright white blooms stand out even in the dark. I didn't know they contained hallucinogenic properties also. Wonder why those hopped up rabbits invading my space didn't bother them like they did the Morning Glories? Learn something new everyday!
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From what I read online, bees are immune to the poison and hummingbirds know only to take a little bit at a time from the plant, but beyond that, I guess it just isn't a rabbits thing. I started growing them last year when a cousin sent me a bunch of seeds. She calls it princess trumpet, and I just now got around to researching them. I like them so I hate I am going to be doing away with them.
 
Fisher said:
From what I read online, bees are immune to the poison and hummingbirds know only to take a little bit at a time from the plant, but beyond that, I guess it just isn't a rabbits thing. I started growing them last year when a cousin sent me a bunch of seeds. She calls it princess trumpet, and I just now got around to researching them. I like them so I hate I am going to be doing away with them.
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Do you think the green caterpillars I'm referring to would be butterflies or moths? There are TONS of these and they are tiny. I don't think they would be butterflies. I think only the bigger ones would be butterflies.

And do ALL caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies?
 
ChrisL said:
Do you think the green caterpillars I'm referring to would be butterflies or moths? There are TONS of these and they are tiny. I don't think they would be butterflies. I think only the bigger ones would be butterflies.

And do ALL caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies?
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Most likely a moth, but I like them too. All of God's Creatures Have a Place in the Choir--some sing low and some sing higher :2razz: (well except for ants--you can stomp them moes until your heart is content)

Well obviously not all do because many die. I am not a bug expert but I cannot think of hearing of any that would not become one or the other unless they had wasp eggs injected inside them.
 
Fisher said:
Most likely a moth, but I like them too. All of God's Creatures Have a Place in the Choir--some sing low and some sing higher :2razz: (well except for ants--you can stomp them moes until your heart is content)

Well obviously not all do because many die. I am not a bug expert but I cannot think of hearing of any that would not become one or the other unless they had wasp eggs injected inside them.
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Well, I might agree if they weren't all over the place. It's more like an infestation than anything else. I wonder if has anything to do with the wet humid conditions we had at the beginning of the year?

What about inch worms? I wonder what those change into? These look similar to inch worms actually. Little and green, but like I said earlier, they look like a LOT of the pictures of caterpillars/worms I looked at. So I just don't know.
 
ChrisL said:
Do you think the green caterpillars I'm referring to would be butterflies or moths? There are TONS of these and they are tiny. I don't think they would be butterflies. I think only the bigger ones would be butterflies.

And do ALL caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies?
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If they are true caterpillars, yes. There are some things that look like caterpillars that are actually grubs and other larvae.
 
ChrisL said:
Well, I might agree if they weren't all over the place. It's more like an infestation than anything else. I wonder if has anything to do with the wet humid conditions we had at the beginning of the year?

What about inch worms? I wonder what those change into? These look similar to inch worms actually. Little and green, but like I said earlier, they look like a LOT of the pictures of caterpillars/worms I looked at. So I just don't know.
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inch worms are geometer moths. Caterpillar populations fluctuate wildly. You may be overrun with them a few years and then not have many for a decade, especially those tent jobbies. If you want to kill them, kill them. You will not extinct a species of bugs by killing all the ones you find typically.
 
lizzie said:
If they are true caterpillars, yes. There are some things that look like caterpillars that are actually grubs and other larvae.
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What about the ones that look like caterpillars but they're called "worms?"
 
Fisher said:
inch worms are geometer moths. Caterpillar populations fluctuate wildly. You may be overrun with them a few years and then not have many for a decade, especially those tent jobbies. If you want to kill them, kill them. You will not extinct a species of bugs by killing all the ones you find typically.
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I'd rather just repel them, but so far I haven't found of any reliable method to do that. I actually don't think just killing them would be effective because more will just come, and like I said there are a lot of them this year. Earlier in the spring, all of my outdoor furniture and patio were covered in black gritty caterpillar poop.
 
ChrisL said:
Yes too late for a lot of those suggestions, but I did get the bacterial spray that kills them. I also read as a home remedy that repels them, hot pepper and dish soap mixed in water. Ever hear of that?
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I've heard that pepper spray will repel. THat being said, my philosophy is this: they have plenty of wild vegetation to live on, and if they invade my own personal space, they are fair game. Yeah, I know it's not logical, but it's my approach. :lol:
 
lizzie said:
I've heard that pepper spray will repel. THat being said, my philosophy is this: they have plenty of wild vegetation to live on, and if they invade my own personal space, they are fair game. Yeah, I know it's not logical, but it's my approach. :lol:
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You'll be happy to hear that I've allowed a few spiders to hang out around my flowers. :lol: I don't see them doing anything with the caterpillars though, so I guess they don't eat them.
 
ChrisL said:
Yes too late for a lot of those suggestions, but I did get the bacterial spray that kills them. I also read as a home remedy that repels them, hot pepper and dish soap mixed in water. Ever hear of that?
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I have heard of variations of that as a general organic insecticide to use in gardens generically on a weekly basis but never specifically for caterpillars One I also recall hearing of generically is water, cinnamon oil and clove oil but it apparently makes your yard smell like those fireball candy things.
 
Fisher said:
I have heard of variations of that as a general organic insecticide to use in gardens generically on a weekly basis but never specifically for caterpillars One I also recall hearing of generically is water, cinnamon oil and clove oil but it apparently makes your yard smell like those fireball candy things.
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Could smell worse, like when they bring in new mulch! :lol:
 
Fisher said:
From what I read online, bees are immune to the poison and hummingbirds know only to take a little bit at a time from the plant, but beyond that, I guess it just isn't a rabbits thing. I started growing them last year when a cousin sent me a bunch of seeds. She calls it princess trumpet, and I just now got around to researching them. I like them so I hate I am going to be doing away with them.
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I always preferred angel trumpets. But if you have kids or animals around that *may* do something that would open them up to poisoning then they are a very bad plant to have around.

PS they do great from cuttings, as well
 
Dr. Chuckles said:
I always preferred angel trumpets. But if you have kids or animals around that *may* do something that would open them up to poisoning then they are a very bad plant to have around.

PS they do great from cuttings, as well
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My kids do not put things in their mouths. We have a bunch of first year feral cats though that will chew on pretty much any plant which is why I think I need them gone.
 
Fisher said:
My kids do not put things in their mouths. We have a bunch of first year feral cats though that will chew on pretty much any plant which is why I think I need them gone.
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Somebody told me that hair clippings in the soil helps repel caterpillars. Ever hear of that before? And I wonder why that work?
 
lizzie said:
Well, that could cover a large variety of little critters. :mrgreen:
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What about you lizzie? Ever hear of hair clippings in the soil to repel caterpillars?
 
ChrisL said:
What about you lizzie? Ever hear of hair clippings in the soil to repel caterpillars?
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Never heard of it. I really don't usually have much of a problem with caterpillars here, except the ones that I actually want to have. The only ones I usually spray BT for are corn earworms. Most of the others are butterfly cats that I plant specific host plants for.
 
ChrisL said:
Somebody told me that hair clippings in the soil helps repel caterpillars. Ever hear of that before? And I wonder why that work?
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I have heard of it to repel deer because they can smell the human scent and they avoid humans, but I have never heard of it for caterpillars.
 
Fisher said:
I have heard of it to repel deer because they can smell the human scent and they avoid humans, but I have never heard of it for caterpillars.
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Yeah, that makes a lot more sense to me. I don't see how it would repel insects either.
 
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