In your hard-earned garden sometimes you may find the enemy growing up out of your plants. They are the insects which are called caterpillar. They are the butterflies in larva-form. You may like the presence of butterflies in your garden or even in your room but a large number of caterpillars can create serious problems as they grow up consuming your tree foliage, vegetable, flowers.
For this the garden-lovers have a love-hate relationship with caterpillar and every time they seek for the way of getting rid of caterpillars. The best way is not to use chemicals to get rid of them because it may have harmful effect on your plants. There are many natural ways of destroying the larva before it grows into butterflies.
The ways to get rid of it:
1) Search for the caterpillar tents in your trees and bushes. The tents look like masses or spider-webs and they are usually caterpillars within the tents. So break the tents off the trees to protect the trees.
2) Look for the caterpillar eggs in your trees, bushes and flowers. The eggs are different in color and shape but the size is just like the head of a pin. So remove them when you get them around you.
3) Create a bird-bath or some birdhouse close to your garden. The bird will help you to control the population of caterpillar by killing them.
4) Apply an insect strip around the trunk of your trees. The strips will resist the insects from climbing up the trees and destroying the leaves and fruits of your garden.
5) You can make a pesticide which would not be harmful to pets children is to mix garlic clove in water, make it cold a bit and then spray it on the plants.
6) You can purchase a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and apply it affected area. It is really safe and not harmful to the plants of your garden.
7) Catch the caterpillars by hand whenever you find them moving on your trees. You have to remove them far away from your garden or kill them dropping them in a pot of soapy water.
8) Place a cardboard or plywood in your garden near your plants smashing them with glue and check them every morning.
9) Cover the plants with sheets of porous polyester fabric. Let the light to reach the plants while keeping the pests away.
10) You may plant herbs and flower around the garden to keep the caterpillars away. Many insects dislike the smell of lavender, saga. So when you plant them the insects would like to keep a safe distance.
11) Practice crop rotation in your garden so that that small issue does not become the cause of the growth of caterpillars. For example do not plant tomato in the same place two years in a row.
12) If you have a space near the garden you can cultivate the plants like milk weed, willow and sunflowers. The caterpillars are fond of these plants. So they will make their nest at the allotted space and would not destroy your garden.
So you may apply any of these ways and can get rid of the caterpillars. And only then you may have your dream garden in reality.