ksJoe
08-08-2009, 12:30 PM
My wife has an herb garden, and a few weeks ago caterpillars showed up very heavy. Maybe a dozen or two per square foot. I treated with sevin dust, waited two weeks to harvest anything, and thought we were fine.
But then they came back on other things in the herb garden and now we've got a big problem. We figured out they're the kind that make pretty butterflies... With 5 y/o twins, killing the baby butterflies isn't a popular option. This morning I caught a freshly hatched butterfly, and my daughter has it sitting on her lap right now.
Once the herbs get growing well, they produce a lot more than we need. But the caterpillars get so thick, they can completely strip an herb plant within a few days.
So.... I'm hoping to manage the caterpillar population so we can all get along. I'm thinking maybe a repellent? Something that's safe to use, and still immediately harvest would be the most convenient.
Any suggestions?
But then they came back on other things in the herb garden and now we've got a big problem. We figured out they're the kind that make pretty butterflies... With 5 y/o twins, killing the baby butterflies isn't a popular option. This morning I caught a freshly hatched butterfly, and my daughter has it sitting on her lap right now.
Once the herbs get growing well, they produce a lot more than we need. But the caterpillars get so thick, they can completely strip an herb plant within a few days.
So.... I'm hoping to manage the caterpillar population so we can all get along. I'm thinking maybe a repellent? Something that's safe to use, and still immediately harvest would be the most convenient.
Any suggestions?