Caterpillar / Worm Control Suggestions

[camikins]

Hi,

I'm in the pacific northwest, and in spring we get quite a few caterpillar / worms eating our plants.

Suggestions on pest control that won't effect the bonsai negatively, but will keep the green things at bay?

The critters are about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (up to 1 cm long) and are green.

Thanks very much.

 

[gergwebber]

Bt is great.

EDIT: If it is a small scale problem, or if only a few plants are being affected, gleaning them by hand is very low tech and highly effective control.




Bacillus thuringiensis is good. It is a parasitic organism that kills caterpillars when they ingest it. It comes in liquid concentrate form and is sprayed onto leaves with a sprayer. In some cases, I have seen this stuff work instantly as in the cabbage worms flinging themselves off of sprayed plants.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis


http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&ke...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7kcg3f3wdn_b

 

[camikins]

Thanks - here's a pic of the critter....

 

[Beng]

That's an inch worm. They hatch from cocoons in the tree. You'd have to treat the trees they're falling from with a systemic each year. Most likely they're not hatching from cocoons on your trees. Any insecticide should kill the ones already hatched. Bayer tree and shrub is a good systemic.

 

[gergwebber]

That's an inch worm. They hatch from cocoons in the tree. You'd have to treat the trees they're falling from with a systemic each year. Most likely they're not hatching from cocoons on your trees. Any insecticide should kill the ones already hatched. Bayer tree and shrub is a good systemic.

you think killing every worm in the yard is the best way to protect a few bonsai? I say let the worms have the landscape and use systemics on the bonsai if you must. This would be like a farmer eradicating every pest in on his 500 acre parcel when his affected crop only spans 5 acres. The key to pest control is recognizing acceptable levels of pest populations. Call me a ideological CA leftist if you will, but if ecology is not worth looking after, look after your checkbook. Less chemicals = less expense.

 

[Beng]

you think killing every worm in the yard is the best way to protect a few bonsai? I say let the worms have the landscape and use systemics on the bonsai if you must. This would be like a farmer eradicating every pest in on his 500 acre parcel when his affected crop only spans 5 acres. The key to pest control is recognizing acceptable levels of pest populations. Call me a ideological CA leftist if you will, but if ecology is not worth looking after, look after your checkbook. Less chemicals = less expense.

Guess it depends how many large trees tower over your bonsai. Where I am there's just 3 large trees and I treat all 3 with bayer. It's cheap, doest harm the beneficials in the yard as they're soil spikes. I see your point but I learned long ago preventative systemic at least on my bonsai keeps the critters away.

 

[Dav4]

I save the big gun chemicals for scale, spider mites, and fungal disease. Pick them off or squish them every day as needed...it's safe, effective, inexpensive, environmentally sound, and kinda fun.

 

[Jason_mazzy]

What about organic pyrethrum?

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Jason,

BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) is excellent, and organic, as per gergwebber's suggestion. It is benign to everything but caterpillars that consume it by consuming leaves coated with it. Works on mosquito larva too. I purchased some at Lowes as some sort of "worm and caterpillar killer".

Regards,
Martin