Arrrggghh.... caterpillars.. eating me out of house and home, well, my garden

[Dorothy D]

Use BT it is a natural occuring bacteria or pick them off like you have been doing or continue to share your food with them. I have never tried the beer on them but I know it works on snails.

 

[Big red]

anyway.? Short of picking them off my plants one by one, whats a good natural deterrent? They are munching on everything, my broccoli, my eggplant fruits are full of holes, my spinach, lettuce, even my chilli plants. And my tomatoes are looking very sad, the bushes are full of holes. I dont want to use any commercial pesticides, but i might have to resort to them if i want any crop at all. I am desperate and willing to try just about anything.
Sounds like a good plan to me Shutupnfish, the only problem is, when i open the 3 beers, what do i do with the rest of the carton. No gardening for me on that day ;-)
I wouldnt mind so much, and i dont begrudge them a share of my garden, but it would be nice if they shared back. They are eating holes in my eggplant, eating my spinach and lettuce seedlings down to the ground, and any broccoli heads that are starting, are getting demolished. My herbs are all holey, about the only thing thats surviving is my chillis, and i mainly have the ornamental black variety. And small green grasshoppers are starting to dine in my garden too. I am a firm believer in companion planting, but the normal deterrents just arent working, they are even eating the leaves from my chillis, and they are just ignoring the marigolds and citronella pelegoniums, its driving me nuts.

 

[Bill]

I find that the orange soap spray kills them instantly and before harvest if it doesn't rain you can wash the soap off the plants. You could also get some insecticidal soap at a garden center and mix it into a spray bottle. The soap breaks down their protectivee hairs and the soap washes away a protectiv film on their body. Try it and you will see instant results.