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A very hungry caterpillar...

Posted: Sat Jul 16, 2005 6:09 pm
by ina
... or rather, a million hungry caterpillars :sign10: :sign12: :sign10: :sign12: ...

OK, I didn't count them, but there are LOTS! And they are VERY HUNGRY! And this is me :cussing: !

This evening I discovered that little green caterpillars had stripped all the leaves off a small red currant bush, still in pot and ready to be planted this autumn. And they were now busy on the next plant, a Josta berry. My helpful neighbour told me that the same type of beastie had also stripped his gooseberries in the past - which is why he's given up growing anything like that in his garden.

What the heck are they, and what can I do about them (apart from going round all my bushes and picking them off one by one - that would be even more difficult than hunting slugs, as they are green on green :mrgreen: )?!

I have been round with my spray bottle and some neem extract with citronella. No idea whether that'll deter the buggers, but my garden now smells like a citrus orchard. Nice!

So, if anbody can come up with a good idea how to get rid of them, short of the heavy chemical artillery, I'd be grateful.

Ina

Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 5:11 am
by Millymollymandy
Make friends with some blue tits?

Seriously I don't know what you do about them short of picking them off/squidging them by hand. :cry: Little beasties are the worst as there are so many of them (like my flea beetles :( ).

Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:01 am
by ina
Actually, I've got quite a lot of tits (no jokes, you males out there :roll: !!!) - blue, great and coal, plus all sorts of other birds, it's amazing that I've still got these beasts in such numbers. The only good thing about it is that the bushes are still in their first year and not really fruiting anyway. So as long as they survive the season, I have another chance next year...

Ina

Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:16 pm
by Magpie
Maybe you could try spraying them with thick glue of flour and water. It works on little bugs, the caterpillars might be too big and energetic for it.
I think you really need a crowd of enthusiastic 4 year olds to squash them for you!

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 9:34 am
by ina
Mmh, I'll have to ask around where I could hire a team of 4-year-olds... :lol: The only one I know of that age is, I think, too squeamish for this job. Parents a bit too overprotective - don't touch that, it's yuk, don't get yourself dirty... Where's the fun in playing if you can't muck around?

Anyway, have never tried flour yet. The caterpillars are small (as yet!), so it might well stop them. And it's raining just now, maybe dusting the plants with flour and waiting for the rain to bind it will do the job!

Ina

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 1:56 pm
by FluffyMuppet
Hi Ina,

They are almost certainly Gooseberry sawfly. The HDRA have a factsheet on them:

http://www.hdra.org.uk/factsheets/pc3.htm

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2005 2:19 pm
by ina
Thanks for that tip - I shall have to take a much closer look and see if I can detect any black spots on them! As to the damage - I wish there was that much left of the leaves where they've been... :cry:

Cheers
Ina

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2005 6:54 pm
by ina
Just to let you know that yes, you were right, they are Gooseberry sawfly... And I seem to have stopped them, at least I've only found single ones since the first massive attack and my counter-offensive with the spray bottle! Hoorraahh :cheers:

Ina

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 5:56 am
by Millymollymandy
I've got some of your wee beasties and they are from the cabbage white. I've never seen such tiny caterpillars. Had a good old squidge on the smooth leaved cabbages but if they get on the curly kale it would be impossible!