Caterpillars appear on your plants? Choose an alternative to commercial chemical products by making a 100% natural, biodegradable and ecological anti-caterpillar with soap.
Caterpillars are small insects that sometimes invade rose bushes, fruit trees (especially pear, peach and cherry trees), vegetable plants, indoor plants or even large trees such as lime or spruce.
They attack the leaves, stems and roots of plants to feed on their sap and carry disease. To protect your plants, you can easily make a 100% biodegradable, natural and economical anti-chenille with soap.
Note that the purpose of this repellent is not to eliminate caterpillars, but simply to repel them.
Attention, it is important to choose your soap carefully. Choose a 100% vegetable soap made of olive oil, soda, a little water, salt and that’s it! Soaps made of palm oil, animal fats or chemicals are to be banned!
Contents
What does dish soap do to caterpillars?
Flavorful water won’t kill caterpillars, but it is more than enough to repel them and force them to go to other plants.
They bite plants to extract the sap they feed on.
Just scent the sap and the biters will be disturbed to the point of looking elsewhere for something better.
This natural treatment is effective against many insects that spend the winter in the warmth of houseplants. Mainly aphids, whiteflies, midges and microscopic grubs.
What kills caterpillars instantly?
If the caterpillars are already there, it’s best to remove the bulk of the troop. In other words, when you see a troop of green insects feasting on your roses, you arm yourself with a bag and a pair of pruning shears, cut the leaf or branch, making sure that the caterpillars don’t fall out and lock the whole thing in the bag.
Second option for those who prefer not to prune their unfortunate shrubs, put on gloves and remove the green caterpillars by hand, again enclosing them so they don’t escape.
There are also pheromone traps available commercially, which can attract them away from the plants. Finally, an anti-insect net can be used to protect plants, but the result is not very pleasing in terms of decoration, when you dream of enjoying your beautiful garden in summer.
What natural product kills caterpillars?
With a few simple products that we often have on hand, it is possible to make natural insecticides, economical and effective against caterpillars. Simply use one of the following methods:
- Pouring beer on the leaves of caterpillar-infested plants: a quick and effective solution.
- Place coffee grounds at the foot of the plants to keep away caterpillars and other insects that hate the smell.
- Spray vinegar diluted in water on plants: an economical solution to fight against caterpillars.
- Prepare a decoction of elderberry leaves to infuse in boiling water, then spray the cooled mixture on the foliage.
- Infuse 30 to 40 g of garlic in boiling water, then apply the mixture after cooling to suitable areas.
- Spray foliage with a mixture of black soap, wormwood and rhubarb diluted in water.
Will Dish Soap hurt plants?
We often see the advice to treat pests by spraying soapy water on the infested plant... and it usually works. A typical recipe? One tablespoon of dish soap per liter of water. The soapy water works not as a poison, but by preventing the insects from breathing. In fact, they breathe from the pores on the body, pores that the soap clogs. So the insect dies quickly from asphyxiation.
But there is a downside to this advice: some soaps are toxic not to insects, but to plants. And you don’t know in advance exactly what is in the dish soap you have on hand. The same brand often changes its recipe depending on the price of the different oils used in its manufacture, so the product that gave you complete satisfaction last year can seriously damage your plants this year.
Moreover, often, on the web pages of the manufacturers, there is a small note saying that their product is not designed to treat plants and that they are not responsible for any damage caused to plants by its use for this purpose.
