Buggery caterpillars...

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Buggery caterpillars...

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gythagirl

Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 1467
Location: Somerset

Posted: Fri Oct 27, 17 8:24 pm Post subject: Buggery caterpillars...
...are still rampant on my purple sprouting - anybody any idea how low the temperature has to drop overnight to kill the blighters..?

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8896
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Fri Oct 27, 17 9:34 pm Post subject:
ask Buzzy?

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15951

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 17 7:48 am Post subject:
I am still finding the odd caterpillar on mine too. When I find them I squelch them. Far fewer than there were, but that was even with netting them. I need to sort out a way to hole the net high for the late winter otherwise the pigeons have the tops.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Tue Oct 31, 17 2:51 pm Post subject:
I never had a problem with the caterpillars last time I grew purple sprouting, bloody sheep got in there before the butterflies could!

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15951

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 17 7:49 am Post subject:
And sheep tend to be a bit more terminal that caterpillars....

gythagirl

Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 1467
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Nov 01, 17 2:21 pm Post subject:
Perhaps i should stop grumbling then! I daresay they'll survive - and yes will have to net them BEFORE the spears start appearing!

chickenlady

Joined: 18 Aug 2013
Posts: 413
Location: Dorset

Posted: Thu Nov 02, 17 3:27 pm Post subject:
It's not the caterpillars that I'm battling...but myriad of teeny tiny snails hiding amongst the veg foliage. Mind you...they do squash exceedingly easily.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46193
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Nov 02, 17 5:20 pm Post subject:

a diet of purple brassica does not improve the flavour of caterpillars, maybe that is just me, the local sparrows seem pretty good at clearing all but the sneakiest pillars when i have had such problems .

most times i have had a "pest" problem making life easy for things that eat "pests" has worked. the rspb have good details for sparrow housing and scoff

chooks are rather good at cleaning stuff within reach but they can get a bit over enthusiastic with stuff you want

barriers is an option, poison can be done but should not be an option

a bit of help to the local sparrow population is a cheep option

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15951

Posted: Fri Nov 03, 17 7:33 am Post subject:

I have found a few snails on the curly kale, and as you say Chickenlady, they do squash easily, just a nuisance.

We get quite a variety of birds in our garden, but somehow the most dominant ones seem to be the pigeons. The robin comes to see what we are doing when we are in the garden, and has started to come to the front door for food every time we use it. There are sparrows around, but mainly hedge by the sounds of the twittering bush down the road I passed the other day.

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