How to Keep Black and Yellow Caterpillars Away From Plants

If you've got black and yellow caterpillars hiding on your plants, you'll know it soon: They eat holes in plant leaves. Black and yellow caterpillars include the black swallowtail and the cabbage white caterpillar. Butterflies lay eggs in spring and late summer, meaning there's two chances each year for caterpillar eggs to hatch in your garden. Inspect your plants for caterpillars from mid spring to fall then take action to mitigate the damage to your crops.

Neem oil
Agricultural netting

Instructions

- 1
  Remove individual caterpillars from your plants by hand. Pluck off the critters and relocate them by hand. If you only have a couple of caterpillars, this is a quick, effective remedy.
- 2
  Coat your plants with neem oil if the pest problem expands. Spray the neem oil over the whole plant, misting all of the leaves, flowers or developing vegetables. Neem oil is gentle enough that it's safe to use on food crops, yet effective at driving away caterpillars.
- 3
  Cover your plants with netting to keep butterflies away from your plants once you've eliminated all of the caterpillars. As long as butterflies don't lay eggs there, you won't have any caterpillar problems going forward.

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