Small green caterpillars that eat basil: how to avoid them?

A flagship aromatic herb of our gardens, basil is appreciated in many preparations. It happily seasons salads and hot dishes. indoors or outdoors, its fragrant leaves are harvested throughout the year. Unfortunately, they attract some pests such as snails, parasites or green caterpillars which quickly devour its foliage.

The danger of caterpillars

To become a graceful butterfly, the little caterpillar feeds on your decorative plants as well as your vegetables. These butterfly larvae (from the Lepidoptera family) are often two-colored, combining green with orange, black or yellow. They proliferate when the winter has been mild. At the beginning of spring, they dig galleries in tomatoes, crunch basil leaves and even devour radish roots.

Get rid of green caterpillars

Gardeners come up with tips to get rid of these pests. In order not to eliminate the pregnant butterfly, many people opt for natural repellent methods.

Repellent solutions

When your plants are attacked by caterpillars, the first thing is to remove the most visible ones by hand and cut off the branches that are too affected. But that won't be enough. Also, regularly spraying your basil with a repellent solution is an effective method to scare away caterpillars. These preparations, often diluted in water, are based on:

• white vinegar
• black soap
• essential oils (e.g. peppermint or cinnamon)
• nettle manure
• garlic juice
• elder leaves

Regular sprays

Once the method has been found, such as diluting 75 ml of black soap in a liter of hot water, for example, you should spray the mixture on, and especially, under the leaves, as well as on the stem to protect your plant . The operation must be repeated for several days.

Protect the plant

Coffee grounds placed around the stem repels the caterpillars. Rich in nitrogen and potassium, it also serves as fertilizer provided you do not overuse it. Once the undesirables have been dislodged, the plant should be strengthened with compost. The basil will grow back quickly.

Invite birds

Natural predators of caterpillars, sparrows, tits and other robins are good allies for limiting the population of crawlers in your garden. Building shelters during the winter is a preventative solution that can be very effective.