How to Kill Caterpillars on Pepper Plants

Caterpillars consume the leaves, flowers and fruit of pepper plants. They do a lot of damage in the evening when they are out of sight of predators. Most of the time you can pick off caterpillars by hand in the morning and drown them in a jar of soapy water. But, occasionally, there are so many caterpillars that manual control is impossible or too time consuming. There is another organic solution available for caterpillar control on pepper plants. Save pepper plants from caterpillar damage by spraying plants with a solution containing spinosad, which is available in most garden centers.

Insecticide containing spinosad
Garden sprayer
Water
Pepper plants

Instructions

- 1
  Shake the container containing spinosad well before adding the spinosad to the garden sprayer, as spinosad has a tendency to clump together and may clog the spraying mechanism.
- 2
  Add the amount of insecticide containing spinosad to the garden sprayer reservoir according to the directions on the label. The amount used per gallon is different depending on the concentration of the spinosad and size of the garden sprayer.
- 3
  Fill the garden sprayer with the correct amount of water according to the instructions on the spinosad container label. Adding water after adding the spinosad helps agitate the water and mixes the solution.
- 4
  Spray the pepper plants in the evening when the caterpillars are most active and bees have finished their work for the day. Spinosad is highly toxic to bees until it is dry. Spray the spinosad water solution on the pepper plants until the plant is completely covered with the solution. Remember to spray under the leaves and the soil around the plants, where caterpillars may be hiding.
- 5
  Repeat the spray application of spinosad every seven days until you achieve control. One or two applications may be all that is necessary.

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