16 Best Ways To Keep Caterpillars Away From Broccoli

Caterpillars can do heavy damage to broccoli. They can destroy it inside out and hence keeping them away becomes high priority so, I decided to do some research about it and found out 16 best ways to keep caterpillars away from broccoli so,

So, what are the 16 best ways to keep caterpillars away from broccoli? These are the 16 best ways that we recommend

1. Insecticides,
2. BT Spray
3. Pytherin
4. Soap Spray
5. Peppermint Spray
6. Garlic Spray
7. Neem Oil
8. Essential Oil
9. Chili Spray
10. Help Of Birds
11. Bird House
12. Burlap
13. Find Them And Kill Them
14. Keep Frogs And Other Insects As Pet
15. Caterpillar Repellent Plant
16. Call A Professional

Read this full article to know them in details and use them efficiently

1. Insecticides

Insecticides work really well against caterpillars this is a one solution that works against also of insects and you will give almost immediate result. However using too much insecticide can be harmful to yourself and your kids especially if you are growing those broccoli in your house. It can smell like chemicals and your kids may not like that smell. So, make sure you use a healthy amount it and dilute it using water so that it kills caterpillars and also maintain the taste and smell of the broccoli as normal. This is how you have to make the solution

Mix insecticides with water and spray over the broccoli to get the caterpillar

Simple and effective doesn’t take too much time alongwith that you’ll also get rid of other harmful insects with caterpillars. Put it in a sprayer and spray it over broccoli.

2. BT Spray

BT Spray are every efficient against caterpillars but there is just one problem that the remains from the spray stays over the broccoli and consuming too much of it is harmful for you and your kids plus broccoli taste gets changed which your kid may not like. The whole point of growing fresh broccoli can get ruined if too much Bt spray leftover is there over your broccoli. Son you may have to buy broccoli from your local Store. But it’s very effective and simple to use. Just spray BT spray over the broccoli especially on those areas where you see caterpillars and your job will be done. This spray will get rid of those caterpillars.

3. Pytherin

It is a widely used chemical that are used to kill various kinds of insects and it is also effective against caterpillars. Pytherin 3% is the most effective solution to kill caterpillars and also prevent them from coming. Anything more than 3% can burn your broccoli so only use only 3%. Just mix it with a little water to dilute it and then spray over the broccoli.

Check the effect of the spray by spraying it over one Broccoli and leave it for 3 days if it doesn’t show any adverse effect then spray over all of the broccoli. You can buy it from Amazon or from a local store. It is a widely used chemical to remove insects or to kill insects from gardens from home.

Use it once and you’ll see caterpillars gone. Use it more often if you see caterpillars are coming repeatedly. Wash your broccoli before consuming as it can contain chemicals which can be harmful to humans.

4. Use Soap Spray

Soap spray are also effective against caterpillars you can make it in your home by using liquid soap and mixing it with water

Follow this combination

• Add 5 drop of liquid soap in 200 ml of water and mix it well
• Then spray directly over the caterpillars

Spray this solution directly over the caterpillars to make it effective otherwise this solution may not work. This is a simple remedy but is very powerful that will remove different caterpillars from your broccoli. Caterpillars just can’t tolerate soap spray so they end up dying it is generally not harmful to human health unless consume directly. Spray it without worry and you can see the effect immediately. You can buy this kind of liquid soap from a local Store or from Amazon. Its the same soap that you use to wash your hand nothing special about it. Just mixing it with water and spraying it will do the job I will keep your broccoli safe.

5. Peppermint Spray

As you know peppermint are very strong and insects doesn’t like it at all so just buy a peppermint oil and  make the mixture in your home and spray it over the broccoli that will get rid of the caterpillars. Caterpillars will start climbing out of broccoli as the can’t tolerate the peppermint spray.

This how to make the paper means pray in your home.

• Buy peppermint oil and mix it with 16 oz of water.
• Add one drop of soap over it shake it well.
• And spread over your broccoli. This simple solution will get rid of the caterpillars from your broccoli.

By the way if you’re interested you can buy peppermint oil from here.

6. Garlic Spray

Garlic works really well against caterpillars just make a simple solution by mixing 4 garlic in 200 ml of water and then leave it for 24 hours and then spread over the broccoli and that will get rid of the caterpillars. It is really effective and simple solution without any side effect and it is not harmful to your kids, use it as often as needed or whenever you see caterpillars in broccoli. Garlic is a very strong insect repellent that works against all sort of insects and can easily keep caterpillars away. It is a easily available in everyone’s house yet it is so powerful.

7. Use Neem Oil

Neem oil is very effective against 200 different kind of species of insects. It is not at all harmful for your broccoli so you can use it without any worry.

Here is how to make it

• Just make a simple mixture of neem oil and water
• Add 25 ml of neem oil to 200 ml of water shake it well
• The spray it over caterpillars using a sprayer

This simple mixture will get rid of caterpillars easily it is also safe to use when humans are around and you don’t need to even cover your nose or face while spraying it. Spray it once in a week for prevention or if you just want to get rid of the caterpillars then just pray it unless the caterpillars are totally gone.

8. Use Essential Oil

Essential oils are really effective against all sort of insects including caterpillars. It is cost effective and nature’s gift that will keep insect and bug away from your broccoli

This is how to use Essential oil. It’s Simple

• Just add 5 drop of Essential oil in hundred ml of water
• Mix it well and put it in a sprayer
• Sprayed over the infected broccoli plants or broccoli and that will get rid of them
• Essential oil is really good for your broccoli

It kills and also repels all sort of bugs and insects and will keep your freshly grown broccoli safe and healthy. Simply use this solution because it is more than enough to get rid of caterpillars from your broccoli. If you want to use essential oil you can buy it from here.

9. Use Chili Spray

Much like peppermint, chili spray also works really good against caterpillars. This is a strong repellent for insects and bugs that can protects your broccoli. Here is how to make the solution

• Just paste five Chilies and mix it with 100 ml of water
• Keep it that way for 12 hours

Then spray it directly over the the broccoli that are infested. This spray can get washed away so you need to spray this over the caterpillars directly to make it effective. Make sure to cover your eyes as it can create burning sensation in your eyes also cover your nose because it can create burning sensation also in your nose just spray it using a sprayer over the plants

Before spraying make sure that your broccoli are not reacting in negative way to check that spray this solution over 1 broccoli and keep there for 3 days check how it is affecting your broccoli. If its not showing any adverse effect then spray it over all of the broccoli this will keep caterpillars and other insects and bugs away and also kill them if they are inside your broccoli.

10. Take Help Of Birds

Birds are natural Predator of caterpillars they can easily get rid of caterpillars without your intervention you just need to attract them and they will do their job. Just make your garden more attractive to birds and they will eat the caterpillar and keep your garden clean.

Here are some small suggestions on how to make your garden more attractive to Birds

11. Have A Bird House

Keeping a bird house will attract Birds and whenever they see caterpillar in the your garden they will prey on them and will keep your garden clean from caterpillars. But you still need to make sure that there are no natural predator of birds like cats otherwise that will repel them. If you happen to have them as pets then pit a collar bell so that the birds can get alert whenever your cat is nearby. Small birds to big size birds all of them eats caterpillars so you don’t need to worry what is coming into your bird house. If you have chicken in your house then they can also kill caterpillars by eating them. You just need to let them free and they will eat many caterpillars. They will find them and if the caterpillars fall on the ground then also your chickens will find them and eat them. But make sure there is no no natural Predator for chickens in your area or they might get attracted towards your garden because you have chickens that could create different kind of problems.

12. Use Burlap

You can use burlap to get rid of those caterpillars that try to get on your tree trunks. These kinds of caterpillars like to hide from sunlight so they usually find dark, comfortable and cold Places and burlap provides that. Once caterpillars get inside burlap you can smash them to kill them in numbers. It is a very simple and effective technique that work against this kind of caterpillars. It is also very inexpensive way to kill caterpillars. Just wrap the burlap around the tree trunk and start smashing once caterpillars goes inside the burlap.

13. Find Them And Kill Them

It is a labour intensive work. You need to manually find them, pick them up and kill them. There are various ways by which you can kill them.

One way is to throw them in a tub full of water

Second technique is to squash them and kill them. All of these technique are effective but it takes time and patience. You need to find them to kill them if you miss anyone then, that will still continuously harm the plants. That is the only drawback of this technique.If you have many people working in your garden then you can use them as workers will reduce the work load and will do the job more effectively.

14. Keep Frogs And Other Insects As Pet

There are some insects like praying Mantis, frogs, spiders, chameleon who preys on caterpillars. I know you may hate them but they do not harm your plants so keeping them in your garden is a constructive choice that will help to get rid of caterpillars from your garden and you don’t have to do anything, you don’t have to pay for any harmful insecticides and pesticides or for labour.  It is the most cost effective way to get rid of caterpillars. These animals and insects can climb up on trees can climb on small plants and can go where caterpillars can go and can also reach in some places where you may not be able to reach, keeping them as pet comes handy in removing caterpillars from your broccoli.

15. Use Caterpillar Repellent Plant

There are certain plants that repels Caterpillar very well. Plants like lavender, peppermint, chili. These plants are really effective against caterpillars. Just plant them in those places where you see more caterpillars and they will do their job You don’t have to do anything just plant them and it will do it. Aroma coming from this plants are more than enough to keep Caterpillar away from your main plants. Caterpillar would never attacked these plants because that will end up killing them so keeping these plants in your garden not only repulse Caterpillar but also repel many other insects these are strong insect repellent plants.

This simple method is a nature’s gift to protect your plants from bugs and insects. People overlook this method and we invest money on pesticides and insecticides which are not only harmful for human beings but also certainly harmful for your plants. Use this simple method and keep your plants healthy and safe

16. Call A Professional

If you are feeling too much overwhelmed because of the caterpillars then you should call professionals and get this matter resolved sometimes the infestation can be too much to handle and doing it by yourself can be a too much of headache. In this case calling professionals would be the right choice. They will spray your broccoli with insecticides and pesticides that will kill the caterpillars almost instantly and you don’t have to do any job except paying the money. If you have a big farm then this can be a good option because managing it by yourself or by hand picking and killing the caterpillars can be a hectic job even for lot amount of people it will still be difficult to complete the job. If some of the caterpillars remain in your garden that can completely destroy your broccoli as they will start multiplying. Professionals have great deal of knowledge regarding this matter so they would do this job much perfectly compared to other people. They would bring out the team and ensure that all the caterpillars are dead and your plants are safe.