Grr!! Something's eating my cannas and coleus.

I've recently let my guard down after having a small slug problem. Beer traps and mulch had solved that, I thought. Now a week after I thought it was under control I've got huge holes in multiple cannas, coleus and zinnias. I'm especially upset about the cannas, it's taken forever for them to grow and some I started from seed this year, they were looking very nice. I brewed up some pepper garlic spray and put more beer bowls out tonight and found a little catarpillar, that must be the culprit. Anyone have an idea what kind it could be? It was little, thin, green with white stripes longways down its body. I'm torn now, I'd hate to kill off a population of future butterflies if there are more but I don't want anymore damage done to my plants.

 

It could be a cabbage looper but without a picture that would be only a guess.
Picture?

Jerry

 

Just found two more. Ripped the leaves they were on off and put them in another place in my yard with damaged leaves. This one I literally scared the crap out of with a late nite trip to my kitchen for a photo. Maybe a leaf roller?

I didn't see what's munching on the coleus. I think it may just be more slugs, they are in a different flower bed. I just reapplied pepper spray so hopefully tomorrow I won't wake up to more holes in my plants. The zinnias grow so fast I'm not as concerned about them.

After a google search for cabbage loopers I see you may be correct Jerry.

 

Cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni. Enjoying supper. You may sentence it to death without fear of reducing the butterfly population.

Jerry

 

Lol, too late. I figured out after that they weren't butterfly larva so they were saved. I checked this morning and I think the three I disposed of were the only ones, I'm staying vigilant though. Caught only two slugs near my coleus. I'm going to keep up the pepper spray this time. I got sick of storing it, but I think I found a solution by capping it with foil and keeping it in the fridge. It was leaking when I kept the spray cap on, I think it's the soap I put in it.

 

So is cabbage looper really turns into butterfly? just curious.

 

Caterpillars can be stopped in their tracks by applying Bt powder to your plants. It is a natural "pesticide" bacteria that attacks the gut of the worm. They quit feeding as soon as they ingest it and eventually die from starvation.

 

Does the BT powder harm any good critters? I have a ton of butterflies and lady bugs and several snakes and lizards that have been living in my yard for years. I would hate to hurt any of them.

 

I have had good luck with aluminum foil collars around plants. But I think that was meant to "foil" slugs (& it does a goes job with them). I don't know about cabbage loopers. Yours look pretty fat dumb & happy, unfortunately.

 

Bt Powder is the main toxin they add to GMO foods to add a natural insecticide. Its called Bacillus thuringiensis it explodes the stomachs of insects(also harms your own stomach )

 

Bt is a naturally occurring bacteria. I works by disrupting the feeding pattern of the caterpillar and it eventually starves to death. It only works on caterpillars. We use it mainly on cabbage and broccoli to keep the worms from ruining the heads. there is/was a corn that had the Bt in the seeds so that as soon as the corn worms started feeding on the silk they died off from starvation. I am not sure if this was a gmo method or not. I wasn't interested in using the corn with the Bt in it as I didn't want to eat it myself, so I never researched it very well. I just avoided it.
Here is an information link on Bt. Read it and decide for yourself if you are interested in using it. http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/ipmp/publi ... ets/bt.htm

 

It was GMO and is still being used today

 

I don't think I want to eat anything genetically modified...

I will research it some more though. Thanks for all of the great info.