I grow milkweeds mostly for the butterflies (Monarch Butterfly). By the end of the summer my milkweeds are just stubby branches sticking out of pots! They grow back eventually. Most butterfly larvae are host specific, so you shouldn't worry about the larvae on the milkweed eating your peppers, even if they crawl onto the pepper plants. I am surprised you don't have any wasps coming and taking the caterpillars away?
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Caterpillar ATTACK!!!
- Thread starter srin2
- Start date
I think you have them in the ground so you can't pick the plant up and give it a nice "dip" like I did when I had my infestation.
To dip I would basically take the entire plant, cover the soil with a piece of cardboard I cut out and turn it over and dip it into need. After a few seconds they would let go and just float in the water. I could then grab it and feed it to my black widow I found and have had for about 8 months now.
The sad part is 1 bug left un found for a day can kill the entire plant! So either inspect or buy something to spray with fast.
To dip I would basically take the entire plant, cover the soil with a piece of cardboard I cut out and turn it over and dip it into need. After a few seconds they would let go and just float in the water. I could then grab it and feed it to my black widow I found and have had for about 8 months now.
The sad part is 1 bug left un found for a day can kill the entire plant! So either inspect or buy something to spray with fast.
i got rid of the caterpillars now but the milkweed plant looks bare now without any leafs!
hmm because of the hairy ones and the colourful ones as some are poisionous!! the ones at my place even birds don't eat them.hey sri,
caterpillar season also started here. found a couple of hairy brown caterpies on my plants this morning. they are in bug heaven now. I gave them to my chicken and she was happy
how did you end up getting rid of them?
hmm so far i don't see any wasp here.no predator for the caterpillars!
these milkweeds are quite hardy plants they tend to come back fast but thats when the butterflies comes to lay eggs again!!.
Those are MONARCH Caterpillers. If they are not eating your peppers, you shouldn't kill them. They almost exclusively eat milk weed. I raised a couple of them to butterflies last year.
Here is a Caterpillar on the milkweed in my yard from last year on August 5th, 2010:
Here is a Monarch Caterpillar in my homemade terrarium beginning to make its Crysalis (Cocoon). The one already in it's Crysalis is the caterpillar from the previous photo. August 10th, 2010
Here is the Monarch Butterfly after it emerged from the Crysalis: August 18th, 2010
Here is the Monarch Butterfly after I released it. It landed on my house. August 18th, 2010
Monarch butterflys or its caterpillar are not normally considered a pest and unless there is a reason to destroy them, I would let them be.
Here is a Caterpillar on the milkweed in my yard from last year on August 5th, 2010:
Here is a Monarch Caterpillar in my homemade terrarium beginning to make its Crysalis (Cocoon). The one already in it's Crysalis is the caterpillar from the previous photo. August 10th, 2010
Here is the Monarch Butterfly after it emerged from the Crysalis: August 18th, 2010
Here is the Monarch Butterfly after I released it. It landed on my house. August 18th, 2010
Monarch butterflys or its caterpillar are not normally considered a pest and unless there is a reason to destroy them, I would let them be.
pull em off with tweezers throw in a metal pot pour alcohol or gasoline in there and throw in a match 
lol
lolcut them into two ......
they are quite beautiful but they ate up my plant. i wanna see the flowers again. it has nice lilac coloured crown shaped flowers.
wow ...sound so psychotic heheheehe......pull em off with tweezers throw in a metal pot pour alcohol or gasoline in there and throw in a match
. i just cut them into 2 
i'll catch me a caterpie too and put it in a home made terrarium just like pepperpiker did. I wanna document it ala Nat Geo
