Caterpillar invasion!

[Buddha15]

Help! My garden is overrun by these caterpillars.

I have two bushes that run along the fence but they are also hanging/crawling on my children’s play equipment, my rotary line, basically everything!

I can’t hang any washing outside as I then have to spend time checking each piece of clothing and removing any caterpillars when I bring it in.

Any idea what they are and how to get rid of them? Or will they turn into chrysalis soon? Also will the bushes recover? They are looking very brown and shrivelled.

Those are box moth caterpillars, and not good news for your bushes. Are the box bushes yours or a neighbours? If so, I’d treat the bush which should get rid of the caterpillars, and might let your bushes recover depending on how much damage has been done. Or just take the bushes out.

Very few birds are interested in eating them because they’re very bitter, and thr adult moths will carry on laying eggs and producing caterpillars until autumn so they won’t just go away on their own.

This stuff does actually work, but you’ll need to respray every 3ish weeks through the summer.

edit - forgot link https://amzn.eu/d/hU0qDqd

Ahh that’s explains why the birds aren’t eating them - I did wonder why!
Thank you. Any tips for the best treatment to use? I have small kids so would prefer something not too toxic.

Edit - sorry cross posted! Thank you for the link

Destroyed our hedges last year

Didn't recover either

I have just found them on 2 box, the plants are ruined and will need digging up.

A neighbour in our road used stuff from this company and managed to save her hedges https://www.greengardener.co.uk/shop/pest-control-outdoors/box-tree-caterpillars-and-blight/

I know she bought the trap as I saw it hanging outside. She said it attracted lots of them. Don't know what else she used. Will ask if I see her.

I just got this email today from another company saying they were ready to send out

https://dragonfli.co.uk/?syclid=co8ghosh33ns73e7fm60&utm_campaign=emailmarketing_152335155458&utm_medium=email&utm_source=shopify_email

Everyone round here has lost their box hedges and topiary balls, either to the dreaded caterpillars or to box blight. For some odd reason the one in a pot in my garden has escaped attention so far, and is still fine.

<I might just pop out there right now and check...>

<pops back again...> yes, it is unscathed.

I use Xentari and spray every 3-4 weeks March to October and it works..

Thank you for all your help.

I’ve surveyed outside a bit better and it’s even worse than I thought. We’ve only got a small garden with a couple of bushes and a small flower bed but they have decided that the bushes wasn’t enough and are going for my other plants too now.
I've also found them all over my children’s play equipment and climbing my fences and the side of my house!
I’ve ordered the Xentari and will look at getting some traps too. Anything to get rid of them.

If it is box caterpillar Xentari will work. Google box caterpillar, they are bright green. They munch through box in days. I sprayed mine for the first time this year today as I could see they have been munching and found a couple so thanks for the reminder😁

You’re welcome 😁
Hopefully you have better luck than me 🤞🏻

@Buddha15 it's a pain having to spray every 4 weeks and not cheap but better than ripping it all out and replanting with something else as I have quite a bit of box. Hope yours can be salvaged. I do get a bit of satisfaction squishing the caterpillars I do find though 😂