How to Keep Black and Yellow Caterpillars Away From Plants
- 1). Remove individual caterpillars from your plants by hand. Pluck off the critters and relocate them by hand. If you only have a couple of caterpillars, this is a quick, effective remedy.
- 2). Coat your plants with neem oil if the pest problem expands. Spray the neem oil over the whole plant, misting all of the leaves, flowers or developing vegetables. Neem oil is gentle enough that it's safe to use on food crops, yet effective at driving away caterpillars.
- 3). Cover your plants with netting to keep butterflies away from your plants once you've eliminated all of the caterpillars. As long as butterflies don't lay eggs there, you won't have any caterpillar problems going forward.