How to Get Rid of Caterpillars Inside My House

This page is an expert guide on getting rid of caterpillars from your home using the products and methods suggested by our experienced pest control specialists. Follow this guide and use the recommended products and you will eliminate caterpillars from your house, guaranteed.

The caterpillar is largely a harmless insect and when they grow up to become butterflies, they look undeniably gorgeous. But when their young ones crawl into your home, they are not only unsightly but unsanitary as well.

A caterpillar can potentially host different germs and otherwise, mar the sanitation inside your home easily enough by its mere presence. If they are out in your garden, they can be damaging to the vegetation. Caterpillars can also sneak through openings and cracks in your home and nibble on your indoor potted plants. If you are dealing with a caterpillar infestation, read on to find out what you should do to get rid of the pest.

Identification

Caterpillars are the larvae stage of moths and butterflies. There are over 180,000 species of caterpillars and they come in different color patterns and sizes, but the common characteristics are that they are long, wiggly and hairy. They are soft-bodied, have three pairs of real legs and then six false legs that help the caterpillar cling and climb onto plants. Caterpillars like to eat plants and are known to be very destructive in garden and agricultural settings.

Inspection

Where To Look

Caterpillars often make their way in the home from outdoors where there is a garden of lots of vegetation. If you experience a caterpillar invasion the odds are that they came into your house by piggybacking on some plant or vegetable you've brought into the home or through cracks or holes in your screen and or even though open windows. This holds even truer where your porch or windows open directly to foliage right outside, of if you have hanging potted plants in your balconies and windows. Since the butterfly will deposit its eggs on the plant, they will hatch and the little caterpillar will be able to crawl its way into your home.

What To Look For

Caterpillars move slowly so it's likely you'll see the caterpillars themselves moving around in the home. Aside from this, another sign of caterpillar presence are the stains they leave behind. Many caterpillars have a rather annoying tendency of ‘oozing’ their way across walls and floors like common garden slugs. This means that their residue has to be cleaned up, otherwise it stains the walls and floors where they have been.

Treatment

By far the single most effective method of dealing with these unwanted visitors in your home is via insecticides. The trick is to use products that are effective in killing caterpillars but also can be safely sprayed on plant life without harming the plants. This is why our experts recommend Cyonara 9.7.

Step 1 - Apply Cyonara 9.7 Insecticide

Cyonara 9.7 is an advanced insecticide that contains the active ingredient lambda-cyhalothrin which is known to be lethal to insects like caterpillars while also being easy on plants. You can safely spray around your garden, lawn, flowerbeds and trees without an issue. It can also be used as a perimeter treatment to keep caterpillars and other pests from making their way into the home.

For spot treatments, start by mixing 0.5 fl. oz. of Cyonara 9.7 in 1 to 2.5 gallons of water. Mix well in a sprayer of your choice and then apply around areas in the home you have seen caterpillars, around the perimeter of your home and any possible points of entry caterpillars can use, then apply around your garden and lawn via fan spray setting. Spray Cyonara 9.7 every 2 to 3 months for continued control.

Prevention

To keep caterpillars away from your home and garden, a quarterly preventative treatment of Cyonara 9.7 will suffice. Aside from this, if you see a few caterpillars from time to time, you can pluck them from your plants by hand and put them in a bag or sweep them away with a broom. Reducing leaf litter and investing in insect barrier fabrics can also be wise low-cost preventative measures to protect your property from caterpillar damage.

Key Takeaways

• Caterpillars are moth and butterfly larvae and are known to have a big appetite for plants and vegetation in gardens, but can also wind up inside your home while looking for food.
• We recommend using Cyonara 9.7 and spraying it around your home's perimeter and in your garden to kill caterpillars.
• To prevent caterpillar re-infestation, spray Cyonara 9.7 every 2 or 3 months for continued protection and control.