Different pests, birds, and insects attack and eat the monarch caterpillars, although they are poisonous. The predators cause a prominent decrease in their population, and some pests cause diseases that lead to death.
How To Protect Monarch Caterpillars From Predators? You can protect the monarch caterpillars by placing the nets around the plants, keeping the caterpillars in enclosures, taking proper care of cleanliness, replacing their location, planting many milkweed plants to provide hiding spots, removing pests by natural methods, growing companion plants, and placing bird feeders to divert predators.
Many predators have adapted to digest their toxins and prey on them in their natural habitats. However, some feel sick after consuming them and avoid eating them again in the near future.
Place netting around the plants
One of the easiest ways to protect these caterpillars on milkweed plants is to place netting around them. It will deter the birds and other flying insects from accessing and attacking them.
For example, my friend told me that he has some milkweed plants in his yard, and monarch butterflies often visit his place to feed and lay eggs on the host plants.
One day, he saw a jumping spider feeding on a caterpillar. He got worried and searched for ways to protect them from such predators.
He watched a YouTube video and came to know that netting is a way to protect them from these predators. He bought a plant net and placed it around the milkweed plants where adult butterflies had laid eggs and caterpillars were present using some plastic clips.
Keep the caterpillars in the enclosure
Another way to protect them is to keep them in an enclosure or build a natural and suitable habitat in containers.
I have kept the monarch caterpillars in a mesh enclosure to keep them away from predators and pests. You can check for the eggs and small-sized caterpillars on the milkweed plants and cut the leaves to place them in a container or mesh enclosure.
I have placed the enclosure in a suitable place outside the main house, such as the three-season room, to deter predators from approaching them.
I have raised many caterpillars in enclosures and released them when they completed the growth stages and became adults.
Take care of cleanliness
The poor hygiene conditions attract many bugs and insects that attack and eat caterpillars. Therefore, perfect hygiene is essential to keep them safe and away from pests and diseases.
I regularly monitor the enclosure to keep it clean and remove the extra and dried leaves to avoid pests and germs due to frass.
Moreover, the parasites are also considered one of the worst predators of caterpillars because they get inside their bodies and cause death when they enter the pupa stage.
Therefore, closely check the egg-laying sites around the host plant to observe the pest’s nests and other insects’ eggs because they are also tiny pests.
Replace the caterpillar location
You can protect them and reduce the chances of predators noticing them by replacing their location with other milkweed plants, as a large number of caterpillars in one place will attract more predators by making their presence more prominent.
You can also move them to a safe milkweed plant free from pests and their nests, protecting them and increasing their chances of survival. Otherwise, they will move to a nearby plant.
My neighbor told me that you should immediately remove the infected and sick caterpillar from the enclosure and move it to other places.
He said the location of the enclosure also affects the predation risks, such as bats can chew the net and eat them if you have placed the enclosure in your yards with predatory insects and bats.
Therefore, replace their location if you notice these predators around them in the yard and select a suitable place with proper sunlight and temperature.
Plant a lot of milkweed in your garden
Professionals recommend growing milkweed plants in your garden to protect the monarch caterpillars from predation.
Various milkweed plants and vegetation allow them to hide under the leaves and crawl to other plants to camouflage in the surroundings and deter predators.
They have yellow, white, and black stripes on their bodies and hide under the leaves if predators approach. They are smart enough to protect themselves if they find many milkweed plants and dense vegetation around their habitat.
Moreover, I noticed in my yard that more milkweed plants reduce the chances of pests and predations because the caterpillar has many options to go and feed on healthy and fresh leaves.
In addition, it is better to plant the milkweed at a distance from each other to minimize the chances of pest infestation on all nearby plants. Try to grow native milkweed plants to provide more food and faster growth under suitable environmental conditions.
Remove the pest’s nests by natural methods
Ants, spiders, and bugs are the pests and can eat or infect the monarch caterpillars. Once, I saw many ants crawling on these small baby butterflies and studied about this because a few days ago, I also noticed ants on the chrysalis.
I also asked my cousin about this and how to get rid of them to protect the monarch babies in my garden because he raised many butterfly species in captivity.
He told me you can use natural methods to remove the pest nests and keep the caterpillar safe from diseases and pest attacks.
He said to take 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda and 2-3 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Mix them well and place them near the infested milkweed plants.
He explained that the sugar attracts the ants, and baking soda causes them to die by destroying their immune and digestive system.
Moreover, he said you can use natural insecticides by consulting the professionals around the pest nests to kill them without harming the monarch caterpillars.
Furthermore, he told me that you should never use harsh pesticides or insecticides to remove them without proper knowledge and experience because it can cause problems for the monarch butterfly babies.
You can also protect them by hand removing the tiny predators on the caterpillars and leaves, such as brushing them off.
Grow companion plants to keep predators away
Growing companion plants in your garden is another way to protect the monarch butterfly’s babies because the predatory insects will move towards these plants, leaving the milkweed.
For example, I planted marigolds and nasturtium in my garden to deter the aphids and other insects feeding the milkweed and disturbing the caterpillars.
The marigold releases the smell and chemicals that deter the predators, like aphids and flying bugs, and protect the caterpillars.
Therefore, you can grow marigolds near milkweed to reduce the chances of predation by many insects.
It will keep the aphid population under control. In addition, nasturtium will become the target companion plant for whiteflies, aphids, hoverflies, and other bugs.
It increases the chances of their survival and protects them from predatory bugs and insects. They lay eggs, and their babies are the parasites for monarchs, which causes them to die in their developing stages.
In addition, companion plants can attract beneficial insects in your garden that will keep the predators and pest populations under control and help you protect the caterpillars.
Place bird feeders to divert predators
I have placed a bird feeder in my yard to divert the attention of predatory insects and birds from monarch caterpillars.
Birds, such as sparrows, jays, orioles, warblers, American robins, and many more, can eat the caterpillars.
Therefore, I provided them with other food sources to divert them from harming the baby monarch butterflies and protect them from predation.
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