Geranium pests

I've got several geraniums in my garden and in the last two summers my "Johnsons Blue" and some other geraniums (but not magenta flowering ones) have been eaten by some small catepillars. At first small holes in the leaves appear and then they are eaten so that only rib are left. Does anybody know what these caterpillars are and how to fight them? I don't want to use chemicals.

 

Interesting, I've not known catepillas go for geraniums. I wonder what they are? - but the only solution I know other than spraying, is to pick them off by hand - in the same way as slugs and snails - but in daylight rather than at night. Sorry

 

Some time ago I read that there is a European butterfly that was reported as having arrived here which is a bad pest but don't know if it has survived our winters. Seem to remember it's called something like, Bronze/Bronzed or Brown butterfly,perhaps I'll have a search and see what I can find.

 

www.defra.gov.uk/planth/pestnote/geranium.htm -

Here it is!

 

That's nasty Paladin - but thanks for the info.

Nikki try posting a photo of the caterpillar, at the appropriate time. I had a problem with caterpillars last summer on a Cleome and it was soon identified.

 

Thanks to you all, I'll look at the caterpillars more closely in summer and take a photo. However, they don't look like the brown butterfly larvaes but are approx. 1 cm long and rather thin. When the plant is affected there are so many of them as well.

This winter here in the Southwest has been colder than the last ones so maybe I wan't have this problem next summer. I hope so!

 

Just to add.You are right Nikki winters have been warm and bugs survive as Fran said picking them off is a chemical free and friendly way.

 

They ruined my geraniums too...they are difficult to spot cuz they are pale green, small and skinny, wish i knew how to get rid