Garden Pests - Small Caterpillars

[OnMyWay]

Our gardener had not been here for a couple of weeks because of rain, and today he found these caterpillars had infested our two terraced gardens.  I'm don't know if they have spread past those two areas.  I believe they are eating the roots of the frog grass as well as everything else.  You can see the frog grass is browning in the video, and it is not in our other areas of frog grass.

Anybody have any experience with these and how to control?  I guess they are temporary as they will turn into something but they are doing a lot of damage.

Video: 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/og6bem13NBrLJIf82

 

[sonjack2847]

Spray with diluted white vinegar that should get rid of them they don`t like the sour taste.

[Possum]

I have been infested with these things by the thousands over the last two years. Never saw them before then. I've asked around and no one seems to know much about them. I heard all kinds of things like "it's because someone cut down that big tree across the road 2 years ago" to "it's means the soil is good" They don't eat anything in the garden and don't sting but you can't get out of the house without stepping on them and they get into the house thru any crack under the door. My wife sweeps the bodies up a couple of times a day, over 50 a day on the walk and in the garage. Anyone know anything about them? Like how long will this invasion last and why did they just start last year?

Edited September 22 by Possum

[earthdome]

17 minutes ago, Possum said:

I have been infested with these things by the thousands over the last two years. Never saw them before then. I've asked around and no one seems to know much about them. I heard all kinds of things like "it's because someone cut down that big tree across the road 2 years ago" to "it's means the soil is good" They don't eat anything in the garden and don't sting but you can't get out of the house without stepping on them and they get into the house thru any crack under the door. My wife sweeps the bodies up a couple of times a day, over 50 a day on the walk and in the garage. Anyone know anything about them? Like how long will this invasion last and why did they just start last year?

I see these all the time near the green areas at the pool and lawn area at our condo.

[Possum]

14 minutes ago, earthdome said:

I see these all the time near the green areas at the pool and lawn area at our condo.

Do they ever go away? I wouldn't care about them if they stayed in the grass or trees but apparently that's not enough for them. My wife asked where they thought they were going. I told her I had no clue unless we built the house on some traditional migratory pathway. But something's not right because we didn't see the things for the first few years.

[Gator]

People seem to be blaming all of the woes of the world on climate change, so that must be the reason you are being invaded by caterpillars! 🤣

[Mike J]

10 hours ago, Possum said:

I heard all kinds of things like "it's because someone cut down that big tree across the road 2 years ago"

If the I found info on the right critter, this person may be correct?  

<snip>Orthomorpha coarctata, the long-flange millipede, is a widely introduced species of Polydesmidan millipede of the family Paradoxosomatidae<end snip>

<snip>They are an arboreal species, which means they inhabit and climb trees in their natural environment. Their home ecosystem typically consists of lush, tropical rainforests filled with a lot of dense foliage that provides the ideal cover and food sources for Orthomorpha coarctata.<end snip>

[graham59]

Correct sir. They are (harmless) millipedes. 

We have lots around the garden, and sometimes coming into the house. Just another of those things one has to get used to, living here in the jungle. 

[Possum]

With the help of Google images I finally figured out the mystery as to why we didn't see them for the first few years. They are flat-backed millipedes Sigmoria trimaculata. They feed on decaying vegetation. In my case two things happened. About the same time they cut down that tree they also started cutting the grass on a somewhat regular basis in front of the house. Shortly after we all started noticing these things after a rain. They are living on the cut grass so we'll just get used to them. I wondered why the birds didn't eat them and found out they have a bit of cyanide in them. You can smash one and smell almond like cyanide smell. Might  explain why I haven't seen those two birds that used to crap in my nipa hut, so there is an upside

[GeoffH]

We've got lots of them around here also, thanks for the info about them.