Just curious, can you attach a picture of them? I'd like to see what kind they are.

Bt kurstaki is the gold standard for caterpillars, but needs to be applied when they are very young.

There are a few caterpillars that are known as stinging caterpillars although none appear to be pests of cowpeas. Which ones might be around you might depend on where in the world you are, so that information as well as a picture of the caterpillar in question would be of some help.

kimmq is kimmsr

Here are two photos of the stinging caterpillars that like to hang out on cowpeas in my garden every year. The stings are painful but thankfully go away after about 15-20 minutes.

Yikes, that's the Saddleback Caterpillar, Acharia stimulea. That's one I have personal experience with!

My nursery employees came into the office one morning, some of them suffering terribly from the stings. I had to close my 16 acre nursery for two days to get rid of them.

I was stung, too, but it hurt for a day or two. Felt like I had been shot.

How'd you get rid of them?? thanks for any advice

vamtngranny, not many; not simple. HERE is some information. I guess that the English would say, "Best of British luck! "

vamtn, I cannot offer help to you regarding control of these awful pests. The measures that I had at my call in a professional nursery are not what a homeowner has in the garage.

About all I can suggest is that you wear protective clothing in the garden for the rest of the season and destroy any that you may find.

They overwinter as a silk covered cocoon on stems and twigs, often on the plants upon which they are feeding. It will be important to cut and remove your peas from the garden at the end of the season. Protect yourself then, too; the caterpillar often weaves some of those stinging (urticating) spines into the cocoon.

Next spring, you should procure some Bt-Kurstaki, the biological control I mentioned earlier. It's effective only on the babies, which ingest it as they feed. Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis Kurstaki) is available as a dust or liquid, which you will mix with water according to label directions and apply with a sprayer.

Know this....the Saddleback caterpillar can be found on any kind of plant. If you observe chewed up plants in your landscape, for example, don your gloves and examine the plants with care.

I must be tough because I've been getting stung by these things for several years and just live with it. It would be nice to get rid of them but I probably can't completely. Wearing long sleeves and long pants working in the garden in July and August would be worse than getting stung.

i always do pull out all the cowpeas right after I finish the last harvest so they do not overwinter on those. I will watch for the cocoons.

Thanks for the Bt suggestion--I use a Bt spray on my Leland Cypresses in spring against bagworms. I suppose I could just use the same thing on my veg garden?

Absolutely yes, granny. Bt can be applied to veggies.

I will have to remember to spray my whole west garden next spring. Thanks!

Oh, those nasty things! I got stung by one on my hibiscus plants years ago.