caterpillers

You will have to be brave and pick them off - then dispose of them. However, please don't forget that caterpillars change into Butterflies - yours may be Cabbage Whites if they are on your veggies, I know, but Butterflies are getting more and more rare....I don't suppose you could leave them????

i dont know if they are cabbage whites, they are not on the veggies they are on my flowers or what is left of some of them.

Oh dear. Sorry to hear that - but only you can decide whether to get rid of them or leave them alone!

Catarpillars are very slow moving and their one defense strategy is to drop to the ground... catch and squish as many as you can...they may not necessarily be butterfly or moth larvae...they could belong to certain types of flies...I have a picture of sawfly larvae (I'm in North America) that tried to defoliate my roses and a mugho pine... I don't know if you have sawflies in the UK but thought you could take a look at these...if yours are like them, squish them all! then spray the plants with as strong a stream of water as they will stand...to dislodge any unhatched eggs...and keep a very close eye for the next two weeks... hate to use chemicals or even to advise their usage because of the effects on young birds. best thing you can do Nita, is pluck and squish...
good luck.