When you said, 'Poop,' all I could think about was an incident a few grows ago. On my balcony. Fortunately, it was only pigeon ricochet during early veg. Had it been seagull, in any amount, I might have been turned off from growing altogether. Another pigeon, another time, shit on my bath towel when I shooed it away. Damn things always trying to get their pigeon groove on during nesting season, too.
I call your caterpillars 'horn worms.' Used to get them on my tomatoes. Nighttime raids and daytime raids are necessary. In the daytime, give your plants a good shake. It only takes a couple. They'll fall off if you can do it quick, without bumping the plants first, and giving them the heads-up.
My friend,
crucialbunny , there is no such thing as 'one more.' You will have an ongoing battle. It's like my paw used to tell me. He'd tell me, 'Gingerfuzz. Don't look 'em in the eye. If you do, you'll remember them forever.' He was a hornworm assassin. His tool was a little tiny garotte. Custom job. Armenian.
What do you call arguing tree rats? A squarrel.
Did I ever tell you about the time I did a standard dab every five minutes for an hour? Remind me to tell you about it. I'll probably forget.