Got Holes in Your Leafy Greens? You Have Cabbage Worms: You are carefully taking care of your fresh greens in the yard when you notice something strange: the leaves are all full of holes. Don’t give up just yet. You’re not the only one going through this.
Got Holes in Your Leafy Greens? You Have Cabbage Worms
That’s likely cabbage worms. These are pesky bugs that can do a lot of damage to your vegetables. This article will explain what cabbage worms are, show you how to find them, and give you useful advice on how to stop and control the damage they do.
1. Meet the Culprit: Cabbage Worms
What are cabbage worms? They are the young stages of several moth species, like the cabbage moth and the diamondback moth.
They are also known as cabbage loopers or foreign cabbage worms. This green worm is known to love cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage.
Cabbage worms can kill plants quickly if they are not stopped because they eat leaves so quickly. This could make plants grow more slowly and yield less.
2. Identifying Cabbage Worm Damage
As soon as cabbage worms get to a plant, their leaves generally get holes or the tips of their leaves are chewed off.
You might also see dark green or black droppings on the ground or leaves nearby. We call these frass. Sometimes cabbage worms are hard to see because they are green and blend in with the leaves.
3. Natural Control Methods
The good news is that there are some natural ways to get rid of cabbage worms that don’t involve drugs.
Many cabbage worms can be kept in check by adding parasitic wasps and hungry beetles and other helpful bugs.
Plant partner plants like marigolds, mint, and thyme near crops that are easy for cabbage moths to damage to keep them from laying their eggs there.
If you have a small garden, picking cabbage worms off of plants by hand on a daily basis can also help get rid of them.
Also See:
Rare Bicentennial Quarter Has Nearly $75 Million Value — Plus 4 More Worth Big Money
4. Organic Remedies
People who garden can use a lot of natural medicines and biological controls to get rid of problems in a natural way. This is a naturally occurring bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).
When cabbage worms eat it, it makes poisons that kill them. Bug killers based on bt kill cabbage worms without hurting people, pets, or helpful bugs too much.
They come in spray or dust forms. The neem tree makes neem oil, which is naturally poisonous. It can also kill cabbage worms if you use it on the leaves of your plants like it says on the bottle.
5. Cultural Practices
You can help keep cabbage worms away and minimize crop loss by following cultural practices. Adult moths can’t lay eggs on plants if there is something that keeps them from getting to the plants.
If you keep an eye on your plants for cabbage worm signs and get rid of any eggs you find right away, the population won’t grow too quickly. To get rid of cabbage worms from your yard, plant different kinds of plants every season. This will break their life cycle and avoid them as much as possible.
Conclusion
Keep cabbage worms from ruining your crops and lowering the amount of food you get. You can protect your green vegetables and have a great harvest if you know how to spot cabbage worm damage and take steps to keep them away.
To keep cabbage worms away, you can use cultural practices, natural controls, or green medicines. But don’t forget that you need to keep trying and be careful. You can get rid of these garden pests and enjoy the results of your labor if you are smart and have a green thumb.