It’s heartbreaking to see your lovingly nurtured cabbages damaged by hungry pests! The most common culprits are caterpillars, specifically the larvae of the cabbage white butterfly. You may have seen the butterflies fluttering around your patch. These butterflies lay eggs on the leaves of broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, which hatch into caterpillars that feast on your plants.
To tackle this problem, you can pick the caterpillars off by hand (great job for the kids!) or spray the plants with organic products such as natural pyrethrum or Dipel. These are safe for you and your family to use. For long-term protection, cover your plants with a pest exclusion net to keep the butterflies away. Just remember to monitor and control any caterpillars already present.
