Cabbage worms can happily eat away at the bases of cabbage, cauliflower, or the heads of broccoli without being noticed. They feed on foliage, and eventually they can leave plants only with stems and large veins. If left to their own devices, cabbage worms can devour your crops.
What is eating the leaves of my broccoli?
The most common are the imported cabbage worm, the cabbage looper, and the diamondback moths. I would like to include a fourth, the cross-striped cabbage worm, because it is particularly problematic for me. These pests are often called “cabbage worms” even though they are actually caterpillars.
What is eating my broccoli and cabbage plants?
If your broccoli leaves or heads are being eaten, you’ve got an insect problem. It could be cabbage moths, which are very common. It could also be diamondback moths or flea beetles.
What animal eats broccoli leaves?
Broccoli leaves are attractive to many different pests and animals. The most common culprits that you will find eating your broccoli leaves are broccoli worms — which include the cabbage worm, diamondback worm, and the cabbage looper — flea beetles, rabbits, gophers, and deer.
What is eating my cabbage?
ANSWER: The most common cabbage pests are aphids, worms, moths, and slugs. Aphids and other mites drain the essential sap from cabbage leaves, leaving the plant weak and damaged, as well as more susceptible to other pest infestations and diseases.
How do you protect broccoli leaves?
The plants can be covered with hotcaps, newspaper, plastic gallon jugs (cut the bottoms and tops out), or row covers. The delicious broccoli heads are much more frost sensitive than the actual plants. Frost damage causes the florets to get mushy. If this happens, cut off the head but leave the plant in the ground.
Why do my broccoli leaves have holes in them?
Flea Beetles
Crucifer flea beetles (Phyllotreta cruciferae) are tiny beetles that hop around from plant to plant, nibbling little holes in the foliage. They don’t typically cause as much damage to broccoli as they do to other crucifers, thanks to the waxy coating that covers the leaves.
How do I get rid of cabbage eating bugs?
8 ORGANIC WAYS TO PREVENT & CONTROL CABBAGE WORMS
- Manual Removal.
- Floating Row Covers.
- Plant Purple & Red Varieties.
- Use Polyculture & Companion Planting.
- Beneficial Insects.
- Decoy Moths.
- Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) Spray.
- Neem Oil Spray.
What can I put on broccoli plants to keep bugs off?
Keeping bugs off broccoli starts with adding companion plants and beneficial bugs to your garden. On top of that, consider attacking harmful insects with water, spraying with neem oil, or applying bacillus thuringiensis (BT) to your plants. Covering your broccoli plants with mesh and keeping them healthy can help, too.
How do you keep cabbage plants from eating?
The two main predators of cabbages are pigeons and the caterpillars of both large and small white butterflies, which lay their eggs on the growing plants. The only practical solution is using netting, which must be very fine and held well clear of the plants.
What animal is eating my plants at night?
Wildlife that feed at night include rabbits, deer, squirrels, chipmunks, voles, woodchucks, groundhogs, and skunks. They do a lot of damage.
What do you spray on cabbage worms?
Spray Neem Oil To Get Rid Of Cabbage Worms
Neem oil is a naturally occurring pesticide that kills caterpillars when they feed on the leaves, and it’s safe to use on vegetables. It has a residual effect too, which means you don’t have to spray your plants every day.
How do you get rid of cabbage worms in broccoli?
Nearly all broccoli worms can be controlled by using products containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). This bacterium makes worms sick, eventually killing them; however, it is perfectly safe for plants, humans and other beneficial insects. Bt is available at most garden centers and is best used in the afternoon.
What is making holes in my cabbage leaves?
These small holes are telltale signs of the cabbage worm. Actually, the are several insects that cause this type of damage and are generally referred to as ‘cabbage worms’. This includes the imported cabbage worm, the diamondback caterpillar and cabbage looper.
What is attacking my cabbage?
Cutworms, imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper, diamondback moth larvae, and cross-striped cabbage worm can be each cause substantial damage to cabbage. These pests can cause serious damage to young transplants as well as causing serious leaf feeding damage to older plants.
How do I know if my cabbage has worms?
Signs of cabbage worm damage are holes in the leaves or flower stalks (as is often the case with broccoli), skeletonized leaves, and the presence of their dark green, round, pelleted excrement, called frass.
Should I cut leaves off broccoli plants?
They’ll need those leaves to photosynthesize, which is how they feed themselves. Clip lower leaves on your broccoli plant first, removing them where they meet the stem by cutting or snapping. Don’t tear the main stalk!
How do I make insecticidal soap?
Can I make my own insecticidal soap? Certainly! By mixing 2.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 2.5 tablespoons of pure liquid soap with 1 gallon of distilled water, you’ll have a whole gallon of insecticidal soap for safely spraying plants in flowerbeds or the vegetable garden.
Is it OK to eat greens with bug holes?
Fortunately, there’s good news! Greens with holes in them that were created by feeding insects or slugs should be fine to eat, if you cut away the damaged parts.
How do you treat holes in leaves?
For both, treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil. Sucking insects poke tiny holes in leaves and draw the juices out of them. Common sucking insects include aphids, squash bugs, and spider mites.
How do you get rid of cabbage aphids on broccoli?
As a reminder, there are 16 Proven & Effective Ways to Get Rid of Aphids on Broccoli. They are:
- Manually Remove Aphids.
- Spray Leaves or the Broccoli that have Aphids.
- Use Insecticidal Soap.
- Use Commercial Pesticide.
- Apply an Organic Pesticide.
- Use Essential Oils.
- Dust Your Broccoli & its leaves.
- Cut Back Your Broccoli.