horrid caterpillars on cabbages

I have some calabrese and red cabbage plants in the garden. They are crawling with caterpillars (about 2 cms long) which are eating huge holes in the leaves. I tried to blast them off with the hose pipe, with limited success. I know this is why people use enviromesh etc, but now that the beasties are on my veg, I guess it's too late for enviromesh. Are there ways of getting rid of the blimmin' things? I am too squeamish to squish them. And what damage do they do to the plants exactly? At the moment, they are eating the leaves, not the calabrese head itself.

 

The caterpillars will eat large large amounts of your leaves and then move towards the heart of the plants. They'll then hide in the head and eat it from the inside out, fouling it with their droppings. Sorry to be explicit but that's what caterpillars do. Or at least, the ones that got into my caulis some years ago did this. And once they're in the head, you'll never touch them. I remember cutting one cauli and soaking it in a bowl of salted water - after a while, I counted over 60 slugs and caterpillars dead in the water!

So, it's time to be strong. Look into my eyes. Listen to my voice. Now say to yourself "I must squash caterpillars, I can squash caterpillars, I WILL squash caterpillars". Go and do it now....

 

Flinty, you make the caterpillars and what they do sound hideous, absolutely hideous! I still don't know if I can squish them though - there were some on the spinach that I picked for our supper tonight, and I let out a scream so loud my hubby thought I'd stabbed myself in the foot with a pitch fork at least. I'll try and gather them wearing enormous gloves. Maybe that'll work? Or I'll get a blowtorch - no wait, that'd kill my cabbages too.

 

Hi Rosiemongrel, I found loads of caterpillers on my sprouts and purple sprouting broccoli today then spent the afternoon picking off the big ones and squishing the little ones. The big ones ended up in the bin. If you want your cabbage to survive I'm afraid you'll have to start killing them. With gloves on its not so bad.

 

Squish `em....SQUISH `EM !!! You know it makes sense ! squish squish squish........

 

Yuk! I have squished the eggs but I get hubby to remove/squish the caterpillars.
Just look at them eating my cabbage!!

 

The bas----s. The ate hald my ornamental cabbages overnight. Being just ornamental cabbages I sprayed systemic insecticide and was done with it. Else I wd spray pyretrum all over. Grrr. Monsters. Hate them hate them hate them. Funny how they popped up here and there at the same time. DO they bloom together all over the world like bloody bamboo? Yuck.

 

Hi folks. I used enviromesh on SOME of my brassica plantings, but not all. The caterpillars are having a field day out there ! Only ONE thing for it, i`m gonna have to cover EVERYTHING next year. Even my swedes are now the getting their attention Ah well, the joys of gardening eh. Cheers...freddy.

 

Ah - you live and learn freddy:D

No bugs on my brassicas as I also have them covered. BUT!!! I've got a severe case of clubroot I'm really annoyed as last year I'd next to none and this year I was really clever and planted a good successional crop of cabbage and sprouts expecting bumper crops from June to March.

Too clever by far

 

But what does one do for ornamental cabbages in the flower border, sniff. Can't put a tent overthem there. Boo-hoo. :(

 

Rosiemongrel.
I remember some years ago having problems with caterpillars on my gooseberries. I tried a product called Bactospeine, the active ingredient being a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis. It was very successful, but I have struggled to find it again. It is completely harmless and naturally occurring. If you can find it or a similar product I am sure it would do the trick for you.

 

Googled for this information

"Bacillus thuringiensis var kurstaki

marketed under such names as 'Bactospeine' and 'Dipel DF'

Works very well, we've used it for years it used to be sold by PBI as Bio 'BT'.
Don't know if it's available in small quantities for amateur use anymore since the
shakeup in home pesticide approval a few years back.
You can buy it from agricultural merchants, as Dipel DF - we shared a pot
with another grower, but it was quite pricey and will last for a few years."



I think you can buy it from here -

http://buzzorganics.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=22_5&products_id=21
£53.31! ooops! bit pricey?

 

I had a load on my purple sprouting broccoli, about 20 on one leaf must have just hatched. I put them in a jar with a leaf to eat to take to my fiance's mums nursery, the little blighters got out onto the windowsill (through clingfilm!) so we let them go down the bottom of the garden, a long way away from the veg patch! I must say the rate at which they poo is amazing!!

 

Is the poo all those little greem slimey blobs? I have blasted those off with the hosepipe. I have also picked some caterpillars off (with gloves on) and hurled them a couple of metres away (into an ornamental flower bed). I couldn't bear to squish them - even with leather gardening gloves on. Will they crawl all the way back or will they slowly die in my kerria bush (which is where I chucked them)? Mine look exactly like yours on the picture, jjordie.

Can someone post a picture of their cabbages WITH mesh covering? i can't quite imagine the technicalities of covering a growing plant?

 

Meant to say: I thought the butterflies were lovely when I saw them. Don't they're so lovely now! :( How dare they use my vegetables as some kind of mega-toilet!