Spray solution for cabbage butterfly, etc

[ChrisC_77]

Last year I was getting very tired of picking all those caterpillars off of my cabbages. I have read several natural methods of dealing with this problem. I have heard that mint and rosemary will keep this butterfly away. Rather than planting rosemary or mint, I was considering making a solution with either rosemary or mint and spraying. Has anyone tried this or have any other good ideas?

[rainbowgardener]

I like that! Let us know how it works.

If you want to go higher powered, Bt and spinosad are organic insect controls (Bt = bacillus thuringiensis and is a disease that affects only caterpillar type things; spinosad is a toxin created from fermentation of a different bacterium) The spinosad is harmful to honeybees while freshly sprayed/wet. "Residue tests conducted under laboratory, semi-field and field conditions on worker honeybees foraging on treated foliage indicated that dry product residues were harmless" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12696428 So if you were using it, only do it late in the evening after the honeybees have gone home, so that it can dry overnight.

Generally for your garden, it is very helpful to have bird houses, bird feeders, and a water source for the birds. They are your friends in picking off things like the cabbage worm.

Braconid wasps, the same tiny parasitic wasp that controls my tomato hornworm, and other beneficial insects help control cabbage worms/ cabbage loopers. Attract them in to your garden by planting nectar bearing flowers, especially ones that have lots of tiny florets, like alyssum, yarrow, carrot family flowers.

" Researchers have identified the following groups whose flowers provide easily accessible nectar and pollen: 1) plants in the daisy family, such as aster, cosmos and yarrow; 2) plants in the carrot family, such as cilantro, dill, fennel, parsley and wild carrot; 3) alyssum and other members of the mustard family; 4) mints; and 5) buckwheats.

Plants in these families are especially good because their clusters of very small flowers make accessing their nectar and pollen easier for many insects" https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic- ... cleContent

[applestar]

I found cilantro is particularly suitable because they self seed to regrow in the bed and bolt as soon as it starts to get warm so they start blooming early on.

On the other hand, I'm not sure if I want to overwinter too much kale, Brussels sprouts, turnips, rutabaga, etc. mustard family or allow Asian greens to bolt and bloom anymore because those blossoms seem to attract indecent number of the cabbage white butterflies. When letting them bolt and go to seed to collect seeds, I think I'll be a bit more selective about where to locate them relative to new season's cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower, etc. planting location.

Ultimately, using insect netting has worked the best for me.

[imafan26]

Cabbage worms are not limited to cabbage, they love lettuce too. I agree, I have used netting and Bt (dipel) too. They both work. If you use netting, you need to secure the netting at the ground. Determined critters get in.

I have also rotated crops when the pest populations get out of hand. If there isn't any food for them they go away.

[applestar]

One year a young tan-colored baby praying mantis got inside the cabbage row netting and grew to be a full sized green adult -- obviously had plenty to eat.

[imafan26]

Yeah, been there with the netting. Birds are the worst, they get under the netting to eat the tomatoes. If I manage to make the net tight enough, then it took me so long to get in and out of it, that I waited until most of the tomatoes were ripe. Netting did not stop the slugs and snails from having a feast.

I once lived on a perimeter lot with a ravine behind the house. Everything I grew in the vegetable garden got chomped without netting. But once the leaf legged stink bugs got inside the netting they had free reign since none of their predators could get at them.

Netting was still the least harmful to the beneficial insects. Spinosad is not specific as it will also kill predatory mites and thrips and it cannot be used often or the insects may build up a tolerance. Neem may harm bee larvae that are fed the sprayed pollen. Dipel is more specific as it targets caterpillars.

[Radwan]

any shiny white like "egg shells" will work to confuse butterfly thinking this area is already occupied with other butterfly, just scatter them all around and it will work as it worked for me.

[ChrisC_77]

any shiny white like "egg shells" will work to confuse butterfly thinking this area is already occupied with other butterfly, just scatter them all around and it will work as it worked for me.

What do you use may I ask?

[applestar]

Hmm. That last question didn't get a reply....


I wanted to add this link where I posted about insect barrier tunnels and tents I tried with some success. Subject: 2014 Gardening Season Review

[Rairdog]

Cabbage moths decimated my spinach, lettuce, broccoli, kale, salvia and a few others. This was the first time I grew most of these in that garden area so I guess they took over before the predators had a chance to multiply. I suppose growing greens/cabbage type plants in a NEW area can throw off the balance just like killing off the predators with poisons unintentionally. I have honeybees and LOTS of bumble bees, carpenter bees, leaf cutters, sweat bees and braconids so BT and Spinosad would be risky.