How to Get Rid of Cabbage Worms

Cabbage worms can damage or even destroy your brassicas. You can deal with them yourself or invite some of their enemies into your garden to deal with them for you.

Cabbage worms and eggs - Source

What are Cabbage Worms?

Cabbage worms are actually three different species of butterfly and moths. The little cabbage white butterflies are imports from Europe. They weren’t seen in North America until 1860 and since then have become established in Canada and the United States. These produce the bright green with faint yellow stripes caterpillars that you see on all cole crops.

The caterpillars that move like inchworms are called cabbage loopers and are produced by darkly mottled night-flying moths. They move like inchworms because they have no legs in the mid-sections and so they must first move the legs on their front end and then catch up their rear sections forcing their middles to rise up like an inchworm.

The third kind of cabbage worm is the larvae of Diamond Back moths. They are tiny green caterpillars that are less than half an inch long and prefer dining on turnips and mustard greens.

Floating row covers. Notice how the edges are covered with soil to anchor the covers and prevent any insects from crawling underneath- Source

Use Row Covers

One of the best ways to prevent your brassicas from being eaten by cabbage worms is to prevent the butterflies and moths from laying eggs on them. You can do this with the use of floating row covers. They are “floating” because you just lay them loosely over your plants. The thin polyester material allows light and rain to get in but keeps insects out. Be sure to anchor the sides and ends of the covers with soil so that insects can't crawl underneath the row covers and get at your crops.

Hand Pick Cabbage Worms

If you have a small garden, you can search your plants frequently and pick the eggs and caterpillars off your plants. A good time to do this is when you go out to your garden to weed. If it is too icky for you to touch the caterpillars, try wearing gloves. After you pick the caterpillars and eggs, drop them into a container of soapy water to kill them. Afterwards, you can dump the water directly into your composter. I love the irony of making compost out of dead insects that would have killed or damaged my plants.

Use Poultry to Eat Cabbage Worms

Chickens, ducks and other poultry think that caterpillars are delicious. If you raise poultry, or have a neighbor who is willing to lend you their flock for a few hours, you can set up a temporary pen around your garden and allow them to help themselves to an all-you-can-eat buffet. The birds' light weight will prevent them from damaging your plants as they move through your garden.

Use Beneficial Insects

The best way to rid your garden of cabbage worms is to invite in their enemies such as tachnid flies, parasitic wasps, paper wasps and shield bugs. You can do this by planting flowers and herbs that are favored by these insects as well as providing them with shelter and nesting areas.

And don’t forget the birds! Like their poultry cousins, they love caterpillars. Consider adding a birdbath to your garden to invite them in for a dip and a snack.

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