What’s Consuming My Cabbage? 15 Widespread Cabbage Pests

You’re most certainly rising cabbage because you benefit from consuming it. And in case you occur to’ve ever tried rising this crop sooner than, you probably perceive that a wide range of yard pests moreover benefit from consuming cabbage. This textual content explores potential culprits and tips about methods to eradicate them.

Cabbage is a member of the mustard family, often known as the Brassica family, or crucifers. Completely different acquainted brassicas embody broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, turnips, mustards, and horseradish. These are primarily cool-weather yard greens that love full photo voltaic and moist, rich soil with wonderful drainage. 

Aphids

Aphids are ubiquitous yard pests. You’ll see them gathering in large numbers alongside the leaves and stems of many yard vegetation. They’re moreover eager on cabbage and congregate alongside the veins of the outer leaves.

These soft-bodied bugs are clearly seen to the naked eye. They is likely to be inexperienced, gray, white, yellow, or pink. Typically, brassica aphids might sound inexperienced nevertheless with a white waxy or powdery-looking masking. Aphids suck plant juices and set off the leaves to develop to be withered, curled, and weak, lastly turning yellow and brown, and ultimately dying. 

Use a sturdy jet of water out of your hose to dislodge aphids. A every day blast of water is normally adequate to discourage aphids from coming once more. You possibly can too use insecticidal cleansing cleaning soap to efficiently kill aphids, spraying it immediately on groups of these pesky little bugs. 

Cabbage Looper

Cabbage loopers are shiny inexperienced inchworms which could be a vital pest of this crop’s leaves. They switch by inching alongside on account of they’ve no legs throughout the middle part of their physique. These are the larvae of an unassuming mottled brown-gray moth known as the cabbage looper moth. The grownup moth lays its eggs on a brassica plant, and a few days later, the eggs hatch into voracious little caterpillars.  

These hungry little caterpillars chew holes throughout the leaves and develop shortly from only some millimeters prolonged to about 1.5 inches prolonged. They munch gaping holes throughout the leaves anyplace they are going to attain. A badly infested plant may have leaves riddled with many huge, jagged holes.

Cabbage loopers are fairly frequent pests and the larger they develop, the additional hurt they set off. They could maintain in your vegetation and eat for 3 or 4 weeks, until they’re capable of pupate into their grownup moth variety. 

Regulate your vegetation. In case you see telltale holes and glossy inexperienced inchworm-like caterpillars, you’ve got cabbage loopers. Cease them by defending your crops with floating row covers; the grownup moths gained’t have the flexibility to put eggs on coated vegetation.

Eradicating caterpillars by hand, BT sprays, and pure predators are environment friendly pure pest administration methods. Pure pesticides may even be used.

Cabbage Root Maggots

Cabbage root maggots are the larvae of the cabbage root maggot fly, a brownish-gray fly measuring between 5 and seven millimeters prolonged. The grownup fly lays its eggs throughout the soil on the bottom of a bunch plant. The eggs hatch and the larvae burrow into the stem and feed on the plant’s roots.

As the premise maggots destroy the stems and roots, your vegetation begin wilting and the leaves will flip yellow. Shortly thereafter, as a result of the larvae proceed feasting on the premise system, the vegetation will wilt severely, collapse, and die.

Floating row covers will forestall adults from laying eggs on the stems and tilling the soil after your crops are harvested will help forestall overwintering pupae from maturing. Crop rotation with non-brassica vegetation will even help forestall a buildup of these pests.

In case you’ll be able to delay spring plantings until the soil has warmed considerably, this may occasionally help kill any eggs that might be present and thus forestall an an infection, although your brassicas may endure from the heat. 

Cutworms

Cutworms are very damaging, given their small measurement. These little caterpillars cut back correct by way of youthful plant stems, inflicting them to topple over and die. There are numerous species of cutworms nevertheless all of them have the equivalent strategy of destruction, so it gained’t matter quite a bit that you simply simply decide the species as long as you acknowledge your vegetation have succumbed to a cutworm assault.

Cutworms that assault brassicas may vary in shade, nevertheless all of them appear to have {{smooth}} pores and pores and skin they usually’re properly camouflaged with the soil, usually with brown or gray coloration.

These are the larvae of a brown or gray moth. An grownup moth can lay tons of of eggs, each singly or in small clusters, on the bottom of their respective host vegetation. 

When the eggs hatch, the hungry larvae set to work chewing on leaves or larger vegetation or chopping smaller vegetation down utterly. Cutworm larvae feed primarily at evening time and conceal throughout the soil in the midst of the day, so it is doable you may on no account see them, nevertheless you’ll see proof of their chewing the following morning. 

Predatory beetles and parasitic wasps prey on cutworms nevertheless this may not be adequate to curb cutworm hurt. Maintain your yard mattress weed-free to do away with their hiding places. In case you think a cutworm disadvantage, use BT to help administration them. 

Diamondback Moth

The diamondback moth is found all via North America and is a fairly frequent yard pest. The grownup moth is small and slender with patterned brown markings. It lays eggs on all cruciferous greens, along with all types of cabbage, collards, and cauliflower. 

Diamondback moth larvae hatch after quite a lot of days and immediately start feeding. The small, pale inexperienced caterpillars have tiny black spots on their our our bodies nevertheless no completely different distinctive markings. They not usually attain a few centimeter prolonged sooner than pupating in a silky cocoon related to the cabbage leaf. 

The larvae are small they normally could trigger notable pest hurt, although not as quite a bit as among the many completely different frequent cabbage-feeding caterpillars. Diamondback larvae chew by way of layers of leaf tissue with out chewing totally by way of the leaves. It’s a distinctive distinction between these and most completely different frequent caterpillar pests.

For pure, chemical-free administration methods, use row covers to forestall adults from laying eggs, and hand-pick specific particular person caterpillars. Develop cabbages interplanted with non-cruciferous greens and herbs to discourage pests.

Apply crop rotation and embody a numerous assortment of vegetation in your panorama to welcome a bunch of helpful bugs and insect-eating birds that may provide help to administration pesky insect pests.

Cabbage Webworm

Do you see plump tan to grayish-yellow caterpillars in your vegetation, turning them proper right into a chewed-up mess? Youthful caterpillars may be a robust tan shade whereas older caterpillars have distinct brownish strips working laterally alongside their our our bodies.

These are the caterpillars of the cabbage webworm moth, a mottled brown moth measuring about one centimeter in depth and fewer than two centimeters prolonged when at rest.

These crucifer-loving caterpillars feed on cabbages, broccoli, bok-choy, collards, and turnips, to name only some of their favorite meals. They normally chew up the undersides of leaves with out breaking all via.

This does adequate hurt to set off the vegetation to wilt and cease head and flower formation. Contaminated vegetation will possible be visibly damaged, weak, and brittle as a result of the caterpillars chew into their veins and stems. 

These pests are very troublesome to handle. Since they conceal out on the undersides of leaves, they will be troublesome to remove by hand and bug predators are inefficient at looking out them down.

Pesticides that consider caterpillars could be utilized to handle them, nevertheless keep in mind that these pesticides moreover damage helpful bugs and pollinators so use them sparingly and punctiliously to give attention to merely the pests you see. 

Imported Cabbageworm

Most caterpillars that feed on cabbage are the larvae of moths. The imported cabbageworm, nonetheless, is the caterpillar of a butterfly usually referred to as the cabbage white. These white butterflies are small butterflies with white wings and distinctive black spots on each wing.

It’s a frequent pest that’s comparable in look to completely different native species of cabbage white butterflies, although the imported cabbageworm is now the most common.

These delicate, inexperienced caterpillars measure as a lot as three centimeters prolonged. They’ve a barely ridged, velvety look with pale yellow spots alongside the lower sides of the physique. These caterpillars feast in your vegetation for about two weeks sooner than pupating each on their host vegetation or in surrounding leafy particles.

If warmth adequate, they emerge as soon as extra as butterflies inside two further weeks, nevertheless later throughout the season, they’re going to overwinter as pupae and emerge as adults the following spring.

The imported cabbageworm caterpillars normally feed alongside the larger leaf veins, chewing holes alongside the best way by which. Quite a lot of caterpillars on the equivalent leaf will shortly cut back the leaf to nothing nevertheless veins. They’re comfy to feed on any cruciferous greens and full of life caterpillars can merely switch from one plant to the next. 

Parasitoid wasps, vespid wasps, and assassin bugs are predatory helpful bugs that assault these voracious caterpillars. Hand-picking is environment friendly nevertheless tedious on account of there’ll normally be tons of of these little inexperienced caterpillars in your vegetation.

Placing in floating row covers on the time of planting could also be very environment friendly at sustaining the adults off your vegetation, on account of this reality stopping them from laying their eggs. 

Cross-Striped Cabbageworm

Cross-striped cabbageworms are a the larvae of a moth and are frequent brassica pests throughout the southeastern United States. They feed on cabbage vegetation, broccoli, cauliflower, and completely different favorite yard brassicas. You’ll uncover their preliminary feeding hurt as holes throughout the leaves, nevertheless as a result of the hurt progresses, the leaves may be utterly skeletonized.

It is doable you may on no account uncover the non-descript gray-brown grownup moth nevertheless the caterpillars are fairly obvious. They shortly develop from an egg as a lot as about one-inch-long caterpillars. They’ve orange heads, yellowish and gray lateral stripes on their sides, and a white, gray, and yellow speckled pattern on their backs.

These caterpillars are commonest with late-season crops. Cease the grownup moths from laying eggs in your vegetation by masking them with floating row covers. Invite helpful bugs, equal to parasitic wasps, to your yard to help administration caterpillar pests. Try eradicating specific particular person caterpillars by hand you in all probability have just some cabbage vegetation. 

Southern Cabbageworm

The southern cabbageworm is a normal pest all via lots of the southern United States, although it’s going to even be found in further northern states. It is the larvae of the checkered white butterfly which lays its eggs on brassica crops.

The caterpillars then feed on the leaves until they attain maturity and pupate into the next expertise of grownup butterflies.

Southern cabbageworm caterpillars attain merely over one inch in measurement. They’re gray and yellow striped, with tiny, irregular black spots and coarse, fast hairs. You’ll see the caterpillars on the leaves, and likewise you’ll clearly see the ragged-edged holes they chew as they feed, normally solely throughout the outer layer of leaves.

These caterpillars seem like further of a problem for fall crops than spring crops, they normally may not be a problem yearly. 

Administration these caterpillars as you’d completely different caterpillar pests. Use floating row covers to forestall butterflies from laying eggs in your vegetation. In case you merely have quite a lot of cabbage vegetation, spend some time in your patch day by day and hand-pick specific particular person caterpillars. Entice helpful bugs to your yard that may feed upon these and completely different caterpillar pests. 

Beet Armyworm

The beet armyworm is a normal pest, notably throughout the southern United States. That’s the caterpillar of the mottled brown beet armyworm moth. The grownup has a wingspan of about three centimeters and a delicate, fuzzy-looking pale grayish-brown physique. 

Adults lay their eggs on all types of yard greens, along with cabbages and completely different brassicas along with many others. Not like many butterfly and moth species which have very specific host vegetation, the beet armyworm seems to eat completely something.

Each grownup female can lay as a lot as 600 eggs, which suggests that you will likely have a navy of hungry caterpillars feasting in your favorite yard veggies. 

The caterpillars are pale inexperienced and plump. Their {{smooth}} our our bodies are each all inexperienced with diversified inexperienced bands or they’ve a specific reddish-pink line alongside all sides and a line of darkish spots or robust ovals above the pink strains. These caterpillars feast their method by way of the leaves, making large irregular holes as they feed.   

Prevention is without doubt one of the easiest methods to handle a beet armyworm invasion, using floating row covers on the time of planting to protect your cabbage crop from adults making an attempt to place eggs.

Parasitic wasps and completely different insect predators will happily feed on these plump caterpillars. Pure and natural controls are best for these pests on account of they’re largely proof in opposition to pesticides, which results in the overuse of ineffective chemical substances and harming helpful bugs.

Flea Beetle

The flea beetle is a small black beetle that feeds on leaves, notably of youthful vegetation. They chew many tiny holes throughout the leaves and if quite a lot of beetles are present, as they usually are, they are going to merely destroy seedlings sooner than they’ve a possibility to develop. These tiny beetles have the habits of springing from one place to a special, incomes them their determine. 

Flea beetles don’t give attention to cabbages or brassicas, they chew up many various yard crops as properly, along with beans, eggplants, and tomatoes. If in case you’ve gotten these pests in your yard all through one season, you presumably can anticipate to see them persist by way of your whole rising season, damaging quite a lot of crops to the aim of oblivion. 

These persistent pests are troublesome to handle nevertheless there are some preventative measures you could take in case you occur to’ve seen these beetles sooner than. Till your yard throughout the fall to disclose any buried bugs and eggs that might be hiding throughout the soil.

Add helpful nematodes to your soil to feed on the soil-dwelling beetle larvae. You possibly can too attempt companion planting with mint and basil to help repel flea beetles and completely different pests, along with enchantment to helpful bugs to your yard. Pyrethrin and spinosad are pure pesticides you need to make the most of alongside facet cultural and preventative controls.

Harlequin Bug

Harlequin bugs are damaging insect pests that feast completely on cabbages and completely different cruciferous greens. They’re prevalent all via the southern half of the US and should set off extreme damage if not managed. 

The black and white banded eggs are laid on the undersides of the leaves of a applicable host plant. The eggs hatch into tiny spherical, dome-backed insect nymphs with shiny orange and black markings. At this stage, they could practically be confused with ladybug beetles.

As these bugs develop, develop, and molt, their patterns change, nevertheless all of them have variable patterns of black, white, and orange markings. Grownup harlequin bugs are further merely acknowledged as a species of stink bugs with their angular our our bodies and daring black and purple, orange, or yellow markings. 

Harlequin bugs pierce and suck the juices from plant leaves. Affected vegetation wilt and leaves flip yellow and brown. Plant progress is stunted and your vegetation may die if considerably contaminated. These insect pests are merely seen and you should not have any trouble determining them as a result of the culprits. 

Administration harlequin bugs by sustaining your yard clear and weed-free to cut back habitat for hiding pests. Hand-pick and destroy any eggs, nymphs, or adults that you simply simply see in your vegetation. If hurt is excessive and you have an enormous infestation, attempt spraying contaminated vegetation with an insecticidal cleansing cleaning soap.

Whiteflies

There are numerous completely completely different species of whiteflies, nevertheless those most incessantly found on cabbages and brassicas are the cabbage whiteflies. These are tiny flying bugs which could be, as their determine implies, white.

It is doable you may or may not see these little pests nevertheless they do their justifiable share of hurt to cabbage vegetation. They’re most prevalent throughout the fall and typically restricted to hotter climates the place they are going to overwinter. 

Whiteflies suck plant juices and it is doable you may assume that since they’re so small, they shouldn’t set off any extreme damage, nevertheless they do. Whiteflies reproduce shortly and shortly dwell in your cabbage leaves in nice numbers. As they suck nutritional vitamins out of your plant, they deposit a sticky honeydew that pulls fungal sicknesses that set off further hurt. 

If you buy youthful cabbage vegetation out of your native yard center, check them fastidiously for any sign of bugs, along with whiteflies, sooner than bringing them dwelling. You don’t have to unintentionally ship these pests into your yard in case you occur to can stay away from it. 

Invite and welcome helpful bugs to your yard to permit them to prey on these and completely different insect pests. In case you need further help than the dragonflies and ladybugs can provide, you presumably can spray with insecticidal cleansing cleaning soap, nevertheless use this with warning as it will possibly moreover damage good yard bugs. 

Slugs and Snails

If in case you’ve gotten any protected, damp hiding places in or spherical your yard, you probably have slugs and snails hiding available on the market. Slugs and snails feed primarily at evening time nevertheless go away telltale slime trails on the leaves and the underside spherical your yard vegetation. Inside the morning, you’ll see the hurt they set off inside the kind of smooth-edged holes alongside the edges and the amenities of the leaves. 

If given the prospect, these slimy pests feast on cabbages, lettuce, strawberries, hosta leaves, and loads of completely different favorite yard vegetation.

Slugs and snails lay their eggs throughout the soil, usually under moist leaves, in compost piles, and under picket, stones, and yard planters. Carry any of this stuff and likewise you’re liable to see not lower than a couple of snails hiding beneath. 

Protect your vegetation from slugs and snails by eradicating their hiding places. You possibly can too deter them with copper edging and diatomaceous earth, although you’ll should reapply the diatomaceous earth after rainfall. One different trick to attempt is setting beer traps that are a magnet for slugs away out of your vegetation and drown them. 

Mammals

Deer, rabbits, squirrels, mice, and groundhogs eat a wide range of yard vegetation. They may each have their favorite vegetation to munch and, whereas cabbage may not be on the prime of everyone’s itemizing, wanting mammals will most certainly not lower than model your cabbages, notably when youthful and tender. 

Mammals don’t merely nibble little holes throughout the leaves of your rising cabbage head— they eat your whole issue. In a single chunk. Chomp. Gone. It might be irritating, to say the least, to be watching your vegetation develop, and you then positively uncover that immediately they’ve vanished. 

For those who want to maintain deer and completely different mammals away out of your cabbages, you’ll ought to plant your cabbages the place mammals can’t entry them. Plant your yard inside a fenced area.

Use critter cages to protect seeds, seedlings, and youthful vegetation, and hope that they’ll shortly develop large adequate to be uninteresting to munching mammals by the purpose they’ve outgrown the cage.

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