Cabbage Looper Control

The cabbage looper is one of four or five cabbage worm varieties that veraciously devour the leaves of all members of the cabbage and mustard plant families.

These plants include cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprout, kale, collards, mustard, Chinese cabbage, pak choi, radish, turnips, rutabaga and even horseradish.

This guy is unique among cabbage worms for the way it moves. With legs in front and legs in back, instead of over the full length of its body, it arches as it moves.

At right is a picture of mom; an adult cabbage looper moth. She is beautiful in the garden, until she lays little pale green (almost yellow) eggs on the bottom of the leaves of your plants. About 3 to 4 days later the larvae will hatch and within 2 to 4 weeks they will reach full size, fattened on the cabbage and mustard family plants in your garden.

They will then cocoon and within about 10 days a new adult moth-butterfly will emerge. This cycle repeats itself 2 to 6 times during the season, depending on the variety and your local climate. The same cycle occurs with most cabbage worm varieties (right).

Here are the things that you can do to control the population:

Controlling Cabbage Looper And Cabbage Worm Populations

• The first and best control method is to grow all your cabbage and mustard family plants under Floating Row Covers. Leave them on all season. You can water right through them, and they transmit about 85% of the light to your plants. They also improve humidity and moisture retention, and offer a small degree of frost protection.
• If the worm population is small another effective control method is to hand pick them from the plants and destroy them. If you can get most of them the cycle will be broken.
• More serious infestations require a serious control agent, but no need for poisons. Bt (bacilulus thuringiensis) is a bacteria that will kill cabbage worms without harming beneficial insects, birds, pets of other life in the garden, and is harmless to man and gnome. One of the best sources of Bt is Green StepTM Caterpillar Control, available from Gardens Alive. It should be sprayed every 5 to 7 days until the infestation subsides. Make sure you spray the underside of leaves where the worms live.
• Though not as effective as Bt, spraying insecticidal soap will also help control the cabbage looper and other cabbage worm pests.
• Attract or import beneficial insects to your garden that destroy cabbage worms, such as Green Lacewings Chrysoperla rufilabris.

The damage not only looks unsightly, it also weakens the plant. But spraying or sprinkling poisons on your plants would be worse. Use an organic control method and save your health as well as the broccoli.

Happy gardening,

Geefrank

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