Bt Brand names DIPEL or Thuricide

Like farmerdilla said, BT (bacillus thuringiensis), or spinosad will also work.

The worms have to ingest either one of those solutions before they start working, and I'm not sure about BT, but I know spinosad is ok to use even in organic gardens. I think BT is also, but don't quote me on it.

Take your thumb and squish the worms when they are small. If you'll do that every day for a week, you'll get them under control. Just be sure and turn the leaves over and look at them real close.

I had never tried BT before this year. It does actually seem to work. I like to generously douse the inside head of leaves at the center. The little bastards love to hide in there where you can't get at them. I practically drown them in the stuff.

Also, if you're not into squishing worms (I'm too squeamish to do it once they get past a certain size), and you don't have tons of plants, what I've found works best without the expense of using any sprays (the spinosad I bought was $22 for a little bottle x_x) is to simply look on the undersides of the leaves for the eggs. They're small and yellow, and sort of oblong. The moths only lay them one at a time, so generally there aren't a ton, and you can take a piece of tape and use it like a lint roller to stick the eggs to it. I think the most I ever found on one plant was 12 eggs, and they don't come by and lay every day, so for me, it's quite manageable. When you see all those holes, it can look like you've got an army trying to eat your crop, but usually it's just a handful of worms, from a handful of eggs.

Since I've learned how to identify the eggs, I haven't had a single hole chewed through my collards.

Scroll down to Fanfortony's picture of his tulle row cover. It's ingenious!.

Something like it could be used to prevent further infestation.

tulle row cover

Row covers work great, but you have to put them on before the butterflies appear.

While I was busy doing other garden chores, they got to my broccoli too. Did some pretty good damage, but for two days I just spent a few minutes picking them off and haven't seen any now for a few days and am almost ready to harvest. I don't use BT because I have a butterfly garden right next to part of my veggie garden.

I too recommend spinosad. I have been using it on my cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and kohlrabi. I forgot to spray two of my cabbage plants (they were stuck in a different part of my garden) and I am not sure those two cabbage plants will make it. The rest of my plants look strong. Sure they have a few holes from when the cabbage worms did get to them, but I am not going to worry about minor leaf damage.

I am going to get some of the spinosad, but in the meantime I am trying to get them squished, but I have tons of plants, so this may take a while.

Also, I found some "Neem Py" in the garage. It says it is organic, but I wondered if anyone knew anything about it??????

Thanks again,

g

Can I chime in with a question!!!

I have very few brassica plants and have been getting some eggs/worms. I go out every day and pick them off, but now they are getting into some places I can't reach. Will it help at all to just spray them out with water? Or will they just hatch in the dirt after that?

Thanks!!
My Garden Blog

Thanks for the tip on the tulle! Great conversation here. I have very bad cabbage worms in two different beds on the cabbage and the broccoli. Will they spread to the tomatoes and peppers or do they only like the brassica plants?

These worm don't infect tomatoes or peppers.

A well-known Master Gardener spoke at a nursey last month and she says to sprinkle self-rising flour on the plants. The bugs are supposed to eat the flour, it rises and then they explode. This seems to be a pretty organic solution - not to mention very inexpensive. I am trying it but of course I waited until I had a lot of damage before I put it on. Should be able to tell in a few weeks if it is working.