Try these natural methods for dealing with cabbage worms in your garden…

Have you been finding holes in the leaves of your cabbage or broccoli plants? If so, it’s likely that you have cabbage worms. Cabbage worms – the larvae of the cabbage moth – are small caterpillars that love to munch on brassica crops such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, Brussels sprouts, and kohlrabi.

There are several varieties of caterpillars that can be considered cabbage worms, including imported cabbage worms, cross-striped cabbage worms, cabbage loopers, and the larvae of the diamondback moth. The imported cabbage moth (or cabbage butterfly) is white, while the adult moths of the other varieties are usually varying shades of brown. The caterpillars themselves are usually either green, or green/yellow, white, and black striped. Depending on where you live, you may have more than one of these types in your garden.

These nondescript little caterpillars can cause quite a bit of damage to your garden if left unchecked, although they do have several natural predators, including birds, wasps, and other predatory insects. In most cases, they are destructive enough that you may need to intervene to prevent a serious infestation.

This video shares more about these pests, and describes several ways to control cabbage worms naturally. You can also check out our own video here on controlling cabbage pests.