Cabbage pests and how to control them

Today we'll look at what pests there are to cabbage and how to combat them. We'll also look at what can be done with chemicals (not recommended!) and effective folk remedies (highly recommended!).

Cruciferous flea beetle

These are small bugs that hide in the soil, overwintering there comfortably, and in the spring, when the ground warms up, they crawl out in search of a tasty morsel—cabbage seedlings, for example. If the weather is damp and humid, don't worry—the cruciferous flea beetle stays in the ground. But when the weather turns dry and sunny, they're right there, swooping down on the tender cabbage leaves and beginning to eat them. The effects are visible in the torn cabbage leaves.

PreventionPlant seedlings early—before the cabbage flea beetle begins its active growth, the plants will be strong and will no longer be of interest to this pest. Fertilizing with saltpeter and applying slurry will also help.

If this nasty bug has already attacked your cabbage, you can dust it. But best of all, use folk remedies to combat the flea beetles, so as not to harm the cabbage and avoid poisoning yourself.

We fight the cruciferous flea beetle with folk remedies

• Ash – sprinkle the plantings with wood ash, or you can mix it with tobacco dust. This method works well in dry weather, but during periods of frequent rain, you'll have to repeat the process over and over again.
• Garlic - this harmful little thing doesn't like the smell of garlic - plant spring garlic in the intended location for planting cabbage, and then place cabbage seedlings near the shoots.
• Fir oil - flea beetles also don't like it - add it to water for irrigation, literally 10-12 drops per bucket of water.
• Chicken manure - watering with a weak solution of chicken manure will bring double benefit - it will get rid of fleas, and will provide nitrogen fertilizer to young seedlings, strengthen them, and the seedlings will grow well.

See also: Blackcurrant pests and their control (photo).

Cabbage fly

At the end of May, the cabbage fly begins to become active, particularly affecting cabbage and cauliflower. The fly lays its eggs on the ground right next to the cabbage or attaches them to the root collar. Within a week, the larvae hatch and begin devouring your seedlings. As a result, the roots rot, and the cabbage dies. If you notice your cabbage wilting and the lower leaves turning blue, you have a cabbage fly infestation.

Methods of controlPollination with the same dust, thiophos, or chlorophos solution will help. But, again, the best option is proven folk remedies.

Garlic infusion will help (by the way, it's a universal remedy for all sorts of nasty things that eat cabbage; if you're short on time, you can use it to attack all the pests at once).

Prepare it like this: pour 350 g of garlic with 5 liters of boiling water, boil for a couple of hours, strain, pour an equal amount of water and water the cabbage.

Cabbage moth and caterpillars

The white cabbage white with a black border lays its eggs on the underside of leaves, where voracious caterpillars hatch, yellow with black spots. The gray, inconspicuous cutworm lays its eggs inside cabbage heads. The caterpillars are small, green, and just as voracious.

Methods of control:

• Wasps – wasps are very fond of these caterpillars, and they carry them to their offspring, so your task is to attract them to your cabbage beds. Place sweet jam or sugar along the beds, water the plants with sweet water, and attract your saviors.
• Ash - pour a spoonful of liquid soap into a bucket of water, add two glasses of ash, mix, let it sit for a day, and spray the cabbage.
• Onion peel - pour an equal amount of hot water, let it steep for two days for a greater effect, dilute with half the amount of water and water.
• Soda - caterpillars really don't like soda, sprinkle it on your cabbage - it won't do any harm, but the caterpillars won't like it at all.

Slugs and snails

These pests hunt for your cabbage at night, crawling out of hiding, and in the morning you find holes in the leaves of your pets.

How to fight:

• An old, tried-and-true method is to set slug traps using beer or kvass, with yeast and jam added. Place the sweet traps between your garden beds in the evening; the slugs will crawl into them overnight, and you can easily collect them in the morning.
• Mustard powder is repulsive to slugs and snails; simply sprinkle it between your garden beds and they will go to remote places.
• Ammonia is incredibly unpleasant for snails' sensitive senses! Dilute 80 ml of ammonia in a bucket of water and pour it over the leaves.
• Nettle is an excellent slug repellent and also a great fertilizer. If you have nettles, it's easy: spread them between your garden beds, add fresh ones as they dry out, and you'll get double the benefits.

Cabbage aphid

This tiny green pest can easily suck all the juices out of your delicate seedlings and destroy them.
Methods of control - soap solution, ash water, horseradish root infusion - all of this is destructive to aphids.

Universal preventative measures include planting marigolds, dill, carrots, mint, basil, rosemary, cilantro, and sage near cabbage. They will repel all kinds of pests and attract beneficial ladybugs and lacewings.

You may also be interested to know: Apple tree diseases and their treatment (photos).