Know Your Pest: Cross-Striped Cabbageworm

It's been such a busy week between work and catching up on projects around the house, I haven't been able to do as much gardening as I would have liked. Even when I have been in the garden, most of the time has been spent watering. (The nice breezes and lack of rain dry plants out fast.) I did spend some time removing ivy and weeds from the hosta bed next to my patio, and even discovered a couple of surprises in the process.

My little garden friend can stay and eat all the
bugs he wants.

This little toad wasn't too happy with me cleaning out some of his great hiding spots, but there were still plenty of hostas for him to hide among when I was done.

Surprise camellia seedlings

I also discovered that some seeds dropped by the large camellia shrub nearby had sprouted in the hosta bed. I carefully extracted three of them and potted them up. I'm curious to see if they look like the parent, or if they come out a little different. Either way, I'll be happy; they have a great parent plant. I've never grown camellia seedlings before, so I'll be happy if two out of three live. Then I can keep one, and give one to a friend.

I've been spoiled by my garden being relatively pest-free all summer, but this week I encountered a nasty pest on my young cauliflower plants: the cross-striped cabbageworm. There are a few kinds of cabbage moths, and even though their name says "cabbage," they all affect various members of the cabbage family: broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, kale, and, of course, cabbage. This little guy really likes the mild fall and winter of the South, but can be found throughout the U.S. For being so small, the caterpillars can really do a lot of damage fast.

My young cauliflower plant defoliated by cabbageworms

I planted my cauliflower seedlings just two weeks ago, and when I went out to water this morning, I saw the damage. I had seen a couple of holes before, but didn't really think I had a problem until I saw half my plant was gone. Closer inspection revealed the tiny, hungry culprits hiding in the very center of the plant and on the undersides of leaves.

Here's a very close-up shot of the cross-striped
cabbageworms.

Unlike the tomato hornworms that get big and fat, these guys never get bigger than an inch long. If you don't look carefully, they can go through a whole life cycle before you ever see them. In warm weather like we've been having, they can go from egg to moth in 18 days, devouring your vegetables in the process.

Since I only have a few plants in the cabbage family right now, and the plants are small, it was easy to find all the worms and pick them off with my hands (wearing gloves, of course). Now that I know they're an issue, I'll inspect every couple of days while I'm watering the garden and remove them as I see them. If they continue to be a problem, especially as I get closer to having little baby heads of cauliflower, I might spray with an insecticidal soap as an extra measure. Any insecticide product that's labeled for caterpillars can handle these.

What's growing in your garden this week?