Cabbage worms are common pests in the garden that can be destructive to vegetables like kale, broccoli, and cauliflower. In this article, you can learn some natural methods of killing cabbage worms in your vegetable patch.

1. Diatomaceous earth

Diatomaceous Earth can be an effective pest control method as it can puncture the bodies of soft-bodied insects like the cabbage worm. Sprinkle some around your plants and you should be able to see some fair results.2. DIY

2. Natural sprays

You can also make your own sprays using natural ingredients. Solutions that have worked for gardeners include garlic oil spray and citrus spray.

To make the garlic oil spray, soak one bulb of minced garlic for 24 hours. Then, mix it with 2 cups of water. For the citrus spray, grind up some citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits then soak them in water overnight. Once the solutions are ready, apply them to the leaf surface of the plants.

3. Handpicking

This should be something that you do whenever you spend time in the vegetable bed. Put in the effort to hand pick any cabbage worms you come across on your vegetable crops. This is most effective if you are only dealing with a small population of cabbage worms.

4. Setting up a barrier

The most effective way of controlling any pests is prevention. In the case of cabbage worms, cover your vegetable patch with some lightweight netting. Moreover, this is an effective way of controlling the caterpillar population in your garden. Cabbage whites typically start laying their eggs in spring so make sure you have the barrier set up before then.

5. Introduce beneficial insects

Not all insects are bad. There are beneficial insects that will help you eradicate the cabbage worms in your garden. Moreover, they could do this without doing any harmful damage to the actual crops. You could consider beneficial insects like damsel bugs and ground beetles. If you are lucky, these predators may be native to your area.

6. Grow repellent plants

Another natural method is to grow plants that cabbage worms hate like onions, garlic, and rosemary. Plant them around your cabbages, kale, and cauliflower to deter the cabbage worms.