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Grey eggs on kale and broccoli
Stephanie newish gardener
Posts: 516
Hi
I found grey eggs on one or two of my kale and broccoli plants and can't readily identify the pest
I've picked them off and not found caterpillars though a couple of leaves have got holes in them. My husband is all for spraying but I hope if I have got the eggs I can just keep an eye out for whatever comes next
Any thoughts please? I have netting up but was poss a bit late in doing it
No longer newish but can't think of a new name so will remain forever newish. 
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My thoughts too scroggin, they do look more like aphids.
The crinkly, waxy nature of the leaves makes hose-blasting less successful than usually on plants, but if you give the leaves a spray with some water with a few drops of washing up liquid, then hose blast you'll have a better chance of shifting them.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I wondered if they were aphids but they didn't seem to move under scrutiny, maybe they were having an afternoon nap after feasting on something. How would that explain the grey things on one plant but the holes in a different plant? Please don't say I have two different pests......
When you say blast, the plants are still relatively young so I'd hate to damage them, but presumably I'm aiming for a jet strong enough to wash away the pests but leave the plants in situ.
What sort of damage evidence am I looking for on any plant where the critters have already set up home?
Thanks
The holes aren't massive and really there is only one leaf badly affected, which is not bad out of the dozen plants really. I'll have another look tomorrow and post a pic if I remain uncertain.
We do have slugs (don't we all??) and so I have used some pellets, but these plants are on previously uncultivated ground which is very compacted so I (naively) assumed there would be less issue with slugs. I believe they have far too good a sense of smell however and will slither for miles (metres?) in search of a tasty treat.....
Some minor damage is to be expected - if it's at a low level then it can often just be tolerated. Better than spraying plants you intend to eat with insecticide which rather defeats one of the main benefits of growing your own. Seedlings tend to be most susceptible, but larger plants can take quite a bit of leaf damage.
Aphids are sap-suckers and don't make holes. If there are only a few you could just squash them with your fingers.