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Removing cabbage white eggs

tuffnelljohntuffnelljohn Posts: 284
in Fruit & veg
Ive recently been picking off cabbage white eggs from my brassicas. Theyre quite fiddly to get off. Ive found using a tiny paint brush helps, and causes no damage to the leaves.

Do I just need to be concerned about removing the eggs from the leaf, and let them fall to the ground? Or should I remove from the veg bed completely and squash them?

Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Gardening with wildlife in mind :) 


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • tuffnelljohntuffnelljohn Posts: 284
    nutcutlet said:
    Gardening with wildlife in mind :) 
    Sorry, can you elucidate? Are you saying I should remove from veg bed completely?  :#
  • AstroAstro Posts: 433
    tuffnelljohn said:
    nutcutlet said:
    Gardening with wildlife in mind :) 
    Sorry, can you elucidate? Are you saying I should remove from veg bed completely?  :#
    I don't know but think they are talking from the perspective of being as kind to wildlife as possible, and butterflies are highly valued as pollinators. That doesn't solve your problem of your veg being eaten though. I personally net mine so don't suffer too badly, if I did I think  I'd leave the  eggs and then move the caterpillars on to some sacrificial plants. 
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    Don't just drop them on the ground some of them may make it back when they hatch, if you have a pond drop them in there the fish will love them. I just squish them onto the leaf if I see them (and assuming it's an outside leaf that I won't be eating at any point) Butterflies may well be good pollinators but cabbage whites will make every single cabbage you have totally inedible and letting them breed means next year it will be worse.
  • tuffnelljohntuffnelljohn Posts: 284
    I bought some netting which is meant to be 'bird and butterfly proof'. I built a wooden frame for it and put it over my veg bed. I stood proudly looking onto my little creation and watched in horror as a butterfly - without a care in the world - happily flew through one end of my netting and out of the other!!!  :s

    Im going to buy some mesh.

    My problem now seems to be with flea beetles!! Ive tried spraying my brassicas with detergent/water solution. I dont know if this will help, but its made the plants nice and shiny!  :D

  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    Some days it feels as though the gods are just playing with you tuffnelljohn   :D 

    People seem to be finding a lot of pests this year, not sure if its the weather or more time to inspect the plants.  Anyway, time to break out the Vaseline
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1041417/flea-beetle-problem

    I'm sure you built your frame big enough but just make sure none of the leaves will touch the netting as they grow. Cabbage whites are very resourceful even through mesh.

    Hang on in there.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • tuffnelljohntuffnelljohn Posts: 284
    herbaceous said:


    Hang on in there.

    Thankyou. Ive been gardening for about 2 months now. Thoroughly enjoying it and learning lots. My veg beds are just outside my bedroom window, so each morning I leap (stagger) out of bed to view the new growth!

    My tomatoes, leaks, onions, sugar snaps seem to be doing well, but its just my brassicas that are getting a hammering!  :(
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    You have my sympathy tuffnelljohn but gardening can teach you many life skills one of which is sharing.  Sometimes with neighbours often with wildlife! Clearly your brassicas are the best in the area  :D 
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
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