Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Suitable net against cabbage white butterflies?

ManderMander Posts: 349
in Problem solving
I'm sitting out in the garden watching a cabbage white butterfly visit all the kale and cabbage and courgette plants, leaving tiny white eggs in its wake. Earlier I brushed a lot of them off and disposed of a cabbage that already had caterpillars on it but I'm thinking about trying to sow a new round and see if a second crop does any better.

How fine a mesh does butterfly net need to be? I've got some cheap pound shop fleece left over from the winter but also an old IKEA Lill net curtain that I could sacrifice as garden equipment. I'd like to save the kale that is growing at last if I can.

Posts

  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Lill should work 😉
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    About 8mm for the holes as a maximum. fleece will work but the cabages may overheat if we get any warmth. the important bit is to make sure whatever you use isn't touching the plants and is more than 2cm away as the butterflies will stretch to reach through!
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Agree - the butterfly netting generally available in the UK usually has a hole size of 7mm.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • IgrowfromseedIgrowfromseed Posts: 284
    One spray with bacillus thuringiensis will protect them.
Sign In or Register to comment.