How to Get Rid of Cabbageworms:
- Manually remove (handpick) the eggs if possible.
- Yellow sticky traps will catch the adult butterflies, but may also catch beneficial insects.
- Spraying with BTK every 1 to 2 weeks will also help control cabbage family pests. Sevin also is effective. And, the few pests that remain on the vegetables can be washed out after harvest using water and a small amount of detergent or other surfactant.
- It is said that if you dampen cabbage leaves and sprinkle them with cornmeal, the caterpillars will eat the meal, swell, and die.
- Old folk advice from The 1963 Old Farmer’s Almanac states: Years ago, people sprinkled rye flour over cabbage plants in the early morning. The flour dehydrated the cabbage worms. Give it a try!