Your caterpiller sounds just as bad as my stinkin' slugs!

How can those slow things eat almost a whole cabbage plant in a night? Little devils they are!

Here is to hoping you figure out your problem....I guess my slugs won't share my cabbage with your caterpillers. hehe

Thanks,but my slugs were on my strawberries.I have an over supply of them to,slugs that is,not strawberries. lol eddiebuck

I've heard (but so far haven't tried) that if you wrap your row in some sort of row cover like Remay or frost cloth you can put an end to this problem.

Evidently the fabric allows enough light through but keeps all the bugs out and it is light weight enough that the growing plant pushes it up as it grows.

I have a small enough veggie garden that I handpick them. Usually they're out more in the middle of the day, and I wear my special "stomping" shoes. It's my little idea that the squished bodies leave a message to others that think about messing with my veggies!....who knows. But if you have a large garden or not enough time to do this, I don't know what would work.

You need to get their little squished bodies and stick them on toothpicks around your veggie patch....they can then all think of you as "the garden impaler" lol

I have too much time on my hands!

I'm sorry to hear about your strawberries......I think i'm gonna try the eggshells thing on the slugs.

That row cover cloth sounds like will work,that is as long as I don't shut none up under there.Think I already have some light rowcover material I used for frost. Thanks folks,eb

I second the frost cover. Works great for anything that doesn't need pollination. it does work best if you cover early, but is worth a shot even now.

You can also spray with Bt- it kills most all caterpillars by making them stop eating. Very safe to use. It does have a shelf life, so get as fresh as you can. You can buy it as a liquid or powder to dust with. Make sure you hit the undersides of the leaves.

Slugs on strawberries? Use Escargo or Sluggo (brand names) readily available at garden nurseries and Home Depot and Lowe's. It is non-toxic and doesn't stain concrete (or my rocks). It converts to a "fertilizer" as it breaks down, forgotten what the magic ingredient is but I do know it worked on my strawberries, hosta, and other veggies that those slimy critters love to munch.

As for row cover, it works fine for bugs but the weeds still grow under it all the same and is difficult to weed under once it is in place. If you secure it with special staples it won't fly off in a windstorm but you can't pull it up easily either.

As for the original problem of this post - critters on cabbage and collards - Bt only works so long and they become immune to it or it wasn't reapplied at the right time or you watered from the top too much or it rained on them and washed the Bt away. I gave up growing any cole crop because a thousand million or so cabbage moths live out in my garden. My DH suggested Sevin dust but I declined - who wants to eat poison?

Nancy

Eddiebuck,
I know your going to think this is crazy, but it works.
Pour a can of beer into a bowl that doesn't have high sides, about and inch or two.
Put it out by the plants your having a hard time with at night, and in the morning, they will all be in the beer bowl, dead.
Works.
Bugs, especially slugs and catipillars absolutely LOVE beer, they can smell it from far away.
Don't knock it til you try it.
Good Luck!