[m1ckz]

will nothing kill that dreaded caterpillar,,all my cabbage, broccoli  , sprouts are infested,tried salty water, they don't like it but they live on,soapy water, no effect
any ideas

[DD.]

I find they don't like "Bug Clear". Depends if you want to be organic or have some sprouts!

[m1ckz]

thanx   got some yesterday and spayed them    ill take a look today

[m1ckz]

went down to plot this morning, caterpillers all gone weeeeeheeeeee,lets hope i saved the cabbage

[mumofstig]

It's horrible when that happens................but as we keep saying on here

If you don't net them you will lose them all, sorry, but it's so true......been there

[DD.]

I've merged your two topics Mick, as one followed on from the other.

Please you got rid!

[Beetroot queen]

I tried bug clear and it hasnt made any difference grrr

I am ordering net now, well I would be if I hadnt stopped in here first 

[Goosegirl]

I've always netted my brassicas but this year, due to the lay out of the raised bed and a degree of "not getting round to it" I haven't. I did have to take off and drown some caterpillars in June but, though I've seen cabbage whites around the plants, apart from one green beast, there aren't any to be seen. I wonder if the birds have seen a snack bar? I know that keeping the nets on into autumn leads to "eebby-jeebies" in my sprouts which my OH hates so is it an organic "balance" of things? 

[lovemyveg]

I tried bug clear and it hasnt made any difference grrr

I am ordering net now, well I would be if I hadnt stopped in here first 

I've got my brussels netted but the white cabbage butterflies are still squeezing in.  They are just folding their wings tightly to their bodies and getting in through the diamond shaped small holes!  10 marks out of ten for initiative.

[m1ckz]

i got some netting from ebay,2mtrs x 50 mtrs    very small holes as used in scaffolding,only 23 pound   

[lmillar11]

I have found "nemasys caterpillar killer" brilliant, I had never used this before but it seemed to work well. The only down side for me was that it is quite expensive so I think i will still look for alternatives.

http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/nemasys-caterpillar-killer-pid2512.html

[pushrod]

This year i grew caulis and cabbs under fleece and had no problems at all. Previously had tried nets but as said above they either squeeze through or wait til a leaf touches the net and lay their eggs through the mesh 

[Salmo]

Holes in nets must be 7mm or less to keep out butterflies. Much of the netting sold is 10mm. Square is better than diamond.

[maverick]

I tried bug clear and it hasnt made any difference grrr

I am ordering net now, well I would be if I hadnt stopped in here first 

I've got my brussels netted but the white cabbage butterflies are still squeezing in.  They are just folding their wings tightly to their bodies and getting in through the diamond shaped small holes!  10 marks out of ten for initiative.

Mine are netted also but they are squeezing themselves in and out - fairplay! I recently discovered that my wife has been happily showing the kids a mass of caterpillars on one of her hydrangeas on the other side of the garden 

When the kids said that they'd gone, I suddenly realised why the garden was full of white butterflies! My wife was very relaxed about it all and said that they're only nibbling the leaves and that they won't actually eat the sprouts  When I explained that the leaves have a very important part to play, she was mortified and said that she'd been picking off a few leaves to give to the pet rabbit