I have green worms on my broccoli. I've been manually removing and
squishing. How can I get rid of them and prevent reinfestation? TIA

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), commonly sold in powder under the name Dipel
Dust. You can also buy the liquid form in concentrate. It is an organic
insecticide composed of bacteria that biologically targets chewing larvae or
caterpillars. I only use it when needed because it will kill other
caterpillars if they travel through it. I like the monarch caterpillars on
my dill, fennel and parsley. I have enough to share with them. But the
cabbage loopers that get on broccoli are fair game.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"Lily" wrote in message
...
I have green worms on my broccoli. I've been manually removing and
squishing. How can I get rid of them and prevent reinfestation? TIA

Lily wrote:

I have green worms on my broccoli.

BT AKA Bacillus Thurigensis works quite well. It's the spores of a disease
that kills cabbage moth larvae (the green worms in question). The stuff I
got is a powder you mix with water and spray on the plants. The worms stop
feeding almost immediately after ingesting it, and die a few days later.
Harmless to people, unless great-great-great grandpa was a cabbage moth.
There are varieties that work well on potato beetles as well.
You need to re-apply after a rain if there are still worms present.
See also "bug juice," though the family may not want to use that blender
for marguerites afterward...


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at www.albany.net/~gwoods
Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1200' elevation. NY WO G

In article , Lily wrote:
I have green worms on my broccoli. I've been manually removing and
squishing. How can I get rid of them and prevent reinfestation? TIA

They are probably the caterpillar of the cabbage moth. Hand-picking is
usually enough for us; it's better to squish the small eggs usually deposited
on the leaf undersides. Occasionally I send my moth-killer son out with a
badminton racket to swipe at (and sometimes kill) the white moths. Another
strategy is to cover the broccoli with a floating row cover (i.e. Reemay).
And there are agents like BT (baccillus thuringensis [sp?]).

HTH --

-frank
--

Yellow Jacket type bees will eat them. Try encouraging their presence by
growing white clover.

"Lily" wrote in message
...
I have green worms on my broccoli. I've been manually removing and
squishing. How can I get rid of them and prevent reinfestation? TIA

I remember the problem when we lived up north and Bt was about the only
answer. Since we've been in the deep south for the last 25 years, we haven't
had the problem. The answer here is that we only plant and grow broccoli,
cabbage, collards, kale, and other brassicas during the late fall, winter
and early spring when the cabbage moths aren't around. That works out nicely
since the brassicas won't grow in our spring to fall heat. If you can match
your growing season to the off cabbage worm season, it might help some along
with the Bt.
Gary
"Lily" wrote in message
...
I have green worms on my broccoli. I've been manually removing and
squishing. How can I get rid of them and prevent reinfestation? TIA

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Lily wrote:

I have green worms on my broccoli. I've been manually removing and
squishing. How can I get rid of them and prevent reinfestation? TIA