Cabbage Loopers

I defy you to justify the existence of the cabbage looper.

We had an unusually hot summer in Western Washington this year and I fervently hope that is the explanation for the unusually large number of these little beggars in my garden, at least compared to any of my previous gardens. I've never had a garden suffer so much damage as I had this year.

Virtually 100 per cent of the damage was caused by cabbage loopers.* If someone had asked me six months ago to pick up a wiggly, green caterpiller in my ungloved hand, much less smash it between my fingers, I'd have told them to take a hike, yet that's exactly what I found myself doing in my frenzy to rid my garden of these destructive pests.

How destructive are they? The damage on this cauliflower leaf was caused overnight by a single cabbage looper! Since I was committed to a pesticide-free garden, hand-picking was my primary weapon, aided by a surprisingly effective spray of diluted Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Yes, it kills insects. Yes, people put it on their babies. But who am I to judge.

I picked hundreds of these pests off my kale, broccoli, cauliflower and Chinese mustard, but my lettuce wasn't immune to damage, especially the green oak leaf lettuce. My Red Sails leaf lettuce suffered very little damage and Flashy Trout's Back Romaine none at all.

I sincerely hope that a return our normal summer weather will translate into fewer cabbage loopers but I am not going to take any chances. My mantra for next summer? Floating row covers.

*Surprisingly, slugs were a non-issue during our hot summer, although slug damage is picking up now that the weather has cooled off.