Making decoy cabbage white butterflies to stop the nibbling green cabbage worms… do they work?
This has become a common garden practice I see a lot, so I wanted to test it. There is a lack of evidence or documentation for this practice working, but it sounds good in theory. Basically cabbage butterflies/moths are said to be territorial, avoiding common spaces. But does it work?
I wanted to make some that would last through the elements and could be reused year after year, so I bought a set of decorative plastic picks to makeover. I got this set because they come apart for spray painting. Instead of a black marker, I used pencil so the sun doesn’t bleach them AND I thought the grayish markings looked more realistic to photos I was comparing. I also made some to look like the male (two dots) and some to look like the female (three dots).
I’ve placed several of these around the garden. I even hung a few with clear fishing line so they blow in the breeze. These have been in place since last fall, next to kale, collards, and cabbages.
Observations:
- So far, I haven’t found many of their green cabbage worms. I have only found two so far this season. And I have a lot of damage, but…
- There are other types of cabbage worms that nibble, and I def have more of the cross-striped cabbage worm (belongs to a small brown moth so those are unaffected by these white decoys).
- I honestly haven’t seen many of these white butterflies in my garden space. It’s been weird because usually I see a ton of them.
So does it work? Honestly, I have no idea. There’s not enough evidence for me to say it works… but there are LESS of them. Plus, they are adorable flirting through my garden spaces and make me smile. Give it a try and see what you think…
CABBAGE WORM:
The green cabbage worm that turns into the cabbage white butterfly–a dangerous pest in your garden that will devour and put holes in all of your cabbage and brassica items.
CROSS-STRIPPED CABBAGE WORM:
Equally destructive, the cross-striped cabbage worm is the caterpillar of brown moth and there are usually dozens of them on one plant.
CABBAGE DECOY BUTTERFLY PROJECT LIST:
TOOLS:
- Pencil or Sharpie marker
- Cardboard box
- Tape
PROJECT ITEMS:
- Butterfly picks
- White spray paint
- Take each butterfly pick and pull apart the plastic body portion holding the wings. Set these aside for later reassembly.
- Take your tape and make a loop so the two ends stick together, sticky side facing outward.
- Place the tape on the back of the wing parts and stick to the bottom of a cardboard box for spray painting.
- Lightly and evenly spray each wing set white. This may take a few passes with drying in between to hide the original design.
- Once the butterfly wings dry completely, flip them over and spray paint the other side as well. Allow to dry completely.
- Place the wings back in between the body clasp, forming the butterfly back into its original form.
- Take a pencil and create markings similar to the cabbage butterfly (see photo above for reference).
PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO AND PROJECT:
