The fight against cabbage moth

Summer and summer cottage are delicious fruits, sweet berries, healthy vegetables. I want to always live in this paradise. But stop! Indeed, in order to get a crop, it is necessary not only to plant it, but also to withstand a difficult confrontation with parasites, eager to eat all the plants first. Plants must be protected carefully, especially often saving them from cabbage moths.

Interesting!

This small butterfly lives in all regions of Russia. If earlier she lived only in the southern regions, now she has reached the north - even in Karelia and on the Kola Peninsula gardeners are looking for ways to combat cabbage moth. Also, gardeners and summer residents are fighting an irreconcilable battle with the nearest relatives of the cabbage pest: potato, burdock, apple, mining moth.

Insect and its way of life

It is difficult to notice the pest before leaf damage is noticeable. Moth butterfly looks inconspicuous: it is painted in a grayish color, which allows it to remain invisible not only on the ground, but also on the leaves of cabbage. An adult individual of cabbage moth lives on the order of 30 days. During this time, she lays about 300 eggs from the "wrong" part of cabbage leaves. Just three to four days after laying, the larvae of the cabbage moth emerge from the eggs. They are embedded in the thickness of the sheet, feeding on its mass until their size allows it to be done already on the surface. As they grow older, they are initially yellowish in color. moth larvae turns light green.

In just a couple of weeks, the caterpillar grows to mature before pupation. In the cocoon, the final development of cabbage moth occurs. A week later, another adult is born. Her life span is 2-7 weeks. The main criterion that affects the ripening and life expectancy is the ambient temperature.

If the temperature drops to 8 degrees or lower, eggs and butterflies die. To kill the larvae of the cabbage moth, you need to lower the temperature to 5 degrees. The development of the pupa freezes at around 9 degrees Celsius, however, upon the onset of heat, such insects will continue to mature.

Important!

The flight of cabbage moth begins after even at night the temperature rises above 10 degrees. In the south, this happens from April to November. As you approach the north, the summer period decreases: often the butterfly appears to lay eggs no earlier than mid-June.

Favorite plants

Cabbage moth from the entire abundance of plants in the garden tries to lay eggs on representatives of the cruciferous family:

• All kinds of cabbage;
• Turnip;
• Radish;
• Swede;
• Rape;
• Mustard;
• Horseradish, etc.

Cabbage moth prefers leaves, but does not disdain ovary and stems. After leaving the egg, the larvae bite into the layer of the leaf, making moves there. After the caterpillar grows to a certain size, it gets to the surface, where it continues its dubious “work”.

How to detect a mole

Even if cabbage moth is not visible, according to the state of the plants, you can understand that they were attacked.

• Head growth slows or stops;
• Grooves and ulcerations appear in the upper leaves. Plant buds are damaged;
• In cut-off cabbages, passages and “tunnels” are clearly visible;
• Small green caterpillars crawl along the plant.

On a note!

The fight against cabbage moths will be effective only if several methods are used simultaneously.

Insect Control

Cabbage moth cannot fly long distances on its own. 2 meters - maximum flight altitude. Moths are migrated by the wind. The fight against cabbage moth should be year-round; in each season, the means and methods intended for it should be used.

The main task of the gardener is to prevent the moth from multiplying.

Site Care

In order to successfully overcome the pest, it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of the beds and the adjacent area.

• So that the cabbage moth could not winter in the rotting remains of plants, immediately after harvesting, it is necessary to remove all the tops, the remaining foliage and roots. Vegetable debris is dried under the sun and burned. Small residues plow;
• If wild herbs sprout around the site, they must be regularly mowed. The first “swallows” among butterflies develop precisely in wild herbs, flying on cultivated plants as they plant;
• Cabbage moth has natural enemies. Therefore, you should not destroy frogs, lizards, toads on the site, scare away birds;

  

• Cabbage moth is used as food for larvae by insects - riders. In order for plants with pests to become interested in trichogramma, apantheles, diadromus, nitobia, it is necessary to plant parsley, mustard, carrots, parsley, clover or onions;
• Immediately after the eggs are found on the inside of the leaf, superphosphate with potassium chloride must be added under the root. After 21 days, repeat the procedure to increase the resistance of plants to the pest.

If cabbage moth has managed to infect more than 15% of all plants or more than 5 caterpillars creep on one unit - it will be more difficult to destroy the pest, the use of chemicals will be required. If you do not urgently destroy the enemy with powerful drugs, the crop will be ruined.

Chemistry

Many gardeners prefer to dispense with the use of chemicals, but in cases of multiple occurrence of the parasite, such agents cannot be dispensed with. Chemicals are capable of destroying only the stages of an adult insect and larva, therefore, in order for the drug to fall on all insects, processing must be carried out in several stages.

Important!

Before you start to poison the cabbage moth, you must study the instructions. Work only in protective clothing and a respirator.

Most effective in fighting moths:

• Silicon fluoride sodium;
• Nurell;
• Ripord;
• Carbofors;
• Ambush and Actellik;
• Talcord.

Bacterial agents

Such substances are made from toxic substances and bacterial spores. Greater efficiency is shown with a large number of larvae. The main advantage of this group of drugs is non-toxicity and long duration.

Among the funds of this group, the following are popular:

• Bactospein solution;
• Lepidocide solution;
• Gomelin solution;
• Enobacterin solution;
• Dendrobacillin Solution
• Bitoxibacillin solution;
• The solution is dipel.

Cabbage can be processed with dandelion infusion. It requires 10 liters of water, a pound of finely chopped dandelion (root, leaves, flowers), a tablespoon of liquid soap. Combine all the ingredients, mix, insist for three hours (preferably night).

The cabbage moth in the photo looks completely defenseless, but over the years of parasitization on cultivated plants, some of them have become more resistant to poisons. Therefore, safe methods should be used first, and only if they do not help, resort to chemicals. If some of them turned out to be useless, you should try others - the only way to find what will save your crop.