white butterfly, thier eggs & caterpillars

[tamsin]

I'm only growing in pots so I just move um across the garden. I don't mind a bit of chibbling on the odd flower but trying to eat my entire psb is a bit mean.

[Two_Sheds]

Poor old cabbage whites! ...they really are some of the most beautiful and graceful creatures.

Sorry Miffy, no offence but ...

... they just look like the maggots they are once you pull their wings off

(not that I do, I'm just saying)

[Polly Fouracre]

What you need is a ruthless six-year-old. And offer ten pence for every thirty catterpillars.

[lizzylemon]

Interesting to see it's mostly gardener's that are happy to kill the whites - I wonder why

To play devils avocado (sort of) I don't think it's OK to kill them - if everyone killed the butterflies, caterpillars and eggs, pretty soon the species would be gone and although there seems to be a huge amount of them, all butterflies are struggling to survive.

Ive got a nasturtium bed and thats where the whites go mainly. Apparently Butterflies 'taste' with their feet and so if they land on something with a stronger flavour than the brasicas, thats where the eggs get laid (in theory)

[Two_Sheds]

I'd agree with you up to a point LizzyLemon. However, with Cabbage Whites ... you can't possibly kill them all... there are far too many.
As with greenfly, rats etc, we must try to keep the population under control, not annihilate it.

I would avocado keeping a patch of nettles to support other butterfly species, and carry on batting the whites.

[Hilary B]

Interesting to see it's mostly gardener's that are happy to kill the whites - I wonder why

To play devils avocado (sort of) I don't think it's OK to kill them - if everyone killed the butterflies, caterpillars and eggs, pretty soon the species would be gone and although there seems to be a huge amount of them, all butterflies are struggling to survive.

Ive got a nasturtium bed and thats where the whites go mainly. Apparently Butterflies 'taste' with their feet and so if they land on something with a stronger flavour than the brasicas, thats where the eggs get laid (in theory)

Maybe it's because gardeners know what they are talking about?

I agree with Two Sheds, however hard we try we will never kill them ALL. Most of the creatures we call 'pests' multiply according to availability of 'food source', and if we grow, for our own use, what they want for food, their numbers are going to shoot up. It then becoems part of the balance for us to kill enough of them to keep things under control. If we never killed anything, we would all starve.

[ginger ninger]

None of the above..i let mother nature sort them out... As Freddy out of "Queen " said..."Another one bit's the dust".

[lizzylemon]

Maybe it's because gardeners know what they are talking about?

Yes I agree with you, us gardeners are very knowledgeable peeps - I guess I should have paid more attention during my Entomology course!

[allotmentlady]

my daughter catches them and disposes them, i crush the eggs if i see any but i tend to fleece brassicas to avoid this...