I've never grown brussels sprouts before, or anything in the brassica family. A few weeks ago, I noticed the big holes in the leaves. Checking my fave gardening book, I thought it was cabbage worm/loopers and that it probably wouldn't get out of hand even if I didn't do anything about it.
Then, I noticed a lot of black dots on the stalk, where I think the sprouts should be growing. Now I'm not sure if it was cabbage worm to begin with, or if it's cabbage worm and something else. So my questions are:
1) Does anyone know for sure what this is?
2) Does anyone know what to do about it? (I want to keep my garden organic or near to it, so I'd actually prefer to lose the crop than to use harsh chemicals.) Is it even salvageable at this point?
The first pic below shows the teeny black things that are really 3-dimensional, not spots. The next 2 pics show the leaves.
What's eating my brussels sprouts?
Hard to say exactly what it is. But I would guess its either cabbage looper or imported cabbage moth. Could also be striped cabbage worm. The little 3 dimensional objects looks like worm scat. The feeding definetly looks like worms...though flea beetles can cause some similar symptoms in extreme cases.
Its not too late to salvage. Apply Bt alternated with pyrethrins, two organically approved insecticides applied at 3-5 day intervals.
Should clear things up pretty quickly.
Thank you, drobarr.
Another possibility is slugs and/or snails. Sluggo works well. They come out at night, so you might not see them. Usually you can see cabbage worms. I gather you've searched? Spray with Spinosad or sprinkle with Dipel to be safe. Any white butterflies lately? That's cabbage worm.
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