Cattepillers again!

[Marb67]

Well I can't belive this. Months since I saw any cabbage whites and any eggs and yet my brassicas are snying with the beggars. I don't mind a few but they are infested. Kale, sprouts and broccoli. I shake the stems to knock them off and they just hang. I don't kill them, just let them fall to the ground and have the leaves on the floor. I just Can't belive it's so cold and they (as well as aphids) are still here, especially as no butterflies for months

[peanut]

You are not alone Marb, I found one on my little nine star broccoli plant. I have yet to check my brassica bed, that is under mesh so I hope there won't be too many in there! I'm not as forgiving as you, all the bugs I find get put out for the birds!

[ameno]

Knocking them off won't do anything. They don't want the leaves on the floor; those leaves are dead. They want living leaves (ideally young, tender ones). They will just climb back up the plants.
If you don't want to kill them yourself, pick them off and put them in an obvious high place for birds to take.

[Marb67]

Knocking them off won't do anything. They don't want the leaves on the floor; those leaves are dead. They want living leaves (ideally young, tender ones). They will just climb back up the plants.
If you don't want to kill them yourself, pick them off and put them in an obvious high place for birds to take.

I don't think they climb back up as I see them on the leaves on the ground whim ch are fresh enough. I'm surprised the many sparrows I get on my garden don't pick them off. I'm hoping these frosts will see them off.

[ameno]

They do climb back up, I've seen it countless times. If they're on the leaves on the leaves on the ground then they are likely just taking temporary shelter there.
The leaves on the ground are nowhere near "fresh enough", as they are already dead by the time they even fall off. Caterpillars want fresh green leaves, not withering yellow ones. Unless you are talking about the leaves of the weeds, in which case, they will not eat those as they are the wrong species.