Curative Control

Plants in pest control

1. Garlic oil
2. Mammey

Pathogens in pest control

Bacillus thuringiensis

Spray plants thoroughly with BT when larvae are less than 5 mm long. The larvae are not killed instantly. The pests have to ingest BT first. It takes about 2-3 days for the pests to die.

In the hot tropics, it is more effective to spray BT in the late afternoon as there are longer and cooler hours ahead. BT remains longer on the leaves' surfaces and survives better in cooler temperature. Spraying in the morning provides a shorter and hotter environment.

Do not spray BT on wet days.

Keep BT formulations in cool storage places.

Some BT products available in the markets are Bactur, DiPel, Forté, Delfin, Novosol Biological Insecticide, Biobit, and Thuricide (Endersby; Ridland, 1997:1999). Regardless of what your choice is, read the label and follow instructions carefully before using. Or ask for assistance from your local agriculturist when using BT for the first time.

Physical control

1. Handpick the larvae. Put collected larvae in a bucket with soapy water to drown.
2. Scatter large pieces of eggshells amongst the cabbages to confuse the Cabbage white butterfly. The eggshells are mistaken for as another butterflies which makes the Cabbage white butterfly leave the area to look for a less populated one (Michaels, 2001).
3. Catch butterflies with nets. Their presence suggests a future problem.
4. Cover plants with very fine nets to prevent female butterflies from laying eggs on the plants.