Organically Controlling Celery Leaftier

Normally, worms in the garden are green, but these worms will be yellow-green in color and have a white stripe all the way down their backs. And they will be larger than other garden worms, almost a complete inch in length. The Celery leaftier also differs in that it eats a variety of vegetables, not just one or two types.

Celery Leaftier: More About Celery Leaftier, Including Numbers of Generations Produced Annually

This garden pest affects celery, kale and a number of other plants. But it affects Kale more than the rest, including celery. And it produces up to five or six generations per year, if left untreated. Greenhouses affected with celery leaftier can see as many as seven to eight generations of this pest produced in a given year.

Organically Controlling Celery Leaftier: How They Multiply

Webbing foliage together as they feed, these insects will inevitably pupate in their silky cocoons inside the webs they weave. And while the worms are medium in size, the adult moths are too, and they are brown in color and nocturnal. The eggs laid appear to be similar to fish eggs and are placed on the underside of leaves. So that is one identifying sign that you have this problem.

Celery Leaftier: How Damaging Are They?

The celery leaftier can create a lot of damage to your garden in spite of the fact that they are not known for showing up in great quantities. But their ability to produce so many generations within one year makes them a pest that will require year-long attention in order to organically control them.

Organcially Controlling Celery Leaftier: Signs and Locations Affected

The Northeast has the worst problems with celery leaftier, but southern California runs a close second. And any greenhouse is definitely fair game too, actually being the worst to suffer overall from celery leaftier. If you notice holes in your celery or kale leaves or stalks--or plant leaves tied with webs and folded--you've got celery leaftier.

Organic Remedies for Celery Leaftier

You wil have to actually handpick these pests and destroy them. That is the main organic control for this particular garden problem. You will also need to remove any damaged or destroyed leaves that you see, since leaftier is probably hiding out inside them too.

Organically controlling celery leaftier will be one of the most time-consuming garden pests to get rid of, especially if you are growing your celery or kale in a greenhouse. But the more attention you can pay to your crop of plants when they first start growing--and the faster you can remove any signs of destruction or production of the celery leaftier--the better.

Source
"The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Food Organically" by Tanya L.K. Denckla