Holes in Kale Leaves — What's Eating It?
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GardenSays
Best match: Imported cabbageworm / cabbage looper / diamondback moth. Manageable if you act.
- Best match
- Imported cabbageworm / cabbage looper / diamondback moth
- Severity
- Treatable
- Causes checked
- 1
Based on holes chewed in leaves on the lower leaves with moist soil, the closest match is imported cabbageworm / cabbage looper / diamondback moth. Confirm it against the actual plant: Green caterpillars of varying size chewing ragged holes, leaving the large veins intact once they're bigger; young caterpillars leave small holes that don't break through the leaf's top surface.
- This is a symptom-pattern match from your written description, not a lab diagnosis. If the plant is collapsing over days (not weeks), treat it as the worst plausible cause until ruled out.
Do this this week
- 1.Confirm it first: Green caterpillars of varying size chewing ragged holes, leaving the large veins intact once they're bigger; young caterpillars leave small holes that don't break through the leaf's top surface.
- 2.Handpick into soapy water, or cover plants with row cover until harvest.
- 3.Collapsing fast (days, not weeks)? Photograph it and check with your county extension before treating
Calculated result · 2 verified sources · Checked 2026-07-17 · How we decide
Why
What to do: Handpick into soapy water, or cover plants with row cover until harvest.
- A symptom tree ranks causes by how well your conditions match each cause's known pattern — the distinguishing signs are how you confirm it on the actual plant, not a lab result.
- Most leaf problems trace to water, weather, or common leaf-spot fungi; true plant-killers are rarer but worth ruling out first.
When this doesn't apply
- If the plant is collapsing fast (days, not weeks), treat it as the most severe possibility on the list until proven otherwise.
- Multiple symptoms at once usually means the top cause here plus plain stress — fix watering first, then re-check.
How this was calculated
- 1. SymptomSource guidance
Kale: holes chewed in leaves — 1 known cause evaluated (extension-sourced)
- 2. Your conditionsCalculated result
Location on plant: lower; soil: moist. Causes whose known pattern matches these conditions rank higher — this narrows the list, it doesn't identify anything.
- 3. 1. Imported cabbageworm / cabbage looper / diamondback mothmatch score 1Calculated result
Distinguishing signs: Green caterpillars of varying size chewing ragged holes, leaving the large veins intact once they're bigger; young caterpillars leave small holes that don't break through the leaf's top surface.
Data sources
- University of Minnesota Extension — Caterpillars on cole crops — Imported cabbageworm: velvety green with faint yellow stripes, up to 1 inch, most common cole-crop caterpillar. Cabbage looper: light green, up to 1.5 inches, moves with a distinctive looping action. Diamondback moth: small, smooth caterpillars that create many small holes. Young caterpillars make small holes that don't break the upper leaf surface; larger caterpillars chew large ragged holes, leaving large veins intact. (checked 2026-07-17)
- University of Minnesota Extension — Aphids in home yards and gardens — Cabbage aphids feed only on cruciferous plants, are green with a waxy grayish-white covering, and feed on the underside of leaves in large clusters; low numbers cause little injury but large numbers slow growth and distort leaves/heads. (checked 2026-07-17)
What changes this answer
Where on the plant?
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