Caterpillar War

Do you remember the cabbage my son brought home from school?  The one he was supposed to take care of, so it could be entered in a contest for the best cabbage?  Well, it's still alive.  Barely.  It's grown quite  bit larger, but it's a sorry sight with all the holes in it.

I took a look at the cabbage yesterday, to see if I could ascertain what the problem might be.  I didn't see any aphids flying around it, so I ruled out insects.  When I looked at the underside of one of the leaves, I found the culprit.  Or culprits. Tiny green caterpillars!  They were munching holes in those tasty green leaves.

"Dude," I called to my son.  "You have a little problem with your cabbage."

He came over.  "What?"

I showed him the cabbage moth caterpillars.

He frowned.  "This calls for war!"

He grabbed the garden hose and turned on the water to full jet spray.  He blasted the leaves with the water.  "Did I get them?"

I looked. "No. There are a few left.  And the ones that fell off, are still in the dirt."

That made him even madder.  He sprayed the heck out the dirt and the leaves, until it looked like the poor cabbage was going to drown.  "Did I get them now?"

I did a careful inspection, and could find no remaining caterpillars in the dirt or on the leaves.  "All clear," I said.

Bubba did a victory dance.  "I won!"

I looked at the kid.  "Are you sure about that?  Because I think you got even wetter than the caterpillars!"