mix up 2 tablespoons dawn & 1 qt water & spray................keeps them off........until it rains..............use gloves and make a ring around the cabbage on the ground..........last thing.........ants love raw cornmeal but some in a can squashed sideways away from your garden..........they will eat it and take it back to the nest. ...if you see an ant hill you can put another can of the raw cornmeal there also......