I'd just keep spraying them with water. They are soft bodied and the spray will kill and/or knock them off.

tj

I would pull them. Try kale again next year but spray them bi-weekly with neem as a preventable measure from the moment you plant.

Do not believe anyone who says a plant can be used as "bait" for aphids, that they will then leave other plants alone. I did that with snap peas one year, and all it did was create a local breeding ground for aphids. I literally needed a hazmat suit to pull the peas out, there were so many bugs all over. And they did just get on everything else too. It was gross.

If they're pulled now that's the end of this year's crop. Kale is an Autumn and Winter vegetable (maybe just Autumn in z5). I'd keep blasting with the hose and wait for cooler weather to the kale growing again.

I would continue blasting with the hose (and you can carefully use some insecticidal soap, applied in the evening according to label directions) if you find that the aphid infestation is not being controlled by blasting.
However, it is not too late to plant some new kale for a fall crop, if you decide to go that route. It will be ready by late August and will continue yielding right into November.

I feel your pain. Damn cabbage worms are killing my dino Kale. green little caterpillars.

Release the hounds! lol.. get some ladybugs in there to devour them! and keep blasting them with water to knock them off.

Is neem safe on edible foliage? I would hesitate to use it on any of my leafy greens, it's an oil, so it's doubtful IMO that it will all wash off. I could be completely wrong though. I use neem on my fruiting veggie plants from time to time, but never on my greens.

I've heard people drink Neem for medicinal purposes. Forget what it does, but I have always considered it safe.

I use neem for aphids and whiteflies on my potted herbs, especially over winter indoors. I generally wait a few days before harvesting any, then just a quick rinse. Have been happy with it, and noticed an occasional stickyish buildup, but usually only on my scented geraniums after several applications (they're usually the hardest hit and the hardest sprayed).

Neem is definitely safe for edible gardening. It is ingested for medicinal purposes and is a big component in many Indian toothpastes as well.

Draw your own conclusions, but for me, I won't use it on my leafy greens.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neem WebMD

and another info link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Neem