Catapillars on Flowering Plants

[5150THC]

Ayup! Somethin's better'n nothin'.

I don't see how, their frass is about the same size as many trichome heads. And then there's the mold associated in those areas.

Look man, it's your first grow, I get it, we've all been there. But if you leave that rotten stuff there, it's going to simply cause the rest of it to rot. So you either cut it away yourself and start applying iso or something to stop that rot, or you watch your buds rot before your eyes. It must be done.

But that's the thing. If you get on top of it, it's not an issue. If you just start spraying, alternating treatments, with Bt and Spinosad, you'll have a real handle on the problem.

Question-if you spray both BT and spinosad( like I've done and it looks like its working!!) but then you mix it up and spray ISO, doesn't the ISO kill the healthy bacteria's that make up the spinosad and BT? At what point in there do you mix it up? right before the two week spray again?

 

[Wisher619]

the ISO spray should only be sprayed at the point of bud rot...where the pillars were eating...to disinfect the spot to hault the growth of the rot

 

[Sunbaked]

when I find the rot, I take everything above the rot. stem is infected. Cut it out and everything above it. If it is caterpillar damage your fine. I go out every morning with a flashlight to check for bad spots. Keep it cleaned up, your fine. my plant with some is big enough . It never missed the limb I had to take.

 

[5150THC]

Here's a photo of a bud (actually a cola) I tried real hard to save from the caterpillars. I've cut away about 60% of it, its been sprayed with BT, Spinosad (at different times) and eventually with ISO. It stopped any rot, fungus and other bugs
I just wanted to see if it could be done-Dont know why I had to do it- just needed to.... Well, one look at that Caterpillar shit ( fucking gross- can't even think about smoking that) and the whole thing got cut off today. But I proved to myself that IT CAN be done.

 

[Seamaiden]

Yeah, I'm really allergic to frass, so I have to be careful about that, too.

 

[MendoGiantZ]

I pay my workers 10$ a caterpillar that they find on the plant and kill.... Hate the fuckers... Caterpillar Killer is a safer product I use a lot... When growing outside you just have to understand that your going to have anywhere from a 10% to a 20% loss from bugs, broken branches, mold, human error... Shit happens, plant more plants and learn from the year before.....

 

[MendoGiantZ]

I heard of a guy up in chico that comes to your property before you plant and he sprays the whole area with something and it prevents the moth's and caterpillars.... Is this the tick killer stuff you guys are talking about.... I would love to find a more serious solution to dealing with these little bastards.... Spraying my large gardens only does so much as its hard to cover all the surfaces and it takes forever to do the whole area and it never seems to get all of them......I sprayed twice this year and have seen a lot less caterpillars but I would love to eliminate them all together...

 

[Seamaiden]

What are you using to spray? Once I got a tank sprayer that pops onto the back of the quadrunner, added about 50' more of hose so I can really get to where I need to, it's no longer been a problem at all.

I wonder what he's spraying that gets rid of them altogether. Just the idea sounds rather toxic on the whole to me.

 

[MendoGiantZ]

I'm pretty sure your correct about the stuff he is using being rather toxic.... As far as what I use to spray, its probably not that much better.. I filled up a 30 gallon rubbermaid tote with water, I added Forbid a pretty bad miticide, Azamax, another miticide, Eagle 20 for powder, A very strong dose of Caterpillar Killer, its a safer product (i bought the gallon jug of it) Cal Mag plus and a seaweed extract... I have 2 atomizers and my crew wore masks and would dip the atomizer into the 30 gallon rubbermaid for refills so I didn't have to keep mixing up individual batches..... We sprayed each garden two different times a couple weeks in between..... Did I say I got some broad mites last year and it was a nightmare,, thats why I am all about going hard on the miticides and being very careful from now on about who i get my plants from

 

[MendoGiantZ]

Can I see a picture of the quad runner and the tank sprayer??? I would love to invest in one if it's that much better then the atomizer

 

[ncga]

Menod you were doing good until the Eagle 20. There are so many preventative that are way less toxic. As to spraying I invested in a stihl Blower, my cost of material is way down. What used to take 30 gallons with the quad mounted sprayer I can no do with 4 gallons and about half the time

Also available by a number of other makes. You will get the best atomization . It also has the ability to get those dense upper buds and inner leaves

 

[ncga]

You can also get them at tractor supply. Order up a 100ft roll of the clear reinforced line. I like the Northern too on better than the TS one. Norther tool also has a nice nozzle

 

[MendoGiantZ]

thats what my friends got up north and they loved it,,, they still got broad mites this year though- little fuckers are everywhere.... I am definetly gonna invest in one for next year-- the top picture of the STIHL one looks good.. you like that model???

 

[ncga]

I like it , and got it at a good price. There are some new ones out by Solo that hold 6.5 gallons but I think that would be a bit to heavy on the back. I have to say its one of the best investments I have made. Esp on the reduced coast of material. I can use 5 oz of fungicides compared to the OVER use of 30oz before

 

[MendoGiantZ]

I'm definetly getting one next year

 

[Seamaiden]

Menod you were doing good until the Eagle 20. There are so many preventative that are way less toxic.

Forget the toxicity, what about resistance?? I really wish my thread was still here. E20 should *not* be being used as a prophylactic or preventative. Same with Forbid, you're directly creating resistant mites. The Azamax is probably saving you on that one.

Can I see a picture of the quad runner and the tank sprayer??? I would love to invest in one if it's that much better then the atomizer

Sure thing. I think you'll agree, it's head and shoulders better than the atomizer. I have that atomizer, it's good in an enclosed space, really.

Be sure to buy extra spray wands to have on hand. And plenty of hose clamps!

 

[MendoGiantZ]

I've read quite a bit about the broad mites And regular mites. What do you reccomend doing @Seamaiden. A practical solution for my size gardens has to be considered as well. I'm not gonna spray every three days apart for a month or two.

 

[MendoGiantZ]

I could get two backpack sprayers. Use azamax and (what do u think of the product Nuke Em). Cut out the eagle 20. The caterpillar killer product by safer. Or the other caterpillar product that has BT in it. Some seaweed cal mag and other good stuff the plants like. Maybe spray a lot more when the plants are smaller because once they get big it's super hard to cover the whole area. Both of the properties I work on the owners like to do a couple little plants on the side and have people over as well that might have mites on them. It's lame but they own the land and wanna do some personal smoke even though that's where the bugs probably will come from. ( I will just spray there plants when I spray mine ). And I have a feeling I will still get some caterpillars. I hate those little bastards. Always eating my biggest colas.

 

[Seamaiden]

I've read quite a bit about the broad mites And regular mites. What do you reccomend doing @Seamaiden. A practical solution for my size gardens has to be considered as well. I'm not gonna spray every three days apart for a month or two.

The issue with resistance has to do with the mode of action of the miticide. So when you're using a single site mode of action miticide like Forbid, you need to have at least one other miticide that uses a different mode of action. Because I'm all organic, I make few to no chemical recommendations, I'll leave those to @ncga because I know he's trained and diligent.

If you don't yet have JMS Stylets oil, I have to ask you, why not? Get it. Now. Get the bigger size. I went direct to the manufacturer for the best price (and because they actually didn't care if I had an operators permit or not, whereas Peaceful Valley does). It will only have to be applied weekly. Stop use two weeks prior to planned harvest to help ensure cleanest flowers.

Interestingly enough, it has been proven that mites do *not* develop resistance to Azamax or Azatrol (I believe both use the same active ingredient that's in neem, without all the oils).

Since you're treating such large plants and such a large area, I suggest going to you local county ag extension agent and getting an operators permit. That way you can buy many ag-level/ag-sized products that don't require a pesticide permit. I'm drawing a blank on what I use for Bt.. DiPel? Fuck, you're gonna have to give me some time on that one, but there are better products for someone growing at your level to go with than Safers here. Please remind me, ok? You're going to want to alternate the Bt with spinosad, and both should be being applied in the evenings.

And yeah, they always eat the biggest colas. Little fucks!

Ok, looking up via my CACASSA stuff, it's DiPel and Thuricide.

 

[Bulldog11]

Interestingly enough, it has been proven that mites do *not* develop resistance to Azamax or Azatrol (I believe both use the same active ingredient that's in neem, without all the oils).

Is this true? Either they become immune, or it's not 100% effective. I dipped an entire branch in a 5 gallon bucket mixed with neem for 5 minutes and they survived. Scoped 4hours, 8h, 24h and 48 hours later and observed live russets after the dip. That is what ultimately made me decide to use chemicals.