Caterpillar Issue / Harvesting

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schreier94

schreier94

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Hello! This is my first time growing cannabis ever. I have two indica dominant hybrids that I'm growing outside. They're pretty deep into flower. I went on vacation for a couple weeks and had a friend watch and water them for me. When I came home, I found caterpillar bite marks all over the leaves. I found a bunch of caterpillars in the buds themselves, too :(
:(
. I sprayed the plant with insecticide, which seemed to work, but do you think it's too late? I must mention: the plant is starting to bloom in other areas that it never had before. It's almost like it knew it was under attack so it readjusted (pictured). Can someone give me advice? Should I harvest these? A lot of the buds have brown leaves but I assume that's from the caterpillars? The stem of the plant doesn't look so hot in some parts either (pictured). Any advice would be appreciated!
 
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Madbud

Madbud

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Look for btk, its safe to spray up to harvest then wash your buds in a bucket of water and peroxide after chop.
 
mancorn

mancorn

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Bud worms are common. But you’ve got a serious rot issues from the worms. I'd bet they look like this.

F2763E2D 2EFF 4B59 A9A4 7CD797C07761

The worms will migrate to the center stalk, where they’ll munch away for weeks, shitting up a storm. The shit and broken chunks of bud will become a vector for rot and mold. By the time you discover the worm your bud is toast. The only cure at this point is to cut out the rotten bud and discard. If you don’t cut out the rotten shit, you’ll lose the entire plant. Don’t try and save anything that’s damage. It all has to come out.

F0B38CE2 AC79 4189 A079 B5E2526036C9

If you have a stem that you want to try and save (like the main stem low on the plant) spray the area with hydrogen peroxide (to keep mold spores from flying around) and remove all the plant material around the rotten area. ALL the rotten stuff has to go in the trash! Then spray the stem with isopropyl alcohol. You may be able to hold onto the stem if you monitor it daily and keep applying the IA if you see the mold return.

To kill the worms apply any of the Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) products. The problem being that the Bt only kills the worms if they eat it and the product breaks down in sunlight after a few days. And if a worm is already inside the bud, it's not going to get em.

You should also check for the month eggs every day. They’ll look like this

8C3CB530 48D0 42B0 86A6 2C09F5B1C4BD

It's definitely a battle you won’t win and you’ll continue to lose buds. Think the only real solution is to build a net structure (which a lot of growers have to do). You can only hope to slow them down, by daily monitoring for eggs and adults, spraying weekly, and removing any and all infected buds as soon as you find them. If you search on “bud worm” you’ll find hundreds of articles and post. (All basically saying “fucking little worms”.)
 
PlumberSoCal2

PlumberSoCal2

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I don't even have to read your post. Bt spray every week. Tomatoes, weed, cabbage, etc. The bastards love to burrow into buds, eat through the stem and kill the tops of flowers. Not to mention they shit all over the buds. Great, eh?

Bt spray weekly. Veg, flower, protect those babies.
 
Foutwenty71

Foutwenty71

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It's always the top half of your plant to....killing your best buds...I hate them things more than mites...there is more than one kind of moth that does it to you as well so research you area...corn borer worms are another...I have seen at least 2 different kinds just in my yard in previous years...fingers crossed this season....sorry for your losses man....mother nature sure know how to throw a mean curve ball
 
Madbud

Madbud

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No disrespect but “any bt product“ will not do it. These products are bacterium, btk is specific to caterpillars since it comes from butterfly gut. Well known btk products include Theracide (15% btk) and Monterey (99%).
 
mancorn

mancorn

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263
No disrespect but “any bt product“ will not do it. These products are bacterium, btk is specific to caterpillars since it comes from butterfly gut. Well known btk products include Theracide (15% btk) and Monterey (99%).
Yes you’re right. Every Bt worm spray you buy is subspecies kurstak. But just searching on Bt worm spray and you’ll see products from Safer, Garden Safe, Bonide, Monterey, Natural Guard, etc., etc. They’re all the same (and pretty much every one will have a big Bt label), so just get what's available.

You can also use Spinosad products (also organic and sold under many brand names). The down side on it, is that it's highly toxic to bees, so not my choice.
 
mancorn

mancorn

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The two I have on hand, Safer & Garden Safe (this is one safe product!) both look to be the same as the Monterey. But yeah the Bonide does look a lot different. Is it a ready to use product?

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Madbud

Madbud

3,906
263
The two I have on hand, Safer & Garden Safe (this is one safe product!) both look to be the same as the Monterey. But yeah the Bonide does look a lot different. Is it a ready to use product?

View attachment 999846
Mixes with water, its a concentrate. I’ve used both and will spray liberally before and after a rainstorm when flowers start to appear. I’ve used it late in flower, first time, and dunked the buds in a water peroxide bath before drying. Those bastards start out so small but they get big and fat fast in a bud.
 
schreier94

schreier94

2
3
Bud worms are common. But you’ve got a serious rot issues from the worms. I'd bet they look like this.

View attachment 999480
The worms will migrate to the center stalk, where they’ll munch away for weeks, shitting up a storm. The shit and broken chunks of bud will become a vector for rot and mold. By the time you discover the worm your bud is toast. The only cure at this point is to cut out the rotten bud and discard. If you don’t cut out the rotten shit, you’ll lose the entire plant. Don’t try and save anything that’s damage. It all has to come out.

View attachment 999484
If you have a stem that you want to try and save (like the main stem low on the plant) spray the area with hydrogen peroxide (to keep mold spores from flying around) and remove all the plant material around the rotten area. ALL the rotten stuff has to go in the trash! Then spray the stem with isopropyl alcohol. You may be able to hold onto the stem if you monitor it daily and keep applying the IA if you see the mold return.

To kill the worms apply any of the Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) products. The problem being that the Bt only kills the worms if they eat it and the product breaks down in sunlight after a few days. And if a worm is already inside the bud, it's not going to get em.

You should also check for the month eggs every day. They’ll look like this

View attachment 999493
It's definitely a battle you won’t win and you’ll continue to lose buds. Think the only real solution is to build a net structure (which a lot of growers have to do). You can only hope to slow them down, by daily monitoring for eggs and adults, spraying weekly, and removing any and all infected buds as soon as you find them. If you search on “bud worm” you’ll find hundreds of articles and post. (All basically saying “fucking little worms”.)

Thank you so much! Should I remove the rotting branches too? Or just the rotting buds?
 
PlumberSoCal2

PlumberSoCal2

374
143
Thank you so much! Should I remove the rotting branches too? Or just the rotting buds?
Remove the buds and clean them out then light 'em up. Usually dry and ready. I too have been using the Monetary Bt.
20200714 211115

Time to order a new bottle with all the tomatoes I have to spray. Only 2 tomatoes have been munched noticeably.

I also use diatomaceous earth (has controlled the aphids) and this year got hit with Powdery Mildew when they were young and used powdered sulfur. Both it and the DE wash off easily. The Bt? It doesn't effect the taste but I spray them down gently the day before harvest. Haven't grown another arm or anything, yet.😜
 
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