This is a few questions all thrown into one post but I figured it's better than posting multiple threads, So I'm about 4-5 weeks into flower on most of my outdoor plants, and I have found a few caterpillars in them. One plant in had some adults and did quite a bit of damage to the buds so I removed the buds. Other ones I've found were small and didn't do much damage yet, I picked out the small parts that looked dead. I then sprayed with BT and the following day I sprayed with lost coast plant therapy..I've been continuing this for the past couple weeks (Once a week) and have not seen any "webbing" or what looks like mold.

1.is dead bud from the caterpillars eating the same thing as bud rot?
2. Will the lost coast help prevent further damage from the caterpillars?
3. Should I wash my buds after I harvest to get rid of caterpillar poop and whatnot?

Now my other question pertains to defoliation which I know is a controversial topic. Right before flower I did some defoliating of all the inner leaves, and branches that weren't going to produce anything. I've heard/read that around weeks 3-4 of flower you should defoliate all the large fan leaves, but I know this is controversial as plants get all their energy from the leaves and not so much the buds. Also this is usually more talked about with indoor grows, im assuming this is because the lights don't move and artificial light probably doesn't penetrate the canopy as well as natural light.
What are your guys' opinions on this?