Caterpillars in my buds, please help!!!

N.commisso8 · Sep 9, 2020

Hey guys!

I know it's a long shot but does anyone have a solution for caterpillar infestation in outdoor buds? This girl is about 4 weeks from harvest and she is inundated!

Chinook3 · Sep 9, 2020

Yes a product called "BT" bacillus Thuringia. You can use it right up until harvest. Spray twice a week as the sunlight will break it down. The worms eat it and die. Turns in their stomachs to something fatal to catapillars. Otherwise pretty safe. Should use it throughout grow season. It's cheap and effective.

Chinook33

Edinburgh · Sep 9, 2020

DE Earth.

Chinook3 · Sep 9, 2020

How would DE powder get rid of caterpillar in buds? It would be all through your bud, no thanks! I am not sure it will even kill cats.
If cats are that bad expect a bunch of mold as they curl up in buds and eat and poop, then the mold comes. Use some green cure to help stop mold. It will limit your loss but expect it. Best thing is prevention!

Chinook3

N.commisso8 · Sep 9, 2020

Chinook3 said:
How would DE powder get rid of caterpillar in buds? It would be all through your bud, no thanks! I am not sure it will even kill cats.
If cats are that bad expect a bunch of mold as they curl up in buds and eat and poop, then the mold comes. Use some green cure to help stop mold. It will limit your loss but expect it. Best thing is prevention!

Chinook3

Chinook thanks for both these comments. Certainly learning about preventative maintenance these last couple weeks. Much appreciated!

ezenzyme · Sep 10, 2020

Pretty easy, pull open buds at nodes first find, then; follow the trails of poop. If you see even a brown wilting sugar leaf inspect closer, when your buds become bigger you will notice brown dead spots that will reveal a trail to the cata-pilla' the trail will be lined with mold causing poop that must be cleaned out. Little bastards. Un avoidable unless you create a sealed enviroment. One time i built a huge box out of 2x4's and covered it with window screen. Not a single bud-a-pilla'. Good luck and stay vigilant

redshift75 · Sep 10, 2020

Chinook3 said:
Yes a product called "BT" bacillus Thuringia. You can use it right up until harvest. Spray twice a week as the sunlight will break it down. The worms eat it and die. Turns in their stomachs to something fatal to catapillars. Otherwise pretty safe. Should use it throughout grow season. It's cheap and effective.

Chinook33

easy product for BT is mosquito bits, monterey or bonide. I think all different strains. But all effective and easy, safe, etc. to add to @Chinook3 comment. Is a reason its the most popular one in the world.

Flexnerb · Sep 10, 2020

N.commisso8 said:
Hey guys!

I know it's a long shot but does anyone have a solution for caterpillar infestation in outdoor buds? This girl is about 4 weeks from harvest and she is inundated!

Botanigard 22 wp about 85 bucks a pound. It will give them a fungus and kill them from the inside out...i dont see cats though...lol. im so blind!

Edit...i see it!

N.commisso8 · Sep 10, 2020

ezenzyme said:
Pretty easy, pull open buds at nodes first find, then; follow the trails of poop. If you see even a brown wilting sugar leaf inspect closer, when your buds become bigger you will notice brown dead spots that will reveal a trail to the cata-pilla' the trail will be lined with mold causing poop that must be cleaned out. Little bastards. Un avoidable unless you create a sealed enviroment. One time i built a huge box out of 2x4's and covered it with window screen. Not a single bud-a-pilla'. Good luck and stay vigilant

Thanks, strongly considering the screen box for next year's outdoor grow.

Flexnerb · Sep 10, 2020

N.commisso8 said:
Thanks, strongly considering the screen box for next year's outdoor grow.

Heres a cheaper idea...cats crawl up the plant or fall out of the sky? Ive seen cats fall off trees. So maybe move the pots or plot to different location.
If they're crawling up: maybe tree tape/wrap, wrapped around the base up lil from soil line, put some of that sticky stuff used to catch fungus gnats (im thinking its the same type of material) its in a little 4 or 8 oz can metal white and green(forget the name) can. Its non toxic wrap base and smear that gunk on both edges of tape to seal it so they cant get under the it. Also smear on tape it'll be a sticky trap for them...

Chinook3 · Sep 20, 2020

They can almost hatch daily as their egg is laid by a moth. Few days later they hatch and are about an 1/8 of an inch.

Chinook3

Odaenathus · Sep 21, 2020

Sealing your grow is the best option. About BT, I've heard that it doesn't work properly on adult caterpillars, it's just a preventive. I've lost a lot of pots because of them. Treat caterpillars like a sort of some devil emissaries.

Slap · Sep 21, 2020

Start picking!

N.commisso8 · Sep 21, 2020

Thanks for all the advice everyone. One soaking with BTK and diligent inspection for the week following and it looks like I'm cat free. Within 24 hrs they started leaving the bud sites in search of more edible pastures. By day 5 there wasn't a cat to be found.

TheBioMaster · Sep 21, 2020

Cat poo on my buds.....YUM!!!

You will never get all the poo off those buds.

This is why I stopped buying weed.....LOL!

Chinook3 · Sep 21, 2020

Last year I treated my plants like I would my vegtable garden. I fought bugs and mold and then threw away a bunch of pot. Usually it was the biggest nicest kolas that got hit. This year I used neem early on, and at flowering switched to BT and greencure. I have harvested two plants and thrown away less than an 1/8. I have very very few bugs even aphids this year. It's turned cooler now and I see fewer bugs flying outdoors and my plants are as clean as a whistle. I sprayed last night for both bugs and pm, it got down to 39. I will keep spraying until a few days before harvest. I will then take a hose and put a gentle spray on my plant. Let dry and harvest the next day. I am so pleased with my spray program I have already purchased more spray for next year.
Last year I evaluated each plant and harvested many because of growing mold and bug damage before they got worse. This year I am harvesting as the plants become mature. I like this year better!

Fanman

Madbud · Sep 21, 2020

If any are still left they spin a thread to get out when the buds are hanging to dry and you can spot them with backlighting. Btk works but its hard to use in late flower. I spray before and after a good rain to get it into the buds, then rinse the buds in a bucket of water after chop. There are different bud washes; peroxide and lemon juice are often used then a water rinse. Spray btk in early bud twice next year to eliminate them early.

Madbud · Oct 4, 2020

So i still get them hanging off the drying buds, even smaller than this one. I never see any butterflies or moths on the plants but i’m thinking the eggs are in the wind. I find a dozen eggs every morning on the outside of buds or stuck on sugar leaves. If she lays an egg sac on the fence or foundation stones, i’m betting the eggs get picked up by the wind as they dry and split off. No way these are getting laid individually on the stickiest plants.
Find the occasional dying cat from the btk but most probably they fall off when they die. It does kill them within a day ot two.

Peaceful_Farmer · Oct 4, 2020

BT products are great for caterpillars and have never failed me, also I’m unaware of any issues (with the exception of moisture induced mold) for spraying on your buds.

I would also be curious about Captain Jack’s Dead Bug (Spinosad) would also be acceptable for Late sprays like this? It is my standard preventative but I have never looked into it’s use late into flower. Has anyone on this thread done the research into its safe use late in flower?

Madbud · Oct 4, 2020

BTK smells nasty but i wash all the buds anyway. If i increase the peroxide maybe that will get the eggs i missed.

Caterpillars in my buds, please help!!!

Caterpillars in my buds, please help!!!

N.commisso8

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Caterpillars in my buds, please help!!!

Caterpillars in my buds, please help!!!

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