green bud eating caterpillars

[bicycle racer]

im outdoor in socal at about 7 weeks flower and have discovered green caterpillars which eat buds from inside to out. i need immediate advice in effective controls of these unwanted pests. any quick worthwhile advice is deeply appreciated from you fellow growers time is of the essence peace.

 

[fisher15]

BT!!!!!!!!

 

[nobull56]

Pull them out, place on the ground & Mash! Quickest way! If there is to many to pick, you are growing too much & nature is slowing you down!

 

[nomaad]

There are at least 3 very comprehensive discussions from the last few weeks about caterpillars, BT and Spinosad. Search the forums and you will find.

The current wisdom on the matter is that for every one you pick out with your fingers, there will be 10 you don't find.... bad math.

 

[beer batter]

I would consider cutting out the damaged area, its dry though actually getting real hot. if its healthy let it be, sometimes the damaged stem will kill the attached bud/s and they will dry up or rot if wet -from dew I suppose even. Worm damage and rain = rot so I chopped down more then 650 grams of tops last year mid October -its way to early to loose tops now, I'm spraying safers BT weekly! Serenade to cure any disease.

Anyone see those commercials on TV about invasive pests? It’s like arachnophobia

 

[nobull56]

Nomaad, hit the nail on the head, look at the forums!
Max we have ever had was three on one plant, we get them every year. You can learn to 'see' where they are working ( kind-a waxy looking). We choose not to kill all the caterpillers in our Neighborhood.

 

[bicycle racer]

thanks for every ones input i happen to have spinosad laying around somewhere. the problem is im at 7 weeks flower so im debating if spraying now is a good idea. i know spinosad is non toxic and organic but still i generally avoid spraying late in flower. what does bt stand for i forget im assuming thts a bacterial method of control but im not sure. any other advice or input appreciated peace.

 

[nomaad]

bacilus thuregensis (sp)

 

[Hash Man]

just spray it bro, i smoked a nug that i picked right after spraying with bt... she smoked great. i would be more worried aobut losing my nuggies to budrot.

 

[beer batter]

I took a lot of top down a month early last year right after infestation but before any damage could rot. Took the tops down a few days after spraying safer bt and serenade I think -for sure I used bt, the stuff was to premature and I ended up hashing it all smoked nice though just harsh cause it wasn’t developed -produced a lot of hash, it was right before a mid-October rain. I found one then a dozen and took quick action, I sprayed the buds but the worms where inside at the stems climbing up or down inside the large really huge buds -it protects them I think, once they make it inside the huge tops they aren’t effected by the spray to the foliage. I'm spraying preventively just being more vigilant then last season, id like to take all my tops till late October early November. It’s the huge and heavy buds that I want to open up gently and spray inside every so often -like after cutting out damaged rot material.

 

[johnnyla]

fuck mine are in thick 4+ week flowering buds.

i soaked the plants with a fine mist last night. 30 ounces of water over 2 2x2 bushes.

i hope that kills em. fuckers.

 

[Gunnarguchi]

ive had some caterpillar problems in the greenhouse but those in my area dont look the buds, they just chew on the fan leaves but if theres enough of them they can strip a plant in a few days

 

[DrPoison]

I have had them come out and absolutely destroy plants on me in the past. They eat and shit...eat and shit...eat and you get the picture. Anything distal to where they eat dies and they can cause some major bud rot. I luckily have not seen to many this season. Let me know if you find a safe method to ridding those lil bastards! Preferably an organic/natural method??

 

[Shangri-la]

I spray BT NIGHTLY. I spray spinosad TWICE a week.
The indicas have been hardest hit by those cats. Once they are into a thick cola, it's over. There is no amount of spraying that will kill them. The spray only gets to the surface. High surface area nugs (lower density) are doing fine....however, thick colas are molding into oblivion.
Yeah sure, remove affected areas...spray with greencure to kill/stop the mold....watch it all return within the week. Been there, done that.
Harvest something now or harvest nothing later. That's the ONLY decision to be made.
I'll be more critical with strain selection next year. Anything with thick buds going into Sept. will not be considered next season. Shitty, yes....but it's just the facts of life in moth/cat infested SoCal. BTW, the moths are still active here (3rd week of Sept. !)
I am also convinced that they are becoming BT resistant. Read up on it. They are evolving to acclimate to the BT.

Legends Ultimate Indica = Cat favorite
F-13 = Cat resistant, dont ask why. Right next to LUI w/little issues.
Willie Nelson = too spindly right now, cats disinterested

 

[johnnyla]

good to know you can spray BT nightly.

are you sure though? lol.

 

[nomaad]

yes. like we said... BT breaks down in sunlight... there will be no trace of it in your smokables. If you are needing serious measures, alternate with spinosad.

Dr. Poison. I;d consider both of these products safe. As I have said in the past, I believe that hippies would use em as a mayonnaise substitute.

 

[beer batter]

fuck mine are in thick 4+ week flowering buds.

i soaked the plants with a fine mist last night. 30 ounces of water over 2 2x2 bushes.

i hope that kills em. fuckers.

The bottle of safer's concentrate says to use it every 7-14 days 1-2tsp per gallon and for high populations of gypsy moth and budworms use up to 4 tsp per gallon, I would start at 1-2 and spray weekly. I'm thinking about stepping up to 2tsp every 5 days, maybe step it up to 3tsp but I’m happy with 2tsp.

Shangri-la- any advice on what brand you spray nightly also what amount of tsp's per gallon..

Here is the bastard I documented last year and some pictures of the bud I took down early, TGU tops -very thick and sweet smelling Afghani-like clone. The tops are as bid as wine bottles and theirs huge clusters that keep developing till November. These had freaky silk stings all over the place as they escaped the buds drying on lines -its kinda creepy walking around with them all over. What it doesn’t show is the poop that they leave behind- often the first sign of cats are the dark colored dots of shit they leave in the bud around the stems and damaged material -its a good medium for mold to start with, I was lucky to get the nasty stuff I had on the lines cause the bt treatment days earlier did nothing -the worms are protected inside the buds from gentle misting -we gota soak the buds and maby mist the stuff in at the stem, at least the huge tops, what doesn’t kill them before they get inside has to get inside to do the job.. Hopefully they eat some bt-coated leaf and die before digging into the trenches.

the last 3 where from November or late October

 

[diamondmine]

^^^ I think that if there is always some BT on the plant then you wouldn't have to soak the buds completely. As soon as the cat hatches it should die from eating BT.

 

[nomaad]

sun breaks down BT, so if you spray it after the sun goes down, you probably have between 10 and 15 hours of effective BT on your plants... depending on how early they get full sun. Certain areas that get no sun might still have active BT... but the majority of the plant, especially the tops that the cats love so much will not have much BT on it day to day.

 

[diamondmine]

sun breaks down BT, so if you spray it after the sun goes down, you probably have between 10 and 15 hours of effective BT on your plants... depending on how early they get full sun. Certain areas that get no sun might still have active BT... but the majority of the plant, especially the tops that the cats love so much will not have much BT on it day to day.

If it only lasts for one day then wouldn't the directions say to spray more often?