HELP! raped by caterpillars

catcherintheye

Active member

• Sep 7, 2010

• #1

Hey guys, the fruits of my labor, literally everything is getting destroyed by caterpillers, Im pulling nugget by nugget by cola off.

these guys are voracious and there are many species. I have been picking them off by hand, If I havent, my plants would surely all be destroyed; however, picking them off aint enough! they keep coming back and they are successfully decreasing my yield by more than half, on top of that the buds are chewed up and covered in shit from all the caterpillars!

I cant stand to see this, all my beautiful buds are dying and its not my fault, If I were to blame for my issues, I would sleep easier at night, I fed them right, did everything perfect and now theyre going down the drain. ANY help or advice guys , please.

I should have taken my own advice that I give to people and plant out earlier to harvest before the damn beasts get too bad, I feel like a hypocrite.

I dont want to spray my plants with anything inorganic or spray at all if I can avoid getting the buds wet, I know as soon as I do so ill get PM and botrytis. I have terrible luck with them and have managed to avoid it almost entirely this season.

next season it would probably best to invest in a pvc hoop house with mesh netting? anyone ever do this?

Thanks everyone, much respect.

 

simos

Member

• Sep 7, 2010

• #2

Safer cat killer, a little neem, maybe a hit of spinosad depending how far along in flower they are and how comfortable you are with the potential resultant damage to your local honey bee population.

I had em real bad last october, and all I can say is I feel your pain. Keep pickin' the hatched ones off by hand and look things over with a magnifying glass to spot as many unhatched eggs as possible, though that may not be feasible depending on the size of your plants. My experience was that they keep hatching in waves through the fall, and you'll be fighting em off all the way through harvest.

Good luck!

 

E

el dub

• Sep 7, 2010

• #3

Unless they are auto flowers, putting them out earlier won't make them finish any earlier.

I had a problem with them last season. Many flowers were ruined by cats eating through the bud, shitting as they went and then the bud molded. This season I have been using azamax since the gals went outside. There is virtually no leaf damage and I see few bugs on the plants.

Since you don't want to spray the flowers, maybe an azamax soil drench is the way to go. However, its a little late to start that program.

Spraying with azamax AND a biological agent that fights mold/pm such as streptomyces l might be a better option for you at present.

How many weeks to go?

lw

 

catcherintheye

Active member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #4

I got em from 1 week to about 4 to go and some are turning now, my plants always seem to flower if i put em out earlier, in fact I try to put em out without getting them to flower and they do it anyways, when I put em out later the daylength is about two hours longer and half my plants turn and half veg a few months before, so I think there is some benefit to it, I have pulled two ladies already that were ravaged but not nearly as bad as the situation now, these pillars are so big they cant be hatching overnight, someone said lube the pots with vaseline, I tried the plants that were getting eaten the worst.

I have azamax and stopped using it when i put them outside, fuckin stupid me. I just didnt see much benefit, they were trees and seemed to be healthy enough to fight anything off, surely not cats tho. Thanks guys, i think ill mist with some azamax or something, that takes months for the regimen to take affect tho, so is there much use to it? also I use SM90 for my PM killer, too bad its also a pistil killer, like nuking a flowering plant.

thanks catcher

 

BlueberryLovr

Member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #5

Ouch, m8. I was hand-picking those boogers out of my bushes for hours earlier this summer. Definitely a battle you can win, though!

 

N

navyguy14420

Member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #6

http://www.saferbrand.com/store/garden-care/5102#desc

try this out. I use the safer brand insect killing soap because it's organic and OMRI listed. They can be used up to the day of harvest. Works great for me and have had no problems outside. I haven't tried this particular one, but have tried the insect killing soap with great success for white flies.


I also use "monterey garden insect spray" which is also OMRI listed and can be used up to the day of harvest. This one says it will kill all plant eating bugs. I have had no problems with bugs using this. I did find one small dead caterpillar hanging on a bud about a week ago. He didn't make it past the spray.

Hope this helps

 

pearlemae

May your race always be in your favor

Veteran

• Sep 8, 2010

• #7

Use Safer BT for caterpillars spray, when the caterpillars eat it they stop eating and don't eat any more, even though you still see them they are causing no damage. The bugs die after a few days. Totally organic won't hurt honey bees or other insects only caterpillars. and foremost will not harm humans in any why.

 

catcherintheye

Active member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #8

what is safer BT? its not "caterpillar killer" is it? cos i will not use that product, a friend of mine does and I dont like it, the results he had werent good and he doused his plants it was pretty harsh.

Is BT a different product? I have used their insect soap and it burned the the hell out of my ladies last season so i stay about from anything safer brand, seems like a product more for roses and such flowers.

Now that im thinking, is BT that bacteria? or silicate? that kills the pillars?

Navy that product contains the same potassium fatty acids that I didnt like the effects of, I like something i can thoroughly cover my plants with without worrying about a burn, after seeing what it did to my vegging girls im leary on spraying it on those buds, I really dont wana smoke that stuff either potassium salts, neem and pyretherin don't sound too sweet to puff on. Thanks for the feedback everyone. Anyone know of a pure BT spray?

 

X

Xtensity

Member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #9

Just try soaking them with a neem spray. It wont kill them but it will quickly make them stop eating, and eventually die.

 

sutra1

Member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #10

wait'll you see the turds they leave behind, lots of little poppy seed sized shit. I use BT and or a neem solution

 

E

el dub

• Sep 8, 2010

• #11

I recently had a vine in our yard get literally covered by what looked to be aphids. I hit the plant with azamax spray and drench for the heck of it and about 95% of the pests were gone in two days. There was a second hatch and those are mostly gone already, too.

I'd give it a go, bro.

lw

 

N

navyguy14420

Member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #12

I'm sure the burn you are talking about is probably from spraying them when there is still some sunlight out. I burned my plants too the first time I used a spray. Then I read the package and it says to spray after the sun goes down. I haven't had any burn problems since.

 

E

el dub

• Sep 8, 2010

• #13

I spray my plants weekly, during the day, (outside) and have never had a problem with leaf burn.

lw

 

catcherintheye

Active member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #14

thats what im saying and believe, If its a legit product it wont burn in light or not, I think safer brand is harsh, Fuck it I have Azamax Ill drench them sans the SM90 and let yall know how it goes, Its been overcast the past couple days, Ill do it on a scorcher, NO FUCKIN way I can spray at night, like I said, My luck with PM and Black mold is shit, Its super humid here im 7 miles from the coast. Thanks for all your help guys.

Oh and i already see their caterpiller shits everywhere, better than spider mite shit IMO hear that contains ecoli, however shit is shit and its disgusting. They do look like breadseed poppie beans.

My korean friend had Papaver somniferum his "grandma" used to make tea out of, snagged some dry bulbs and yielded me four grams of raw gum last winter season, got me a fire oz of OG for it LOL. They are the epitome of invasive weeds, I wish cannabis was as easy to grow as poppies.

thanks again guys

catcher

 

E

el Dream Reader

• Sep 8, 2010

• #15

BT is a bacteria solution, no chemicals. You could spray them in the early morning before the sun comes up, it will burn off like a natural dew.

 

catcherintheye

Active member

• Sep 8, 2010

• #16

reader, whats a good BT only solution? that interests me more than azamax i already have.If i water with azamax and there are any bennies left in the soil will the azamax do them over?

 

E

el Dream Reader

• Sep 9, 2010

• #17

catcherintheye said:

reader, whats a good BT only solution? that interests me more than azamax i already have.If i water with azamax and there are any bennies left in the soil will the azamax do them over?

Click to expand...

Honestly I've never used azamax or BT, I have a neem oil spraying regime that seems to prevent most problems. But I grow in controlled conditions, greenhouse/ indoors. If I did have caterpillars I'd use BT in as pure a form as I can find, without other treatments mixed in.

Here is some info on BT:
What is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)?
Bacillus thuringiensis, usually referred to as "Bt" (pronounced “bee-tee”), is a naturally occurring bacterium that is lethal to most leaf-eating caterpillars on trees, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables.

Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki (B.t.k.) is the general purpose material that homeowners buy when they see just the words Bt or Bacillus thuringiensis without the variety name attached. This is the type of Bt that is appropriate for home landscape use to kill caterpillars. As you can see on the left, there are also varieties designed to kill mosquitoes or potato beetles.

Bt is harmless to all other insects, animals, and humans. It comes in powder form for use as a dust or, diluted with water, for use as a foliar spray. It is also available in liquid form. It is sprayed or dusted on leaves of plants that are under attack by caterpillars so that the pests will ingest the bacteria as they eat the leaves. The Bt causes paralysis of the caterpillar's digestive tract, causing it to stop feeding within two hours. Within a day or two, certainly no longer than 72 hours, the caterpillars die.

 

simos

Member

• Sep 9, 2010

• #18

navyguy14420 said:

I also use "monterey garden insect spray" which is also OMRI listed and can be used up to the day of harvest. This one says it will kill all plant eating bugs. I have had no problems with bugs using this. I did find one small dead caterpillar hanging on a bud about a week ago. He didn't make it past the spray.

Hope this helps

Click to expand...

The active ingredient in Monterey Garden Insect Spray is Spinosad.

 

Bulldog11

Active member

Veteran

• Sep 9, 2010

• #19

I use Safer brand with no problems. It will for sure do the trick if you apply early on. (this is for next year) Leaves no taste in your flowers even is sprayed late into flower. Good luck with those little buggers.

 

catcherintheye

Active member

• Sep 11, 2010

• #20

AHHH fuckin thankkks everyone! Youre all too awesome and caring, I hateeee SAFER brand and I shouldnt say that anymoree... I bought safer caterpillar killer and its just BT apparently none of the other bullshit they add in their soap or whatnot.

I saw spinosad products at the nursery too but I love bees so didnt even bother looking at them. Ima Mix up some of that good stuff and douse my plants, LET THE HOLOCAUST BEGIN. I get too much joy out of squeezing those little buggers till they just pop with green gutss... Im sick...they squirt in my face sometimes lol.. its the hannibal lecter in me.

Hopefully this is the end of all my problems..

LAST YR: black mold and botrytis with powedery mildew due to high humidity, not well aeration in the rootzone, and not enough direct sunlight.

This year: no black mold botrytis, very minute PM I learn to keep my bitches wayy thirsty and theyre fine, they get a drink from the morning dew and watered a daily water if they need. YET IM RAPPED BY PILLARS.

NEXT YR!- NO fucking pillars, NO fucking Black mold/botrytis, NO pm, JUST BOMB organics, haha, I know ill encounter some problems but hopefully I NOW can avoid caterpillars completely next year.

this is my second year growing outdoor while vegging indoor, you gota learn from your mistakes. Dude at the hydro shop said that the caterpillars in this area have been the worst they have been since he can remember. Had I let them "finish" the plants would have been a literally skeleton frames of hempstick. These things are not a joke. SPRAY BT OUTDOOR! Or flip your girls early put em, out april or may to flower rather than veg, and I think u can avoid the worst and harvest before they get outta control, they come toward the fall I believe I apologize for the hackneyed grammar and punct. Thanks Catcher.