mattypacks
Well-Known Member
I had a plant last year with borers, didnt even really notice until mid flower where stems started to rot at the knuckles. It barely made it to harvest. This year I have borers in my OG, atleast 6-8 holes up and down the stalk/stems. I sliced, I probed, I poked with needles, none of that helped. Because of how hard they are to deal with once in the plant I said fuck it and let it run its course. I read that 2nd and 3rd generations are the most destructive so I did everything I could to keep it from spreading. BT every 3 days, sticky traps, DE around the base of stalks, parasitic wasps, pheromone lures. Its been about a week since I've noticed all the holes go dormant, which probably means the larvae moved onto the next stage in their life. Plant is one of the healthiest in the garden for now.Okay maybe I was looking too far down. And its really thick in there so I will cut off a whole branch and take a razor and slice up the stem carefully and inspect. It can only be a few things but I will let you all know and seriously thank you for the help.
Btw... if it is that....is there any way to prevent those bastards from doing it again?
I think it comes down to what species of borer you're dealing with in order to combat it in the future. In my case im suspecting european corn borer so I got pheromone lures and threw them in my dynatrap. Some overwinter in soil and some stay in the plant. Im trying to familiarize myself with their behaviors so I can try to prevent this next year. Next season ill be spraying BTk and something that has beauveria bassiana in it all throughout veg, particularly on the stalks and stems.