Looking for a good late season organic pesticide

I have 3 outdoor Querkles that are getting hammered with bud worm right now. I just picked 10 out this morning and every day there are a few more. My yield is taking a small hit and my frustration is mounting. I have gone entirely organic up until this point (Week 6) and really don't want to compromise the organic integrity with a pesticide but it seems pest control is my only option.

So I have considered diatomaceous earth or perhaps a neem spray but I am not sold yet. What are your thoughts on organic pesticides being used this late in the season? I will not risk altering quality or taste at this point.

Any input is welcome.

Thanks
Jrems

Bt is organic..its bacteria that makes only the catapillers sick. Spraying it Friday.

Well neem oil and pepper spray are what I use for bugs and such. Neem only during veg, because it will get rid of smell, perhaps the taste as well. I make my own pepper spray with 30 habeneros to a gallon of water. You might think it would mess up your buds, and you'd end up with "pepper weed" but the plant actually seems to benefit from the spray other than killing of the pests. I always spray with water afterwards. I got rid of spidermites with this stuff, worked great. I don't know what other pests it gets rid of though..

Here's a link if you decide to give it a try.
https://www.rollitup.org/bugs/475307-how-kill-spider-mites-100-a.html

I trust that you are referring to BT as Bacillus thuringiensis? I am not sure where I could pick that up in a pinch but I will take a look around.

I would try the pepper spray first. If not you may need to venture to get some BT.

Spinosad DESTROYS thrips and caterpillars. (and ants and beetles too) I use Monterey Garden Insect Spray at 1 ounce per gallon. Spinosad is an enzyme based product isolated from a bacteria strain found in an abandoned rum distillery. It is OMRI listed and safe for consumable crops.

One very knowledgeable outdoor grower here recently recommended a plain water spray for budded plants one day after the spinosad (and definitely after something like neem or peppers that will leave residual taste/harshness) to wash em down. I have not yet tried this indoor or out. I try not to spray anything after week 4, but sprayed bud is better than bug destroed bud!

Safer BT Caterpillar killer. It's safe to use for you, future smokers and the environment and is really only hard on soft larval type creatures. You will need to respray it about once per week...but you can and not worry about it. Neem could leave a smell/taste on your bud. I picked up Safer BT at the local Ace Hardware. I doubt home depot would have it but a good hardware/nursery could very well carry it.

Neem and diatomaceous earth won't work in this case. Maybe if you applied it early on in the season it, but not during late flowering. You need to pick by hand early in the morning and right before it gets dark. Shake the plants really good. Turn your water hose spray to jet setting and blast the hell out of your plants.

BT (or Spinosad like Kaylx mentioned) can help, but it's not immediate and they have to consume it. What makes that hard is that most caterpillars go deep into the bud making them somewhat protected. Used early enough it can control populations, but hand picking is still your best option.

pyganic, Its the only 100 percent organic pesticide that contains pyrethrins .

jrems said:

I trust that you are referring to BT as Bacillus thuringiensis? I am not sure where I could pick that up in a pinch but I will take a look around.

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walmart. mosquito dunks, I doubt they're good for your bug though.

jrems said:

I trust that you are referring to BT as Bacillus thuringiensis? I am not sure where I could pick that up in a pinch but I will take a look around.

Click to expand...

Make sure you spray early in the morning! spraying this late is pretty risky , but do what you got to do.

Also, it's a good idea to spray that shit around the perimeter of you garden.