Yeah! It's Bud Worm Season. Pics

Nex420

Well-Known Member
I use the Monterey. Last year was my best harvest free of worms. After crying over the havoc for two years I thought there is no way to stop them from coming. They are going to try and eat my plants.

When I hit pre-flower and I'm there now, I pre-spray. I'm laying the first coat tomorrow and I'll repeat the process every four to five days and I continue right up until two weeks prior to harvest.

My rational is why wait until they show up? By then they have a toe hold and are doing damage. They are going to be there. You want to kill them when they hatch, when there small. Like I said last year try to make the first bite the last.

I spray into the sun because I want the product to dry especially once I'm hitting fat buds. I don't want my buds to remain moist and wet for long. Mold and mildew are also a formidable outdoor enemy don't want to contribute.

I saw two brown moths land on the ladies earlier today. I smashed one.....
I saw 2 today, smashed both.
Keep fighting the good fight brother!
 

PDiddyDank

Well-Known Member
Well, the girls have started to plump up with buds and no sign of any budworms thus far. The added bonus of the mosquito net is not only keeping most bad insects out, but keeping predatory insects in! I've been dealing with thrips and no matter how much spinosad or neem I use, they are still there sucking at my bottom fan leaves. I released about 200 ladybuds and because of the net, they can't just fly off like they normally would.

The only drawback so far is that I tried to fit waaay too many plants into the given space. I have 4 tomato plants, 2 jalapeno, 2 thai chilli and numerous cannabis plants all in the same space! This means I've had to get creative with LST to ensure my bud sites are getting sun and the space they need. Hey..it keeps me busy! :P Next time, bigger net because...I'm not even going to convince myself I'll do less plants..haha :blsmoke:

117676129_669934300535590_5332857294549245176_n.jpg
 

PioneerValleyOG

Well-Known Member
Had corn borers last year, found holes at the crotch of branches, you can literally dig them out with a small pin or wire, or kill them with a thicker piece of copper wire. BT then injected into holes with syringe, what a nightmare. My friend almost lost while crop. That's why you need to be vigilant about inspecting your plants. I check everything close every day.
YELLOW STICKY BOARDS, can't say enough good about them, kills aphids moths, paterkiller egg layin' sumbitches. Worth the few bucks.
 

Corporal_Biscuit

Well-Known Member
Well, the girls have started to plump up with buds and no sign of any budworms thus far. The added bonus of the mosquito net is not only keeping most bad insects out, but keeping predatory insects in! I've been dealing with thrips and no matter how much spinosad or neem I use, they are still there sucking at my bottom fan leaves. I released about 200 ladybuds and because of the net, they can't just fly off like they normally would.

The only drawback so far is that I tried to fit waaay too many plants into the given space. I have 4 tomato plants, 2 jalapeno, 2 thai chilli and numerous cannabis plants all in the same space! This means I've had to get creative with LST to ensure my bud sites are getting sun and the space they need. Hey..it keeps me busy! :P Next time, bigger net because...I'm not even going to convince myself I'll do less plants..haha :blsmoke:

View attachment 4651333
A drench application of Azamax should sort out your thrip problem, considering they are born in soil.
 

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Well, the girls have started to plump up with buds and no sign of any budworms thus far. The added bonus of the mosquito net is not only keeping most bad insects out, but keeping predatory insects in! I've been dealing with thrips and no matter how much spinosad or neem I use, they are still there sucking at my bottom fan leaves. I released about 200 ladybuds and because of the net, they can't just fly off like they normally would.

The only drawback so far is that I tried to fit waaay too many plants into the given space. I have 4 tomato plants, 2 jalapeno, 2 thai chilli and numerous cannabis plants all in the same space! This means I've had to get creative with LST to ensure my bud sites are getting sun and the space they need. Hey..it keeps me busy! :P Next time, bigger net because...I'm not even going to convince myself I'll do less plants..haha :blsmoke:

View attachment 4651333
I'm using a similar solution with bug netting -- second year doing it -- I'm also getting great results.

But I have a question: Does anyone know how long between when the eggs are laid and when the worms hatch?

Reason I'm asking: Bug netting reduces the light by between 20-30% depending on the quality of the netting. When we get a brief rain, it also traps moisture and then drips on the plants for hours after the rain stops. So, while it saves them from worms it does come at a cost in terms of light reduction and possibly encouraging mold/PM.

Since my plants only have a couple of weeks left and the days are starting to get shorter at my latitude, I'm wondering if I can pull the netting at this point to give them more/stronger light while they finish flowering? If the moths lay eggs and there's only two weeks left in the grow, the eggs would be on the outside of the bud not the inside, and I'm not sure they would do much damage... if they would hatch at all?

Any thoughts?
 

Nimpire

Member
Noticed some yellowing leaves on my main cola, investigated further and found this little troublemaker. Checked buds around it, one had some browning in it, so chopped it and she is hanging now! GG Autoflower and almost 60 days in so hopefully everything will be ok. E3D6E368-17D3-4879-AD41-CA6D02C1790F.jpeg59A07DF6-E7AE-445A-B90A-E498F74CC134.jpeg
 

PDiddyDank

Well-Known Member
Noticed some yellowing leaves on my main cola, investigated further and found this little troublemaker. Checked buds around it, one had some browning in it, so chopped it and she is hanging now! GG Autoflower and almost 60 days in so hopefully everything will be ok. View attachment 4666945View attachment 4666937
I can assure you you have more worms and even if you got them all, the Frass they deposited will probably cause additional losses. GL!
 

PDiddyDank

Well-Known Member
I'm using a similar solution with bug netting -- second year doing it -- I'm also getting great results.

But I have a question: Does anyone know how long between when the eggs are laid and when the worms hatch?

Reason I'm asking: Bug netting reduces the light by between 20-30% depending on the quality of the netting. When we get a brief rain, it also traps moisture and then drips on the plants for hours after the rain stops. So, while it saves them from worms it does come at a cost in terms of light reduction and possibly encouraging mold/PM.

Since my plants only have a couple of weeks left and the days are starting to get shorter at my latitude, I'm wondering if I can pull the netting at this point to give them more/stronger light while they finish flowering? If the moths lay eggs and there's only two weeks left in the grow, the eggs would be on the outside of the bud not the inside, and I'm not sure they would do much damage... if they would hatch at all?

Any thoughts?
I wouldn’t remove that net. Not worth the loss of your biggest colas compared to the marginal gain in yield.
 

Nimpire

Member
Thanks PDiddyDank, still think it’s ok to keep in the garage? Indoor tent is on the other side of the house! But in between grows now
 

PDiddyDank

Well-Known Member
Thanks PDiddyDank, still think it’s ok to keep in the garage? Indoor tent is on the other side of the house! But in between grows now
I’m a lil confused. Would you have them in the garage with a grow light? The main thing is trying to keep the moths off your buds. They mainly come out at night, but I’ve seen them during the day too. If you have a way to keep moths off your plants and supply enough light, as well as meeting all the other necessary conditions for the plant to continue to flower, I don’t see why not. As for me, I’ll be keeping my net on right up until harvest. Fool me once.. GL!
 

Nimpire

Member
I chopped the plant and hung it in my garage, just wondering if there are more in the plant if they will infest the house?! Lol it’s an autoflower and was almost done. Will the worms die off during the drying process?
 

PDiddyDank

Well-Known Member
I chopped the plant and hung it in my garage, just wondering if there are more in the plant if they will infest the house?! Lol it’s an autoflower and was almost done. Will the worms die off during the drying process?
Oh I see. Yeah, the worms will throw out silk line and drop out of the bud as it dries. They would need to find a way to cacoon and then turn into moths before continuing the life cycle. I think you’ll be fine. Just watch the temp and humidity for a proper dry/cure ;-)
 

jbcCT

Well-Known Member
My crop last summer was visited by wild turkeys every morning. I had really short, bushy plants and the turkeys ate the budworms and other bugs off the plants! At first I was upset they were tearing the leaves, until I realized what they were doing. Fun shit to watch from the porch. Had barn swallows doing a good job the rest of the day.

The Japanese beetles were a bit of a concern. Those things can eat plants fast. I found the fix on a gardening forum. Take a beer pitcher with water in the bottom and knock the beetles off the plants and into the water. They can’t fly away when you do it this way. Crush them and add them to your tea. Microbes that eat beetles will grow in the tea. Foliage and soak the roots, the beetle eating microbes will grow on the plant. It works for the same reason BT does. It blew my mind how good it worked.
I've had jap beetles creeping into my yard last summer. They can devour a vegging plant in days. They tend to hide in the grass late in the day. I nuke them with general pesticides. I have one of those hose attachments to disperse the poison and dilute it. Works well.
 

See green

Well-Known Member
Haven't found any worms yet but im starting to see a few eggs. Around here this is what they look like. See if you can spot it. There almost always on the top buds or near the top of the plant. Now is the time to get your protective measures in order if you haven't already...the war is on!! 20200830_204126.jpg
 

doug58

Well-Known Member
I chopped the plant and hung it in my garage, just wondering if there are more in the plant if they will infest the house?! Lol it’s an autoflower and was almost done. Will the worms die off during the drying process?
Do you wash your buds before hanging? I had a bud worm on one of my large autoflowers outside. Plucked it off and then spotted some bud rot. Cut those buds off and kept an eye on the plant. Rainy and humid with no sun for a week, cut the best buds off and washed them in lemon juice and baking soda, rinsed and hung to dry.

I usually do an H2O2 wash on my outdoor grows but has been impossible to find any at the two stores I usually buy at. I can't bring myself to smoke or use outdoor grown weed without washing it first.
 

Nimpire

Member
I didn’t wash the plant, just cut bad spots and hung, looked today and saw a tiny bastard hanging from the drying plant. Still not sure how this is gonna work out hahaha. Gonna put down some yellow sticky traps on the floor under it!
 

Sir Napsalot

Well-Known Member
I'm using a similar solution with bug netting -- second year doing it -- I'm also getting great results.

But I have a question: Does anyone know how long between when the eggs are laid and when the worms hatch?

Reason I'm asking: Bug netting reduces the light by between 20-30% depending on the quality of the netting. When we get a brief rain, it also traps moisture and then drips on the plants for hours after the rain stops. So, while it saves them from worms it does come at a cost in terms of light reduction and possibly encouraging mold/PM.

Since my plants only have a couple of weeks left and the days are starting to get shorter at my latitude, I'm wondering if I can pull the netting at this point to give them more/stronger light while they finish flowering? If the moths lay eggs and there's only two weeks left in the grow, the eggs would be on the outside of the bud not the inside, and I'm not sure they would do much damage... if they would hatch at all?

Any thoughts?
I put the leaf on the left in a plastic bag and the eggs hatched in 5-6 days, producing hundreds of tiny caterpillars

eggs 001.jpg
 
Top