Yeah! It's Bud Worm Season. Pics

Hi, all!

We're expecting 100 degree weather next week. This may inspire an early appearance of the Fiery Skipper butterfly here in the Central Valley. If you are going to use Bt, consider spraying before the 1st of June. Happy growing!

veggiegardener said:

Hi, all!

We're expecting 100 degree weather next week. This may inspire an early appearance of the Fiery Skipper butterfly here in the Central Valley. If you are going to use Bt, consider spraying before the 1st of June. Happy growing!

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I found a bud worm, today. I am in Central Ca., too. I'm going to buy some of that organic BT caterpillar killer but our temps are going to soar in the next few days, is it too late to use it? TIA

Dan Nabis said:

I think I would dry those worms out and crush em up into a bowl and puff away.

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nothing like smokin a bud worm haha!!

TWS said:

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Damn I hate seeing that! I can handle most outdoor pests but budworms drive me crazy. Time for the tweezers. It is funny though, I've had strains that for some reason the worms wouldn't touch. But I hate to limit myself to those particular strains.

S'Manta said:

I found a bud worm, today. I am in Central Ca., too. I'm going to buy some of that organic BT caterpillar killer but our temps are going to soar in the next few days, is it too late to use it? TIA

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Nope, not too late. Spray before night fall though, as this is when alot of pests are most active and in the day time our high uv levels degrade the BT. I had worms tearing up my garden bed one year and after a week of BT they were pretty much all gone. But still continue to use it because moths/butterflys love to lay lots of eggs. I have started treating my front yard garden with BT because worms have started to tear up my mint plant. I have seen little butterflys flying out when I spray too. I used to think that butterflies were cute. Now, I hate them lol.

theQUOTE="FresnoFarmer, post: 10492733, member: 428905"]Nope, not too late. Spray before night fall though, as this is when alot of pests are most active and in the day time our high uv levels degrade the BT. I had worms tearing up my garden bed one year and after a week of BT they were pretty much all gone. But still continue to use it because moths/butterflys love to lay lots of eggs. I have started treating my front yard garden with BT because worms have started to tear up my mint plant. I have seen little butterflys flying out when I spray too. I used to think that butterflies were cute. Now, I hate them lol.[/QUOTE]

I hate them, too. I think I nipped it in the bud....groan.... I had no idea growing a weed, correctly, was as mind boggling as growing orchids.
Thankewe, FF. Stay cool...jumping to the 90's this week.

TWS said:

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Damn that's what I had last year. I was pissed off. My frosiest plant got hit hard. I had to use spinsad late in bloom. I've been already fighting bugs and I'm barely even starting . Seedlings and establishing roots stage. I hate spraying the plants but I'm not going to make the same mistake.

Been using neem and spinsad interchangeably(like it's war) I'm wondering where can I get Mantis eggs and lady bugs(bay area ca) ?? I have a netting that should keep them around for ahwhile. But don't the poop on the plants ?

Edit : oh what are those little mini locust looking leaf eaters called ?? They look like little triangles, brownish in color

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Might sound crazy but I get my tweezers and look over my buds ( I know its a lot of looking and time consuming). I look for the eggs as well as the worms. You can hear/feel the eggs pop when smashed. I look for dis colored or dried bud leaves, then start gently digging for the worm. I've found that an hour or so after sunrise the worms get active and you can find them on the outside of the buds. And for some damn reason they seek out the best buds on your plants! I caught one at the very top of my main cola just getting ready to dig in, luckily I saw him. After a while you seem to be able to spot them easier and easier. They are the scourge of my garden.

So is BT > or = 2 to spinsad ?

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Haven't had enough experience with both to give an accurate answer. I'm sure some other growers here would be able to answer that.

I found like 10 worms in 1 plant when I was breaking it down and manicuring it. Here's a snap with the microscope.

Should the plant just go into compost or is it Kosher to toss the buds that look dead and smoke the rest?

BWG707 said:

Might sound crazy but I get my tweezers and look over my buds ( I know its a lot of looking and time consuming). I look for the eggs as well as the worms. You can hear/feel the eggs pop when smashed. I look for dis colored or dried bud leaves, then start gently digging for the worm. I've found that an hour or so after sunrise the worms get active and you can find them on the outside of the buds. And for some damn reason they seek out the best buds on your plants! I caught one at the very top of my main cola just getting ready to dig in, luckily I saw him. After a while you seem to be able to spot them easier and easier. They are the scourge of my garden.

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Aye.... tweezer time. Found one between two popcorn nugs on the bottom of a stem. I'm so close, I'll be tweezing until I chop. Did a thorough check on the rest of the girl and she has no bites/poop anywhere but that one spot.

So what does everyone here use for these bastards? Just started popping up on some of mine so im about to go buy something new to deal with them. Opinions would be appreciated.

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JackandJill said:

Should the plant just go into compost or is it Kosher to toss the buds that look dead and smoke the rest?

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Throw away rotten bud, smoke the rest

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I've been using BT for about thirty years. The3 reason? The shit works. I found one dead worm while trimming. No live ones last fall. This success is due to spraying every two or three weeks with Bt. I take great care to cover the plants thoroughly. It is completely non toxic and organic. I stop spraying about September 10th, depending on weather and and frequency of butterfly sightings. Good growing, everyone. Looks like a bumper season coming up.

I hate these bastards. I'm starting to see leaf damage on my tomatoes and radishes. Just like veggiegardener said, the 100 degree heat brought these bastards to life.

Hey I just put some clones outside and they've gone unrequestedly into flower any suggestions on how to fix my problem short of popping on a light?

I live in alberta. I've seen caterpillars but never really on my plants. Usually black an yellow fuzzy things. Does anything eat dem caterpillars? Birds? I got a shit ton of frogs here. One year grasshoppers but again just kinda stayed away from plants. Perhaps cause the proximity to a drying up lake, a swamp.
Have had a lot of ant problems. Spiders, not spider mites. Spiders just make homes in leaves they curl over.
Caterpillars are coming at some point I'm sure of it.
3 years now an each year is something different.

Frogs eat the moths and butterflies that worms become. Lizards too. Grasshoppers suck. They can destroy a plant in no time. Birds like to eat all the grubs and worms out of my compost piles. I love catching large spiders and bringing them to my garden. They protect the plants pretty good. My favorite is praying mantises. They will tear up a grasshopper twice their size.