Yeah! It's Bud Worm Season. Pics

Humanrob said:

WOW! Good information, thank you!

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Glad to help.

the eggs were laid on a lower leaf, but judging by how active the little bastards were in the bag I'd imagine that they could have reached any area of the plant within a day

Sir Napsalot said:

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

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Wow, that pic is crazy. The moth we have around here lays a different kind of egg. Usually it’s singular and round, most often deposited on the bud or on a sugar leaf.

does anybody know if wasps/yellow jackets/spiders are natural predators to budworms? idk if it's a coincidence but for the past two days I haven't found one single budworm (I look very carefully for 20 minutes) about 3-4x a day..usually find 2-4 a day. I was hit with a minor infestation this past week (pistils being eaten/brown red shit specks left over on buds but still no bud rot. There's alot of wasp/yellow jacket nests near by and I've been recently seeing them hover over/land on the buds. There's also a lot of spiders that have been taking up residence on my plant. It's very windy where I live as well (5-10mph avg daily) would constant wind 'dry' out the worm poop?

Nimpire said:

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!

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You caught a dreaded paratrooper. Sliding down a string.....
Now you can't tell where he came from ya gots to throw it out.
It takes me a while but my wet cut I'm going through with a fine tooth comb. Using my clips to look in as deep as possible, checking where stem and flower meet. That's also why I wash my bud before I hang. Couple 5 gallon home depot buckets, water and a cup of peroxide in each. It strips off any mold or mildew not visible to the eye, removes dust, small flies, etc. Rinse with a regular hose sprayer, gently......

Sir Napsalot said:

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

View attachment 4673833

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Great photo and dam nice experiment with the bag.

I wish they were easy to find every time. This is my 3rd season outdoors working with BT. It's the kind of thing where you have to work with the product, see it in action to learn how to best use it. The most important things I've picked up:

-you have to begin applications as soon as the plants are sexed if your running regs
-spraying with frequency. I go every 3-5 days from sexing all the way to a week before harvest. You have to stay on it.
-applying the product. I always take my time, full application including branches and stems right down to where you hit the dirt.
-spray in the mornings before the sun hits them or early enough where the sun is less strong. You want it to dry quickly. Especially full flowers, the less wet outdoor bud gets the better.

When your early and consistent with BT, they can never get a toehold into your plant. In my second season with BT I had a 90% reduction in worms and I lost the 10% because I wasn't thorough with my spraying. It will stop an infestation in progress but by then your really too late. Early and often, live by it ...

Nimpire said:

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!

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You really need to go through on the first wet cut before you hang and make sure all contaminated areas are removed. I go deep boys. Use my sheers to check for the black grit, that's poop. Stem to node. You have to open the bud a little with the sheer tip.

Once you hang and they start to dry, it gets much harder to tell where they came from. If you have paratroopers shooting off your rack I don't know what you would do with that. It shouldn't make your place a mess unless the bud is infested.

Bravo to the guys using nets out here this year. Would love to hear back about and success or failure with nets. I wanted to mention that last summer I watched a few moths leg clutches of eggs on my mesh screen tent, where I put my plants when it rains. I destroyed them but I could imagine if those things hatched they could have gone through the mesh. Just a thought.

See green said:

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!! View attachment 4669861

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The war is on indeed.....

jbcCT said:

Bravo to the guys using nets out here this year. Would love to hear back about and success or failure with nets. I wanted to mention that last summer I watched a few moths leg clutches of eggs on my mesh screen tent, where I put my plants when it rains. I destroyed them but I could imagine if those things hatched they could have gone through the mesh. Just a thought.

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Ive seen the bud moths around my net and on some plants outside the net, but I have not seen any eggs on my net or on the tips of leafs touching the net. I know to stay vigilant though. I wonder how far those worms can travel, since the bud moths here tend to lay the eggs close to the bud.

CrazyChester said:

Chowing down on your buds at this very moment. At least their chowing down on mine. I hit them with some with some BT this evening.

I have a question or two for those who have used BT in the past. Does it effect the quality of the weed. (Taste, Buzz....) And is it really safe for smoking. How long do you have to wait after spraying before you harvest. I've been using BT on my garden for decades without any problems but I always wash the food I grow before I eat it. But I'd have to be crazy to wash my weed before smoking it. Though I could give it a little spray down a few days before harvest. Any suggestions?

Here's some pics of my two plants progress. You can see the damage done to one of the buds and one of our crawly little pests.

If anyone has any idea of the strains I'm growing I'd sure like to know.

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Dang, those worms blend right in, don't they? Good thing you did a closeup. I think I will too.

Add this to this list. Different species, white eggs. I'm out spraying BT, cleaning up some lower dead leaf and found this just now.....

PDiddyDank said:

Ive seen the bud moths around my net and on some plants outside the net, but I have not seen any eggs on my net or on the tips of leafs touching the net. I know to stay vigilant though. I wonder how far those worms can travel, since the bud moths here tend to lay the eggs close to the bud.

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They can't travel far. They hatch on their food. If left alone they would strip mine the entire plant of foliage until they become full size caterpillar. That's the rational behind pre spraying and consistent spraying. For the ones that we miss, make the first bite of food the last, while they are small, before they can do damage.

I would suspect netting combined with a spraying regime once a week from pre flower to a week before harvest could be very successful. It maybe the ultimate one two punch. I know not everyone can run nets and if that's the case a thorough spraying program is sufficient.

alphapinene said:

does anybody know if wasps/yellow jackets/spiders are natural predators to budworms? idk if it's a coincidence but for the past two days I haven't found one single budworm (I look very carefully for 20 minutes) about 3-4x a day..usually find 2-4 a day. I was hit with a minor infestation this past week (pistils being eaten/brown red shit specks left over on buds but still no bud rot. There's alot of wasp/yellow jacket nests near by and I've been recently seeing them hover over/land on the buds. There's also a lot of spiders that have been taking up residence on my plant. It's very windy where I live as well (5-10mph avg daily) would constant wind 'dry' out the worm poop?

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I was thinking about that today. Bees around my flowers. There are likely many feeding frenzies protecting outdoor. It creates an small ecosystem. Not sure on the bees but they are active.

jbcCT said:

I was thinking about that today. Bees around my flowers. There are likely many feeding frenzies protecting outdoor. It creates an small ecosystem. Not sure on the bees but they are active.

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Hell yeah, I really hope so.



I’ve been finding these guys on my plant ever since I moved it in between two hives lol. Day 4 no visible worms ..fingers crossed

EDIT** so it turns out these wasps are paper wasps which are indeed natural predators to the budworm/any caterpillar

Nex420 said:

I saw 2 today, smashed both.
Keep fighting the good fight brother!

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It's just the most disgusting pest. You bust our your BT sprayer this year?

doug58 said:

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.

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Sounds like you got it figured out. Thanks for the tip on the lemon juice. It's obviously very acidic how much do you dilute that? I've been washing mine in 5 gallon home depot buckets with a cup of peroxide.

I hear you on that cut. Wet flower for days is not good and when your close to the end if the weather isn't dry and sunny it can become an issue fast. I had to cut some non Bodhi strains early last year due to the same situation you had, crap weather.

Personally I like my outdoor very clean. It has to be washed in my opinion. Treat this shit like your making wine boys.

jbcCT said:

Sounds like you got it figured out. Thanks for the tip on the lemon juice. It's obviously very acidic how much do you dilute that? I've been washing mine in 5 gallon home depot buckets with a cup of peroxide.

I hear you on that cut. Wet flower for days is not good and when your close to the end if the weather isn't dry and sunny it can become an issue fast. I had to cut some non Bodhi strains early last year due to the same situation you had, crap weather.

Personally I like my outdoor very clean. It has to be washed in my opinion. Treat this shit like your making wine boys.

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with H2O2 I use two quarts to about 4 gallons. I use Home Depot buckets or cheap plastic dish pans to trim and wash in. I use about two cups of Real Lemon type lemon juice or generic store brands. Neutralize with a baking soda rinse then fresh water.

I'd prefer to use H2O2 but every store was out of it. I rarely use a tent with lights anymore. Usually just to start my plants in toward the end of May. I don't have bud rot issues until late August. Autos usually finish before then but I got a late start with the total lockdown in my state.

doug58 said:

with H2O2 I use two quarts to about 4 gallons. I use Home Depot buckets or cheap plastic dish pans to trim and wash in. I use about two cups of Real Lemon type lemon juice or generic store brands. Neutralize with a baking soda rinse then fresh water.

I'd prefer to use H2O2 but every store was out of it. I rarely use a tent with lights anymore. Usually just to start my plants in toward the end of May. I don't have bud rot issues until late August. Autos usually finish before then but I got a late start with the total lockdown in my state.

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Wow very interesting using the baking soda to neutralize the acidity. I got a late jump myself and I have a short window in the NE. I recall a year or two taking the last of it down first few days of November so I guess it can't be that bad. Weather has been awesome after we got hit with that cyclone. Dryest summer I can recall with low humidity. Hoping it holds.....

A good wash takes off any unseen mold or mildew as well. I'm surprised more heads aren't washing outdoor before hanging. I think a lot of believe it will ruin or hurt the flower, which it doesn't.

jbcCT said:

It's just the most disgusting pest. You bust our your BT sprayer this year?

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Don’t ever miss a BT spraying after a bad battle one year.
Most do a weekly spraying, but I try to do at least once every 3 days cause of my burning hate for these bastards!

For all you battling these sons-a-bitches, thought you might take some satisfaction in this picture. This poor bastard ate a little too much Bt on one of my plants this week. May they all meet the same grim fate: