Yeah! It's Bud Worm Season. Pics

Warfox said:

I wish I was cutting this week: im going to try to push it out as far as possible 2 weeks if I can.

Click to expand...

I started chopping yesterday. I went out this morning and picked 5 or 6 eggs off a cola. Friggin moths are still dropping eggs. A relentless enemy which is why you have keep spraying.

Took a whole plant down and I had no damage. No frass or rot. For those new to checking damage, you really have to get into close to the node, use your clippers to take a peek. You might not have rot but if you see black grit they got in there and took a shit.

Had to go to six different stores to find hydrogen peroxide. That and rubbing alcohol are almost impossible to find. Supply chain breaking down from this fake pandemic. Luckily I found some at a home depot. Washing bud just ain't the same without peroxide.....

Warfox said:

I wish I was cutting this week: im going to try to push it out as far as possible 2 weeks if I can.

Click to expand...

I still have a few that need a week or two for ripeness. In my neck of the woods you balance ripeness with risk of mildew. The later into fall I go the greater the risk due to cool weather.

I was chopping & trimming last night. Still finding single eggs on the bottom of sugar leafs. My spraying strategy is working well though. When you spray for weeks the caterpillar isn't able to burrow into the flower at all which is where they wreak havock. They hatch, one bite and dead. They fall off at that point or get eaten by spiders and other predatory insects.

DIRTHAWKER said:

I had to chop the colas off of two of my best plants and harvest early beacuse of these bud worms. What happends is, butterfly moths lay there eggs in the bud and a week or so later you get the worms that eat your bud and there excriment is what rots the bud from inside out.

Click to expand...

Thia is what happening to me. Its so many and their fucking up my buds. I wqs thinking about harvesting early to save what i got. What would you suggest?

HardBudz said:

Thia is what happening to me. Its so many and their fucking up my buds. I wqs thinking about harvesting early to save what i got. What would you suggest?

Click to expand...

At this point you maybe salvage what you can. You go through it thoroughly and most certainly wash the hell out of it, with water peroxide mix in a 5 gallon bucket. You need to check where the flower meets the branch to see if they shit in there. Will be like a black grit.

Depending on the unseen damage it may just be a wrap on the whole thing. If they are knocking colas out they've been in your plants a while. I have a very low tolerance for contamination, not sure what you're willing to accept.

The only way to keep them off the plants is to start spraying after sexing and don't stop. Next time you grow outdoors you'll be ready. I learn something new every year growing outside just from my own past fuck ups.

I've had a load of eggs under leaves the last week. I've been picking them off where I can see them.

What do you recommend to spray plants with to protect them against these critters?

[EDIT] Sorry dude, just read up properly. Peroxide...

midgesmith said:

I've had a load of eggs under leaves the last week. I've been picking them off where I can see them.

What do you recommend to spray plants with to protect them against these critters?

[EDIT] Sorry dude, just read up properly. Peroxide...

Click to expand...

You want to spray BT, not peroxide

Oh yeah, I've heard that mentioned before, thanks for correcting me there!

I'm new to outdoor gardening, so all this info is gold. Bacillus Thuringiensis BT spray to kill them, peroxide to disinfect / clean out their mess I guess. (I've long handed it there so I can check back )

I'm probably going to harvest my last tomorrow, so I'll get some in next year for the next generation of plants

My strawberry milk is off the drying rack. Been doing a second dry trim this week. I'll post some pics. Not a single worm on those three plants. No damage.

My kush 4 is liking this chilly weather. Probably two weeks out. Last BT treatment done today. No damage present.

jbcCT said:

At this point you maybe salvage what you can. You go through it thoroughly and most certainly wash the hell out of it, with water peroxide mix in a 5 gallon bucket. You need to check where the flower meets the branch to see if they shit in there. Will be like a black grit.

Depending on the unseen damage it may just be a wrap on the whole thing. If they are knocking colas out they've been in your plants a while. I have a very low tolerance for contamination, not sure what you're willing to accept.

The only way to keep them off the plants is to start spraying after sexing and don't stop. Next time you grow outdoors you'll be ready. I learn something new every year growing outside just from my own past fuck ups.

Click to expand...

I just took one down yesterday. Trying to salvage what i can like you said. The BT stuff works great, wish i would have know about it sooner. It hurts, but i learned some valuable Information...‍

That kush is turning black. Fucking love it....

Any UK suppliers for BT spray? Can't seem to find any? Many thanks!

Has anyone used nets to keep away moths and butterflies from laying eggs during early flower? What was your experience like, if you have?

I don’t like to use foliar sprays, and was hoping for a more natural route. Had the little budworms come up this last week, and they’ve already taken out about 2-3oz of my plants (only grow the 4 plants). I meticulously check them every day or every other, so I’ve been able to catch and remove quite a few. I also budwash like Doc Brix so insects/poop isn‘t the biggest issue, just the mold and decay that happens when they munch on my ladies.

Seeing a lot of these as they hang dry. You have to backlight the buds to see their silk thread. Never see a moth but my girls get peppered every year with eggs. My new theory is the eggs are laid in fences and walls as clusters then individually go airborne as they dry and detach. This one is good sized And a day or two old i guess, most are much smaller as they hatch.

Yes, I've been inspecting my hanging plants with a back light for 30 years! I usually find a few of them trying to escape the dying plant.

If they make it down to the floor, the carpet will kill them.

Kerowacked said:

Seeing a lot of these as they hang dry. You have to backlight the buds to see their silk thread. Never see a moth but my girls get peppered every year with eggs. My new theory is the eggs are laid in fences and walls as clusters then individually go airborne as they dry and detach. This one is good sized And a day or two old i guess, most are much smaller as they hatch.View attachment 4715813View attachment 4715814

Click to expand...

Saw one on each of my hanging plants, so I did a quick wash again.. Also took my plant down after having to remove so many. BT the remainder today and will try to let them go until Nov 1

itsmeifti said:

Any UK suppliers for BT spray? Can't seem to find any? Many thanks!

Click to expand...

Forgive me for sounding stupid but do you folks have Amazon across the pond. That's where I ordered mine for this summer. You want Monterey BT.

Kerowacked said:

Seeing a lot of these as they hang dry. You have to backlight the buds to see their silk thread. Never see a moth but my girls get peppered every year with eggs. My new theory is the eggs are laid in fences and walls as clusters then individually go airborne as they dry and detach. This one is good sized And a day or two old i guess, most are much smaller as they hatch.View attachment 4715813View attachment 4715814

Click to expand...

Been there my man. Those are paratroopers. They sense their main food source dying and they are hitting the eject button.

One of the issues with that is the flower is likely contaminated. If they are shooting silk they were tucked in tight, eating your flower and defecating along the way.

You would need to get in close to where the bud meets the stem and look around. Any black grit is poop and I'm not sure you wanna smoke that.

Like I said before, I have low to no tolerance for contaminated bud. To each is own. Next time around you get on the BT train and you'll be fine.

I do a really good wet cut followed by washing in 5 gallon buckets. It's almost like I'm prepping vegetables out of the garden. You really need to inspect and cut away damage prior to the wash and hang if your trying to save stuff.

BagseedBobby said:

Has anyone used nets to keep away moths and butterflies from laying eggs during early flower? What was your experience like, if you have?

I don’t like to use foliar sprays, and was hoping for a more natural route. Had the little budworms come up this last week, and they’ve already taken out about 2-3oz of my plants (only grow the 4 plants). I meticulously check them every day or every other, so I’ve been able to catch and remove quite a few. I also budwash like Doc Brix so insects/poop isn‘t the biggest issue, just the mold and decay that happens when they munch on my ladies.

View attachment 4715748

Click to expand...

A couple people in this thread used netting this year and still ended up with worms. The only way to keep these things off your plants is spraying BT throughout the outdoor season. It's a biologic not a pesticide. It's well diluted, a teaspoon per hand sprayer. Has zero impact on the plants, bud or taste. Plus if you wash your outdoor before you hang dry......good to go.

jbcCT said:

Been there my man. Those are paratroopers. They sense their main food source dying and they are hitting the eject button.

One of the issues with that is the flower is likely contaminated. If they are shooting silk they were tucked in tight, eating your flower and defecating along the way.

You would need to get in close to where the bud meets the stem and look around. Any black grit is poop and I'm not sure you wanna smoke that.

Like I said before, I have low to no tolerance for contaminated bud. To each is own. Next time around you get on the BT train and you'll be fine.

I do a really good wet cut followed by washing in 5 gallon buckets. It's almost like I'm prepping vegetables out of the garden. You really need to inspect and cut away damage prior to the wash and hang if your trying to save stuff.

Click to expand...

The paratroopers are all less than a day old so they don’t mess up the buds, obviously tiny but capable of spinning silk. I do a weak peroxide wash and water rinse, buds are clean, i think it kills mold spores too.

I just wanna say fuck a bud worm