I've grown outdoor for the past two summers and I've had issues with caterpillars both times. I've managed to keep the nasty little buggers out of my garden this year and I figured I'd post a little info for the outdoor growers that aren't aware of how thy get into your plants. In my experience, I discovered that these eggs are the start of something bad... If you notice the bud site right in the middle of the picture, there's a little yellowish white ball just to the right of the bud. That is where they start. I've read that the moth or butterfly lands on your plant, lays an egg (which looks like the picture) on a leaf and leaves. It doesn't look like they're doing anything and may not even recognize the "attack". After the egg hatches, you'll find little lines in your leaf like the ones in this post: http://forum.grasscity.com/sick-plants-problems/1246690-not-sure-if-mites-different-type-parasites.html#entry18693489 The best way I've found to control them is time consuming and tedious, but it keeps your precious crop from being ravaged by the little creepy crawlies. First, like always, a good dose of preventative maintenance is recommended. I use neem oil and something with Spinosad in it. These are the two Spinosad product I've used. http://www.amazon.co...ywords=spinosad http://www.amazon.co...ywords=spinosad Neem oil is a commonly used product so I won't recount the usage here. Just follow the instructions on the bottle. These two products won't keep the flyers from landing, but they will inhibit or kill the ones you miss. While keeping the plants misted (I spray once a week or so), you should also inspect your plants daily. Take the time to inspect the very tops of your plants and look for the little eggs. Sometimes they're easy to miss since some moths lay their eggs on a little stalk and it looks slightly different, but it will always be a white or yellow ball. Manually picking these off will keep the eggs from hatching and keep the caterpillars off of your plants. The biggest part of this is vigilance. If you leave your plants be to grow, the caterpillars only need a couple of days to leave you with nothing. Protect your crops! Good Luck!
Here is another pic. Although it's a really bad pic, you can still see the little dot IN the bud. I use a wooden skewer to pick the eggs out of delicate environments. I don't want to disturb the trichs, just remove the egg. Those little bastard give a satisfying "pop" when you crush them between your fingers!
Here's a pic of two eggs I pulled off buds/leaves on the end of a skewer. The wooden skewer makes a handy detail tool to pick out bugs, caterpillars, debris and of course eggs. I use them to stake up smaller plant sections also, my plants are short due to lots of training.
While taking pictures and looking for bugs on the undersides of the leaves, I came across this little bugger... Pretty sneaky trying to put the egg under the bottom of a sugar leaf! How about this one? It's the other kind of egg, probably from a different type of moth/butterfly. It's circled in the pic. It's an even tinier ball attached to a stalk (can't see the stalk in the pic). Very easy to miss if you just glance at it. Almost looks like dandelion fluff or something,
Here's a few pics from my normal maintenance today. The little bastards are still trying, if I give up, they win. I refuse to submit! Apparently they went a little overboard on this one... three eggs! Sometimes they like to snuggle up to the buds to avoid detection. It doesn't matter where they lay them, they're fighting really hard to get in. Anther one right up against the bud. I MIST my girls every three days or so to keep a base coat of spinosad on them. They say not to spray anything on your flowering plants, but a mist is similar to dew, it's a natural process, no? I also still have about 3-4 weeks left on them so in a week or so, I'll only be picking eggs. No more spraying within two weeks of harvest.
I found this pic of the one caterpillar that made it BIG! It's on a plant that has no journal, no activity and no care whatsoever. It's another one of my "experiments" this summer. I literally threw the seed out of my bag in May and it's grown well. Anyway, here's the pic. Here's what you're going to end up with eventually if you don't take good care of your outdoor girls! Caterpillars will inevitably happen growing outside, but be vigilant and you may save your precious crops!
I used too as well, it takes checking individual jugs, neem, my special thing is a homemade spray with tobacco tea, veg oil,Murphy's oil soap, citrus juice, I pepper, cayenne(hit spices) garlic, oregano, rosemary, sage, and Sirache hot sauce. Then dilute at 1/4 mix to 3/4 h2o it should be used 2 times weekly in the last month and washes away easy with water.Also dry dust with chilli powder plack pepper, cayenne pepper, rubbed sage,
Thread from last summer with my busted ass grow, but still good info. Hopefully this will be useful for some new outdoor growers! Also, keep a close watch for spider mites. These two issues and bud rot are the biggest causes of losing an entire outdoor harvest. Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum