I’m in week 6 or 7 of flowering (50/50 hybrid, outdoor) and noticed today that I’ve got tiny green caterpillars eating my biggest buds. I’ve been plucking them off but I’m sure there are more of the little bastards in there. And of course I’m going out of town for a week with a novice buddy who will water but do nothing more. Question: should I harvest early and cut my losses before they get worse? Check out these pics of where my buds are at. Upon inspection, the trichromes are about half clear half milky with a couple amber ones here and there. I talked to my local nursery and they said it’s too late to spray for the caterpillars. Any help is most appreciated.
How many have you seen and picked off? If you catch them early they can all be removed, but that's usually early flower before the buds have formed. Have you noticed lots of black dots anywhere? That would be their poop. Do a good visual inspection. Could always pull the buds early and play it safe.
I’ve pulled off about 6 and am seeing little black dots as well as little red ones. If I can’t get them all, is there a chance they kill all my buds in a week? I also had some issues with either calcium deficiency or leaf septoria (basically brown spots in my leaves) that seems to be better but now I’m terrified I’m gonna lose all my buds.
It's common for all that poop to form mold if it's deep into the buds, and yes an infestation could certainly take them out within a week. I'd just do daily checks, you could also spray BT to help kill off the ones that are there already.
I used an organic spray when I got them and it worked like magic. then after I harvested, I sprayed the plants down really well with a high powered hose. I was advised by a grower who has grown for years to spray it down with a high powered hose after all the branches were hanging. the weeds been curing in jars and it's fantastic.
Supposedly you can use BT up to the day of harvest. Not sure about that late, but I use it throughout the grow. BT absolutely works though.
I wouldn't use it up until the day. I believe the BT won't kill them on contact, but will cause them to die later if they come into contact with it. Best of luck hope the rest of harvest goes well.
Good advice. I should have mentioned it. I always wash outdoor buds. 1 bucket with lemon juice and baking soda and two rinse buckets. Very easy and it's amazing how much junk comes off.
Thanks for the help, all. I picked a bunch more and I BT'ed them back to the stone ages. Fingers crossed.
