Oh those pesky little caterpillars!

I saw this beautiful bright green wonderful puffy section of one of my buds, the green was so beautiful and then I saw little ridges! And then I almost had to get a crane to remove it! Then after I put it to its rest, the next day first thing in the morning, one shows up again…so I thought…is the caterpillar now a ghost and it came back on an after life?

As I do a check several times per day, yesterday I was wondering why some of the buds were starting to die and fall off. I’ve actually had to walk around the Kush Mints plant, which is the only one that’s being effected, and pick all of the dead buds that the caterpillar got to, I have to harvest them. I’m extremely happy to harvest early, but I would more rather it be because they were completely ripe buds.

Whether it’s 6:30 at night, 5:30 in the morning, 7:30 in the morning, each time I check at dusk or dawn, there’s a caterpillar eating Kush Mints! I don’t know what to do, as I don’t use poisons or any toxins due to animals and the environment. The only thing that I could think of is just being the caterpillar babysitter. Maybe if I had a dog that could bark each time there was one on the branch, that would be a very good thing. So until I find a miracle, I’m faced with setting my clock and getting up to babysit caterpillars. Any ideas? Wonderful green and growing day today! :wink: :butterfly: :leaves:

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BT in the soil. Predatory wasps. Neem oil and garlic oil foliar spray on the leaves, stems, and stalks.

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@Butterflymusic A moth has laid eggs on your plant somewhere. Usually on one of the fan leaves. If you can find the eggs and destroy them, thats the most natural way to get rid of them before anymore hatch. Then just kill as many of the remaining caterpillars as possible. I’ve started using ladybugs the last few years to eat any eggs and they help with any aphids or spider mites. Here’s a guy I found yesterday after 2+ months in my greenhouse. Love nature’s good guys

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Hi MDBuds & Stephen…

It’s been a very long 3-days! I’m still out there getting, smashing, threatening the f …outta these little almost grey/black…the color of moths…kinda 2nd caterpillars. I only have oils to mix with soap-natural way for pesticides. If I could get the best oil to mix, i probably have it. But it’s a job getting these things off. I was just about too late with the Kush Mints…but I’m on my way back out there now. I had one set of buds at the end of a branch last week that was as bid as my hand…now it’s as big as 2-fingers. Gotta get back out there.

MDBuds…gotta question…is this something I can microwave & then strain? I did go on google & found this is a purchasable item…the garlic stuff…but I’d love to make it…I have all types of garlic. Also, I thought neem oil wouldn’t kill this stuff, but I’m all ears! Thank you for this…I’ll pick some & come back to see if you got this message.

Sorry to everyone, I don’t have time to respond because it’s been quite a time, but I love everyone! Take care & Lady Lucky Bug visited you at the right time. Thanks to you both. :smile: I have to get a few of those. Peace. :wink:

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@Butterflymusic neem oil and garlic oil in high enough concentrations can kill soft bodied insects on contact.

The garlic oil I make just needs 2 whole large bulbs of garlic 2 large hot chilis 1/2 cup of your preferred vegetable oil optional 3 tablespoons non toxic dish soap and 4 quarts of water. Boil the water and as the water is boiling put garlic and chilis in blender then add water just until it covers the top of the garlic and chilis. Blend until forms a thick paste then add the rest of the boiling water along with the oil and soap. Blend until about the consistency of milk. Let sit overnight to steep. Strain through cheese cloth into airtight container and store in fridge next day. To use dilute 1 part solution to 10 parts water up to a full 50/50 mix depending on severity of issue. For caterpillars I would do 50/50. Just don’t spray the buds if you want to save them.

Bt is a bacteria you can find in the store that will kill the larvae in the soil so I’d suggest getting some of that too. Both the spray and bt together will kill all the larvae and help get rid of the adults while also preventing gypsy moths from coming back to lay more eggs.

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Hi again MDBuds…

I’m on it right now! I have some old & nasty hot garlic in the fridge I’ll get that going in a pot now. There’s not many buds on Kush Mints, but she has her green color, some seeds growing & my butt in the kitchen now~! Ciao for now! I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again! Peace. :garlic: :seedling: :slight_smile:

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@Butterflymusic I’ve gone through the same hell you’re going through so I know how you feel. Lost around 75% of my crop one year. I did notice the moths like certain strains more than others. Kush strains always attract them for some reason. I do use the neem oil and bt spray but only when they’re in veg. Once mine start flowering I stop all the foliar sprays and don’t use anything in the soil either. Just the lady bugs, and every now and then I’ll find a praying mantis in the yard and put them in the greenhouse. Lacewing are good guys for you plants also. They also seem to be attracted to marijuana which is a win win. I’ve gotten to the point where just doing as many preventative measures as possible makes the process a lot less stressful. Good luck with all your gardening adventures and let us know how it all turns out.

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Try using Monterey bt it’s organic and kills on contact I use it on my veggies too

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Hi Stephen…

I was able to get a great idea about the Garlic & I modified it a bit. I’m going to put that information on here. Thanks again for the ideas…gonna try it…yup…the Kush Mints…let me say if I ate the caterpillars, I’d be high as a kite! I’m sure they were feeling pretty good…because it’s the best high!:wink:

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Hi there MDBuds…

I hope you’re doing fine. I’ve had a fun time growing these plants, but those caterpillars, wow did they destroy the plant! So what are we going to do when this happens right? I listen to you regarding everything and I modified the spray and I want to give you that information because it worked excellently!

Those little because you were telling me about, well once I got my spray together and I continue to spray, it was like automatic magic for them to show up it was so cool. It’s like Vera was, trying to keep it together with removing the caterpillars, and then all of a sudden this one little bee is just buzzing behind me every day at a certain hour.

Here is the modification that I did:

I used water instead of oil, but I made garlic water without cooking it. I took a few cloves of garlic, put them in container with water, and let it sit for a day or two. after that, I put it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh, unopened is fine and that’s what I did because the smell is still there. What this does is it cooks it at room temperature and a natural form, and the garlicOils and stuff, it just comes right out. This allows me to not only soak the garlic, but as it’s soaking, the garlic is gaining roots and then I can recycle it instead of cook it and actually plant it to grow.

The next thing I did was take it out of the refrigerator and sit it out like when it seemed the roots were growing of the garlic, that’s when I guess it really lets out a big heavy garlic smell during this rooting. I actually did my last batch in about a week: that is the leaving it out for a day or two, then refrigerating, then leaving it out a day or two, then refrigerating, and then beginning to use it. Keep in mind, after I added the soap I tell you about below, I also added a little bit more water to fill the bottle up. Then after it’s all mixed up, Shake It Up, and begin to spray, then I put it back in the refrigerator inside the spray bottle. And I captured it all now I’m here telling you about my experiences.

All the plants survived, the dwarfs, everything. The only problem is, the damage was done to all the buds, so I did lose all the medicine. The interesting factor is now that I did the spraying and I do the spraying regularly once per week now as the maintenance, it’s like the buds are now re-growing on top of the damaged stuff. So these plants don’t want to quit! Plus I’m giving them good nutrients: a “regrow back to green” and then doing a little bit of “nitrogen combo of a beginning bloom product”,& they’re coming back it’s just absolutely wonderful! You can see the old stuff right underneath the new stuff!

The next thing I did with the spray was I added some of my special natural liquid soap, it’s a product that I sell. When the garlic water was ready, I poured it in my spray bottle without sifting anything out, it was clear of anything to have to sift, and I just used it without any issue.

Now that I have this wonderful tool you me oh, I might have medication next year. The biggest problem is, for my arthritis pain, I was hoping on the highest THC to give me. I don’t have that now, but I have this wonderful tool of garlic for next year.

Dwarf one sfv OG is doing fantastic! Again the damage area that was trying to produce seeds, it still does have a little THC on it, but it’s amazing how these new teeny tiny little green buds are just beginning. My biggest thanks to you for everything you have assisted me with. And without each other in this cannabis world, we wouldn’t learn anything. I’ve learned quite a bit from you and that knowledge I will continue to grow the best bud that maybe you and your friends and I one day can sit around the campfire and have a toke or two.

Thanks again. Peace, good weed, good friends, good conversation, and definitely the best buds!

Here’s a photo of I believe Gas Leak-she’s a Dwarf at 10" tall.

and here’s when she was in full bloom…started to rain & I got scared…so I pulled the buds off…she was ready so I guess it was a good morve. :slight_smile:

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@Butterflymusic I’m glad you managed to modify a recipe that works for your needs. Sorry about all of the caterpillar damage, but there is still hope for your arthritis yet.

Once they finish maturing and those new buds ripen you can still use the damaged buds to make tinctures. Just give everything a good wash and rinse before drying. As soon as everything is dry you can decarb it and use it to make EVOO or alcohol tinctures. My personal preference is the EVOO tincture as EVOO has natural anti-inflammatory and pain fighting properties already. Especially ones made with Koroneiki olives.

To make my EVOO tinctures for arthritis patients I first brew a tea with turmeric, ginger, and chamomile. Once the tea is brewed I set it aside in the fridge.

After making the tea I decarb my flower at 240f for approximately 40 minutes.

After decarbing I measure out 4 grams of decarbed cannabis per one liquid ounce of extra virgin olive oil.

I then get my double boiler ready and I add all of my oil directly to the top pot in the double boiler and then I add my decarbed cannabis.

I heat it for approximately 40 to 90 minutes depending on the size of the batch. Small batches only 40 minutes. Large batches using an ounce or more of cannabis and 7 ounces or more of oil I go for 90 minutes.

Once everything is done I strain the oil through a cheese clothe into a container and then squeeze out the remaining oil in the cannabis.

After this step is complete I get my tea from the fridge and reheat on the stove to just barely a simmer and add some sunflower lecithin as an emulsifier. Stir it up until it’s well incorporated and then I remove it from the heat and add my EVOO tincture. Mix it well and continue to mix it until it’s cool.

You can add less or more sunflower lecithin depending on your preference. If you want it keep it liquid add just enough to emulsify and dose as you normally would a tincture and administer it sublingually.

If you’d like to dose it as a solid you can add more sunflower lecithin and poor into molds like making gummy candies.

I hope this helps you. Happy growing my friend. :v::call_me_hand::metal:

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I found following an all natural feed, followed by BT twice (BT is organic and won’t harm anything but the caterpillars) left me with 0 bugs this year!! They say the organic feed makes the plants more naturally resistant to disease AND bugs and it seems to be true. I had them in each growth previously, somewhat controlled with BT, but the combo of organic and BT was the bomb this season. Good luck!

I agree with Stephen (October post) that caterpillars are very strain dependent. I have only been plagued by them once in 20yrs of growing. I grew a whole pack of Agent orange and all of them had caterpillars quite disturbingly all over them while I pheno hunted the keepers. (The AO didn’t like the moist wet fall either and went moldy, but that’s another story). As they grew the caterpillars just came more frequently and in more numbers. I finally just gave up on the strain. NONE of the 17 other strains I was running at the same time in the raised bed ever had a caterpillar on them. Even the ladies next to the AO. Also, the lil clones of AO I took from the mother plants were cat attacked in a far away corner of my lot.

I think I will file away mint kush to my brain and log book after seeing your experience. As caterpillar bait. Or better off indoor.

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Looks like it’s her birthday, looking healthy. Must be eating well​:kissing_heart::kissing_heart: