Yeah! It's Bud Worm Season. Pics

dumbthumb

Member
I have been invaded by these little buggers too, first only two, so I inquired, then read the last fiteen pages or so of this thread, went out and found some BT concentrate, and gave all the girls a nice soaking bath in it. Did it late in the eve as the sunset, yet still enough warmth to dry everything out. I must admit I did go a little heavy handed on the spray!

Sure hope this works, the next day I found two more, hanging out atop leaves, one in the same area I found the first ones, and one on my precious kush girl, who's just about to start the pre-harvest flush. Now I'm out there every fifteen minutes, but they are hard to spot, little green bastages about 3/4" long.

Are there any sure-fire signs of BT's effectiveness? Anybody??
 

pabloesqobar

Well-Known Member
Are there any sure-fire signs of BT's effectiveness? Anybody??
Good question. I think my 1st spray with BT was after I found the eggs. Definitely too late. In any event, I have found several damaged buds, but I have yet to find the actual worms, with the exception of one. Last year I could easily find the worm when digging through the damage. Perhaps this is evidence of a sign of BT's effectiveness? I'm hoping they ate enough to cause a bit of damage and then died. The one worm I did locate was looking poorly, presumably from eating BT tainted bud.

For now I'm content to blame myself for not applying the BT sooner. There's always next year.
 

blower

Active Member
preventing this pests in outdoor is the most important. therefore precautions are the main thing. when plants are young in veg stage. give them anything that is good to prevent pests. when they get older and the soil already has all this killer soap shit. then plant wont really need help from us but do its own thing.
if budding best thing is, water some lemon juice, or wipe leafs off with a leaf shiner, or wet paper towels.
 

Mountainfarmer

Well-Known Member
Yea, when looking through your plants for caterpillars you should see dead caterpillars here and there. They usually turn a blackish color and dry up. Wait at least 48 hours for results. Make sure you saturate the plant. I spray mine with a garden sprayer, it has a two gallon tank, 3 foot hose, and a wand. With this setup I can spray a ten foot plant in about 5 minutes. Like I said, saturate the buds. Do it in the morning so the buds can dry out. peace
I have been invaded by these little buggers too, first only two, so I inquired, then read the last fiteen pages or so of this thread, went out and found some BT concentrate, and gave all the girls a nice soaking bath in it. Did it late in the eve as the sunset, yet still enough warmth to dry everything out. I must admit I did go a little heavy handed on the spray!

Sure hope this works, the next day I found two more, hanging out atop leaves, one in the same area I found the first ones, and one on my precious kush girl, who's just about to start the pre-harvest flush. Now I'm out there every fifteen minutes, but they are hard to spot, little green bastages about 3/4" long.

Are there any sure-fire signs of BT's effectiveness? Anybody??
 

seems1

Member
dammit just found some worms on my buds. this is my first outdoor grow. i cut the damaged buds off and killed the worms. :(

now where can i buy BT??? whats the full name of this product??
 

ChemoBoy

Active Member
dammit just found some worms on my buds. this is my first outdoor grow. i cut the damaged buds off and killed the worms. :(

now where can i buy BT??? whats the full name of this product??
Google "safer caterpillar killer"; Home Depot also has one called Thuricide which I have, but I've only used the Safer brand because that's what I opened first and it lasts FOREVER. Look at the ingredients of any caterpillar killer in any garden shop for BT "Bacillus thuringiensis".

Edit: if you don't have a good misting sprayer, at a minimum get one of those Home Depot spray bottles or equivalent that hold 32 oz (quart). Be sure you spray top and bottom and buds and EVERTHING, and in the morning before the bright sun hits them so the water drops don't lens the sunlight and burn your plant. I usually spray around 6 in the evening, but I use a light mist so that I don't risk mold. If you do it in the morning you can soak em with that shit. The bacteria will kill the worms within 3 days either way. If you already have worms when you spray, spray again in TWO weeks and then spray every three weeks after that or if you see worms or if you have lots of butterflies. The bacteria dies under UV and will be completely gone within 3 days outside. You can actually eat it safely, but why? :) I alternate every 7-10 days with Azamax (OMRI organic) and SM-90 for other bugs as well, but it kills caterpillars also but only if they eat enough plant matter that has Azamax on it. Gets the very young ones that have just hatched very reliably. Next summer, I'm also going to use mosquito netting on my plants at night because the moths and butterflies were like a CLOUD around my plants sometimes.
 

seems1

Member
Google "safer caterpillar killer"; Home Depot also has one called Thuricide which I have, but I've only used the Safer brand because that's what I opened first and it lasts FOREVER. Look at the ingredients of any caterpillar killer in any garden shop for BT "Bacillus thuringiensis".
thanks for the info. should it be safe to spray? i got like 2 weeks left till harvest.
 

ChemoBoy

Active Member
thanks for the info. should it be safe to spray? i got like 2 weeks left till harvest.
Check my edit above. You can spray up to 3 days before harvest. I played it safe and didn't spray for the last 2 weeks and I had a dozen or so very small worms, the ones that hatched right after the BT killed the previous population. It would have saved me maybe a half ounce out of a final harvest of about a pound of dried bud if I had sprayed once more. Definitely worth it.
 

seems1

Member
Check my edit above. You can spray up to 3 days before harvest. I played it safe and didn't spray for the last 2 weeks and I had a dozen or so very small worms, the ones that hatched right after the BT killed the previous population. It would have saved me maybe a half ounce out of a final harvest of about a pound of dried bud if I had sprayed once more. Definitely worth it.
ok bought some BT thuricide how much do i add to a 32oz. spray bottle?
 

pabloesqobar

Well-Known Member
ok bought some BT thuricide how much do i add to a 32oz. spray bottle?
I've only gone by the directions that came with my BT. It calls for 4 teaspoons per gallon, unless you're growing in an indoor greenhouse in which case you would use 2 teaspoons per gallon. That equates to 1 teaspoon or 1/2 teaspoon, respectively, for 32 ounces.

Others on here use less and seem to have good results. I'm not sure if all BT is of the same strength, tho.
 

ChemoBoy

Active Member
ok bought some BT thuricide how much do i add to a 32oz. spray bottle?
I add 1 tsp / quart (32 oz) if I already see worms, and then drop back to 1/2 tsp / quart for maintenance spray every 2-3 weeks. But be sure you check the label. My bottles are between 12% and 15% active ingredient (BT). If your percentage is double that, use half as much as I use. If it's half that, use double what I use. Make sense?

Edit: oh, and remember you're spraying a fine mist with millions of BACTERIA. Don't spray it on yourself, don't breath it, wear long sleeves and gloves, etc. It's a good idea for just about anything you spray on a plant, even when it's organic. There doesn't seem to be any real injury that comes from ingesting this stuff, but do YOU wanna try it?
 

seems1

Member
I add 1 tsp / quart (32 oz) if I already see worms, and then drop back to 1/2 tsp / quart for maintenance spray every 2-3 weeks. But be sure you check the label. My bottles are between 12% and 15% active ingredient (BT). If your percentage is double that, use half as much as I use. If it's half that, use double what I use. Make sense?

Edit: oh, and remember you're spraying a fine mist with millions of BACTERIA. Don't spray it on yourself, don't breath it, wear long sleeves and gloves, etc. It's a good idea for just about anything you spray on a plant, even when it's organic. There doesn't seem to be any real injury that comes from ingesting this stuff, but do YOU wanna try it?
good looking out on the info. chemoboy :) i'll be waking up early to spray my girls.
 

marcu5

Active Member
i've found my remedy to this worm problem and it's spiders. there's a couple of small and huge garden spiders that are now killing everything in or around my babies. i'm kind of scared of harvesting now because i'm horrified of these huge spiders, but it's a good pay off
 

Elgrande

Active Member
Cut one all the buds off a main stem, went through them by hand, got some big green worms, then put the buds on wax paper and into the microwave for 25 seconds.

Whatever worms were still inside - all came out.

Used a magnifying glass and checked the buds - nothing left.

I did notice very few eggs - is that a big deal?
 

bud good

Member
hey bro cali gets worms alot you do what you can while ther growing when you harvest put your buds in the microwave for 10 or 15 seconds to make sure the pests are dead they will munch it up in storage. for the most part you will get strong weed just pretty harsh stuff after all this.
 
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