Pull early?

[Noonin NorCal]

Hi friends, I have 6 plants from seed 2 of which have a week to 10 days and the others maybe 2-3 weeks tops. Im finding about a dozen caterpillars every morning, on all 6. I have branches that i can't reach that I'm sure have some also, should i just ride it out and constantly pluck cats. every morning or just yank the 2 first that are closes to pull? I have BT spray on hand but it doesn't seem to work for me and i don't really wanna spray this close to harvesting... some shit already got burnt from it. I had a buddy come check it out and said i should use a sweetener before harvesting, we have some Humboldt Honey Extra Strong was wondering if anyone has had experience with the product? Thanks

 

[Noonin NorCal]

40+ views? lets try again has anyone used Humboldt Honey ES...?

 

[aridbud]

That close to harvest, get a ladder and pluck 'em off.

 

[dyna mo humm]

keep a close eye out for botrytis
cats poop in/on your buds which can/will cause mold issues
bT is pretty safe stuff, I do believe right up to day of harvest on most vegetables
either spray or keep doing what your doing
good luck

 

[BAKED_BEANZ]

keep plucking , go early morning when there active. not sure what it like where you are. but they cycle where i am so once you beat them there norm gone. check there size out you will know how far in there cycle they are.

goodluck. i never pull early not for pest anyway. maybe pest in uniform that would be about it

 

[Noonin NorCal]

That close to harvest, get a ladder and pluck 'em off.

doing it but can only get so close before breaking my neck. thanks

 

[Noonin NorCal]

keep a close eye out for botrytis
cats poop in/on your buds which can/will cause mold issues
bT is pretty safe stuff, I do believe right up to day of harvest on most vegetables
either spray or keep doing what your doing
good luck

I been finding mostly little cats on the outside, then i see some twisting, discoloring on some leafs/bud sights and pull it back and find them. I fucking hate this time of year...

 

[aridbud]

doing it but can only get so close before breaking my neck. thanks

Slip knot or pulley and gently pull down on main stalk to pluck those buggers! Spraying toxins....this close to being finished for worms....not worth it.

Recall trimming decades ago...we filled 5 Pepsi cans full of those little green worms for over 200 plants.

 

[Noonin NorCal]

I always wondered after pulling down a branch to hand dry and missing a caterpillar that was still lodged in a bud/branch that i might have missed, what would it do? Do they need live green matter to keep feeding or would it die off?

 

[Bradley_Danks]

I always wondered after pulling down a branch to hand dry and missing a caterpillar that was still lodged in a bud/branch that i might have missed, what would it do? Do they need live green matter to keep feeding or would it die off?

They end up crawling around in the herb jar or when the buds hang drying they crawl out. My experience anyway.

 

[aridbud]

Watch for eggs on underside of leaves....look at the OUTDOOR GROW LARGE PLANTS thread and rid those leaves....made my scalp crawl!

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=159846&page=818

Do the best you can....I think hand plucking, even though a pain in the ass.....sure beats the spray alternative (my opinion). I'm pretty partial to organic, non sprayed weed when inhaling. Hide the ladder pluck away.

Good luck!!!

 

[EastBayGrower]

if its such a huge stress for you just pull the plants, harvest em now and quit whining....

or keep up the good fight, keep spraying, plucking and praying away.... and do some research holmes, or you could just create another 20 threads for every little question that pops into your head....

 

[Martha Focker]

i would just wait for em to turn to butterflies. then they'll fly away.

or chop early.

 

[Noonin NorCal]

Well the cats won the battle on my biggest cola plant. plucked 4 off a single branch an said fuck it and chopped all the bigger tops off it. The trichs were milky and spotty amber here and there, she could have gone another week. I just hate throwing shit away and hate to spray anything this close to harvest. I think it was my fault in the beginning with BT, I sprayed early in the season but let it sit in the sprayer for a couple weeks before the next application. I have a butterfly bush in the yard also I'm sure that didn't help much. next season we will be trying a mosquito net to drape plants with. Maybe get some wasps to fend off the cats

 

[St. Phatty]

Recall trimming decades ago...we filled 5 Pepsi cans full of those little green worms for over 200 plants.

OH MAN my chickens would love to eat those

Isn't there some kind of animal that would eat the worms without eating the plants ?


A Praying Mantis egg case early in flowering sounds like a good idea, as a preventive measure.

 

[Oakhills]

I think it was my fault in the beginning with BT, I sprayed early in the season but let it sit in the sprayer for a couple weeks before the next application. I have a butterfly bush in the yard also I'm sure that didn't help much. next season we will be trying a mosquito net to drape plants with. Maybe get some wasps to fend off the cats

BT needs to be made fresh each application. Also, it should be applied in the evening so when the cats are little, they'll ingest the BT and die off when they feed at night. I've also been told by people with more experience than me that when the sunlight hits the BT, it is rendered inactive after 30-45 minutes. Try Spinosad next year, it lasts 3-4 days I think.

Good idea on the wasps, I see yellow jackets picking the damn Cats off the colas in the mornings.

When the cats hatch while drying, they'll usually spin a silk and drop off the flowers if you are hanging them upside down to dry.

Best of luck Noonin!