I grew my first outdoor garden a year ago and had to learn how to deal with the tobacco budworm. They are white moths that fly around laying eggs of little worm like caterpillar that grow up to 1/2 long and are greenish to brown. They hide inside your buds and come out at night to feast on your plants. When they are ready they reppel on a string of silk down to the dirt where they burrow down and pupate and turn into white moths. Due to not using any chemical pesticide I just built a cheap green house with screens all the way around for ventilation. My local nursery has a fly you can order to hunt out this budworm but I haven’t tied that method yet. If any one has tried it I would like to know how it went. I love this site thanks Kyle and krew.
Very hard to find when small
You know you have it when you see white moths flying around your garden you’ll see scrapings with dead tissue on your plants stalk, or strands of silk around your plant looks like spider web but it ain’t. The worst is finding a beautiful bud bored out on the inside I lost a couple girls like that
I hope this little info I dug up helps the outdoor farmers save a little time trying to figure out wtf is going on. Stay green my fellow farmers.
I had this issue as well. I personally have implored an IPM program. Using a product called PyGanic, as well as Azamax, and some beneficial insects from Arbico organics. When you order from some places they just give you one species of the beneficial you need. With arbico they have a huge selection for specific temperatures and humidity. So if you are in a tricky climate zone you can adjust as necessary.
Thanks for that info buddy. Btw how often did you have to treat your garden? How fast do they return? Just curious
Hurray, we have a community forming.
I knew nothing about this tobacco worm. Here’s a link to the Arbico, the company that sells all types of biological controls. http://www.arbico-organics.com/
THANKS ET87, you’re a welcomed contributor…:-)
Hey Andy, I used the Azamax (azadachtrin) and the PyGanic (pyrethin) about once a week. When I could see the worms as a knockdown method. This was outdoor mind you. So there was always some doubts about infestation. So I just treated until the flowers had set in and started to show. Even though both products are OMRI approvedI didn’t want to affect the taste of the finished product. About that time I started using the beneficials from then on out. Try to stay on top of it too, just like with most pests they can come back if preventative measures aren’t taken.
Thanks Kyle, I like the forums here. Very easy to get answers and you have been quick to respond as well, much appreciated!
Thanks et87 I’m always interested in others input and experiences. I’m like you very hesitant to spray anything on the girls that kill even if its omri. So I just took GH route. Also been hanging moth catchers around the back yard to keep the adults at bay we shall see.
Are we having FUN yet…:-)
Budworms are cannibalistic and very destructive in nature… One hundred Budworms can eat a pound of Cannabis per day.I sprayed with Azamax …. I hope the Azamax doesn’t pose a cancer threat down the line. These sprays worry me. Sometimes though its either spray or toss crop. Next year I will be more diligent towards prevention.
I see the adult moths all the time hopping along the ground. I built a little green house to defend against it since they come from the soil I put a floor in.
i always have a issue with these little bastards, and i due mean little when they begin their rampage. When they are big enough to see, they have already done damage. To catch them early, look for the twisted, stuck together growth tips – usually there is some webbing as well. They are usually in the twisted, webbed leaf tip or on leaves directly above or below. This is when they are practically microscopic and you really have to search for them and then squash them like the little f*****’s they are. I spray karanja/neem mixture weekly as a preventative for everything and gardensafe bt caterpillar and worm spray. It is as harmless as the neem and karanja oils and works well. I think its gonna be a wicked summer for bugs in nor cal.
spinosad is a effective treatment and preventativeits a organic bacteria that the worms eat and die but netting works the best no spray on my plants
I was reading an organic garden article online about using “tulle” as a insect screen in your garden. It is the material brides use on there head when getting married. There are lots of colors and good lengths. So I bought some to try and I freaking love it. It’s light easy to use has good airflow, water and sun penetration. It cost about $35 for 4ft x 60ft roll. So far I have 3-7ft plants and 3 almost 6ft plants and no signs of the budworm inside the netting. Outside the netting is infested. They sure love lavender lol.
GREAT TIP andy213!!!
Also, I don’t think you have to worry about Azamax or Spinosad. They are both derived from organic ingredients…:-)
Love the Azamax.. Been using it for years.. It is an anti-feedant. If you use it once.. Be sure to use it again as it dose not kill the bugs.. but starves them.. as one generation dies from starvation another will hatch.. So be sure to spray this generation as they hatch and before they can reproduce. So 3-4 treatments 5-7 days apart should wipe out the existing population.
I have taken this stuff into a friends garden that was infested with mites.. Looked like a little army.. one by one. He tried using another product which burnt the flowers and they turned brown overnight.. So I came in with the Azamax.. and a “Sucker” plant for the bugs to retreat to.. ( These plants were about a week out from harvest) So I turned off the HID’s and mixed up some Azamax.. Sprayed them generously with a strong batch. And turned on some fans for circulation and to help dry out the buds. ( After all we don’t want mold) Now the “Sucker” plant was not sprayed.. It is purely there as an escape for the bugs.. They won’t want to be on the plants that were just sprayed.. They will retreat to the un treated plant.. This is so that the buds aren’t full of mites.. After they have retreated I took the plant outside and with a can of lysol some gas and a grill lighter.. And torched the “Sucker”! As for the meds.. I stuck around and pushed em for 3 more weeks, to fix some of the damage from the other spray he used.. and I am happy to say we saved 3lbs off of 2 600’s.. not great but hey… not bad either. All big dense buds.. And she was right around 19.3% THC and 1.3% CBD.. Now for some Blue Dream this aint too Shabby! Better than a complete loss.. And the buds had no bugs!!!! Couldn’t even find one with a microscope.. No bad taste.. from sprays… And a pure white ash… with a really smooth hit..
Now I’m not saying this is fool proof.. But was more like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.. Was purely just dumb luck that we thought of the Sucker and threw her in…
This was a one time thing… I don’t usually have to deal with the pests indoors,, Usually just outdoors.. I hope this was an isolated issue and won’t see these critters for a long time!
GREAT STUFF BOTANICMIKE!!!
@andy213, how does that Tulle hold up to the other elements such as wind and rain? I am curious to no more about it, I have used a bunch of expensive screens, etc.. that did not seem to work very well. How did you surround your girls with it?
So far so good bro I have a little cheap ass green house I took panels off and used the tulle as a screen for venting/airflow and defense against caterpillars. I used a stapler to staple the tulle to the wood. I saw people use PVC as a frame also. It’s easy to work with. The green leopard tulle looks like camo lol hard to find maybe easy in Texas lmao
Post some pics of your handywork???
Good job Andy!
Those are some nice chunky nugz. The garden looks clean…:-)
Thanks i had to take out the big ones lol I’m gonna have to battle nature lol
Mold I’m guessing.
Have you tried Green Cure?
Everything man lol mainly to big I will add it to my arsenal. Always a learning experience.
They all standing back up roughly 11ft
Those are some TALL Sativas. What height do expect they will finish?
I have no idea bro i never did this well in pots lol the top pic is night terror og
I sure hope they flower soon…
A little late to this thread, and new to the forum. My outdoor experience taught me that birds are some of the best pest control for your garden. Investing in a birdbath and hanging a feeder nearby creates a haven for them. I’ve never had too much trouble with them pooping on the plants and they’ll pick the worms clean off and keep moths at bay. Also planting some green veggies (lettuce, greens, spinach, etc) a small distance from your garden will draw worms/moths from your plants (they prefer they veggies) and make easy pickings for those birds. I’ve grown outdoors where I’m living in SoCal 3 seasons and have had no pest problems.
I also notice the birds help my garden as well. I do believe if the birds weren’t there I would of lost a lot more than I did due to the cattepillars.
Cheers to the birds, for Cannabis, but the pretty stinkers are pests on my apples and blueberries lol
Yea I gotta pick my figs early or the birds ravage them. I also rub neem oil on the stalks of my plants every few days and rub some around my garden (on posts, resivoir, etc) every morning. From what I’ve read flying pests can smell it from a distance and usually avoid it. Neem oil breaks down in UV light pretty quick so regular applications keep it stinky. Neem can also be absorbed through the plant via root system. So I add a few drops to each batch of water I mix up.
Im picking the pears and apples right now before the buzzards beat me to it ~~~;-D
Hello @Buddy
I know this thread is a little old but in very curious how those monster 11 footers turned out! If you’d like to share leave it below.
As Always LightSpeedGrows,
Have a great growing day with a feel good vibe!
LightSpeedGrows 7 years, 9 months ago.
