aphexchild

bluecheese - ironically, it has been used traditionally as a flea preventative measure with pets. It is still recommended for yard use by vets, but it is important to follow the instructions. Unfortunately, some people still put the sprays and powders directly on their pets. pets clean themselves, and they get sick from ingesting. they get sick by accident when used incorrectly. don't let your dog near you pot plants for 2 days after you spray, if they tend to eat your pot. it completely degrades.

why bother defending it? because sevin dust has great results, and is safe when used correctly. google it, search icmag.com too, there's a lot of long time users who are very happy. also, it's used commercially on just about everything, plus it's approved for organic use.

regarding pets, a quote that seemed to represent most vets' positions:

"...used with caution in environments where pets and humans are present. With the advent of Advantage and Frontline there is really no legitimate use for these chemicals for fleas. They do, however, still make good yard sprays for ticks if you follow the directions accurately. All the toxicity problems I have seen in pets were due to misuse of these compounds. Cats, greyhounds and whippets are particularly susceptible to overdose with these compounds.

CRAZYTRAIN

I found some Organic Garden Dust with DP. It did the trick for me. I found the best way to apply it was at dusk by puring it into an old sock and beating the sock around the plants. I had to apply it 3 times over a few weeks, they were kicking my ass too. But they seem to have moved on or something.

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jdubya

I wouldn't use it on buds that are planning to be harvested within 2 weeks...or hell even a month. This is why the US is the #1 Cancer capital of the world.

__________________
If you have no hope, you have no chance. -Me

Fat nugs here I come - Old Grow (Closed)

First Hydro Grow - Bagseed - Old grow

Bust Card (PDF) Your welcome

GanjaGardener

Between judicious plucking and a serious nicotine tea spray (1 quart concentrated spray per four- 4' plants) the caterpillar numbers have dropped off from about 5-10 caterpillars per plant per day to only a few stragglers total. Today was first time in weeks that I made a search and came up totally empty. The nicotine tea probably acted as a deterrent but I didn't see any dead or dying caterpillars as a result of spraying. I suspect that caterpillar season in my area is finally ebbing which may factoring into the decline I'm seeing.

Some notes:

Caterpillar types~

• 1) Two caterpillars were in the 1 1/2" range w/ a diameter about the size a chop stick- one was green and the other striped, reminiscent of a small Monarch caterpillar. These were usually found camouflaged against a stock or stem.
• 2) Three 1/2"-3/4" - green, tan (see photo, ^OP^) and white/grey/brown. The most prolific, these were most often found wiggling on or near the top of a bud.
• 3) A very small, (less than 1/2") , white, maggot-like worm that could be easily missed w/o the help of magnification. These are the most insipid fockers of the group because, besides being difficult to detect, they burrow themselves deep into the bud and have already eaten out a good portion of the inside before any signs of damage appear on the surface. I have seen their calcified remains pop out from a bud while cleaning away the damage.

Caterpillar crap~ although most of the droppings, (black, about the size of a grain of fine ground coffee), can be found in the vicinity of where they eat, (upper 1/3 of plant) the castings also drop down to leaves and buds below. Unfortunately, one of the plants attributes that we find desirable- sticky resin, acts like turd fly paper. I don't know how to resolve the issue of "tainted" bud. If your crop had caterpillars, your buds, to one degree or another, are going to have some crap in them.

Categorizing the damage~ I divided the "infected" bud into 3 categories:

• 1) Caterpillars caught before any major damage occurred. Typically, a single layer of calyxes going around half of the bud or less is browned out. Bud maintains it's full shape with no or barely noticeable gap after brown area is cleaned out.
• 2) Cola w/ one damaged bud. I've been cutting out the bad bud (>hash jars), and depending upon the bud's location and size, snipping off the top or bottom away from the damaged area to form a bud, albeit a depressingly smaller bud.
• 3) When I pick a bud up and it crumbles into a brown, dry, granular powder after the first scissors cut, it goes into a bottle that I'll put away for rainy day insurance. I ain't proud. I've had to scrape out way too many bowls during the dry times over the years, to let a few little caterpillar turds get in the way of a buzz.

This is my first thread at the site. I really like what I've seen and heard here and elsewhere around the community so... I look forward to seeing you around. ==~

realblondie

YOU are hysterical dude! Sooo funny..I have the same kind of deal...but I dont do hash...so it goes to the shake jar...which is crappy dry bud and dry trim...my very po' friends are very very grateful when I give them a big jar of it every year. They say I have the best shake around!

jdubya

Hey glad your caterpillar situation is getting better...

Good luck with the harvest my friend.

__________________
If you have no hope, you have no chance. -Me

Fat nugs here I come - Old Grow (Closed)

First Hydro Grow - Bagseed - Old grow

Bust Card (PDF) Your welcome

GanjaGardener

Shake that booty, girl! You sure do have some lucky friends.


Thanks. The same to you.

It appears that I've been, (choose one): a) overly optimistic. b) deep into denial ("No, no, no. This cannot actually be happening.") c) deluded by too much wishful thinking or d) too faced to clearly differentiate caterpillars from calyxes. Whatever the case, the first check I made after the last post revealed another grip of caterpillars partying away on my plants. Deciding that I had taken all that I could take ("and I can takest no more!") from these insidious little b~st~rds, I went ahead and harvested 2/3 of my crop late that evening. I probably would've waited a few more days but my plants had been "close" for a week already- close enough that I don't think I lost too much THC by moving harvest up a few days . Anyways, saving buds from future worm damage outweighed the approx 1/4% ? THC that I may or may not have gained had I waited the 3-4 days that it was going to take to reach my estimated "moment of peak potential".

I rolled up a couple of more "Thai Sticks" w/ the tainted weed but instead of "California Rolls" I've decided to name them "Sh~t Sticks". "Hey mon. I really like your sh~t! " "Thanks mon. But to be honest w/ you, I can't take all of the credit for it."

nigel

You could try putting 'dirty' bud in a jar of water, let soak as in water curing, manure might dissolve away? I have run a few trials using shake, theory being that the good stuff in smoke is not water soluble; harsh smoking pigments and contaminants are. resulting smoke is smoother, shake becomes dark. i dry by putting in cloth and squeezing out water, spread out and dried with frequent turning.
like your tea spray, crush a few caterpillars in it, they and egg laying parents hate smell of own dead. all best nigel

GanjaGardener

wow nigel. that suggestion sounds downright medieval and i love it!
Following along w/ that theme, I've been smearing pinched caterpillar remains on the plant stalks, branches and outer shade leaves (taking care to not get any too close to the buds.) It's too late in my growing season to gather any hard, empirical evidence about the efficacy of using tea and/or dead c~pillars as a deterrent- I would have had to start the experiment when c~pillar sseason first started- but reason would tell me that these measures would have to have some effect. I saw a bird pick off a c~pillar from one of my remaining plants this morning. Hmm...I wonder if using seed to attract more birds to the garden would be worthwhile? Have a whole indoor season or two to ponder that one. I recently read an article on water curing and was thinking about giving it a shot on a limited basis. It sounds like a great idea- smooth smoke w/ less [cough!] contaminants but, like you, I am only willing to experiment w/ the technique at this point.

GanjaGardener

When I first posted here, caterpillars had just begun showing up on my plants. I must admit that I had no idea at the time that a caterpillar infestation/onslaught would be my major concern during the three ensuing weeks that lead up to harvest. I guesstimate that 75% of my crop was "touched" in one way or another by caterpillars w/ bud damage ranging from single "nicks" (one calyx/interior leaf) to small buds that were totally eaten inside>out. Thankfully, most of the individual bud damage was of the "nick" variety. Since the OP, I've prolly killed 300 caterpillars or about 25/da.

I'm not an expert by any means, but I've grown outdoors off and on for over twenty years and have never experienced anything like this before. This is the first year that I've grown in this climate- (Mediterranean-coastal)- in the past I've grown in a climate that was hotter, drier, (adjoined to chaparral) so maybe that has something to do w/ it. Anyhoo, I won't get caught w/ my shorts down next time around. Between DP poder applied w/ socks, c~terpillar entrail/nicotine tea (CENT) and blue cheese spread those focking catties ain't gotta chance when Spring, 2009 rolls around.

~ I found that the high pressure misters that are often used for cooling purposes in the desert are an effective way to remove caterpillar/looper droppings from mature plants prior to harvest. The nozzle creates enough water psi to thoroughly clean loose debris away from the plant but the fine mist doesn't have enough "weight" to bend or damage the trichs. Mist Cooling - Flexible High Pressure Mist Kit I put 2 misting nozzles on a plugged piece of mister tubing, adapted it to a garden hose and hand sprayed the plants. The nozzle psi, which can go up as high as 1,000 psi, can be adjusted at the hose bib. Besides cleaning the plants before harvest, the foliar watering helps support the flushing process.

==~