fucking caterpillers

[dirty]

I have a few plants growing in pots outside. they are all about two weeks old and growing pretty strong.

 

Yesterday when I check them, some of the leaves had a clear part on them ( sorry , best description I can think of)

 

after checking under the leaves ( thanks WC) I found some little green caterpillers. I squashed all the ones I could find, but want a more permanent solution to this problem.

 

I read in a previous post that someone had used a spray product called "NEEM". Can any one offer some advice on this situation

 

 

many thanks

[dirty]

Sorry, just read the post under this one where Luke answered my question on caterpiller spray.

 

what about neem?

[Guest weekprik]

Neem is great, it causes the fuckers to starve to death and they wont eat the plant.

 

Neem

 

its also great in the kids hair to get rid of nits.

[Guest Wilderbud]

I dont like chemicals at all so I suggest bringing some predators into the growroom. I like labybeetles, praying mantis and spiders [not leaf-destroying ones]. I have a sucker problem right now also because my ladybeetle didnt like my growroom but I plan to catch another one when the rain stops - my suckers are tiny so I have no idea what they are yet [probably mites].

[Luke Skywalker]

The only predators I've managed to keep indoors, (and even then they aren't in the actual room, they surround it,) are a million and one daddy long legs, which are about the most effective flying insecticide I know. It's really hard to keep predators in small grow rooms, which is why it's usually easier to avoid it, and just encourage good cleanliness instead. If you can prevent entry of the insects full stop, you've won before they get a chance.

 

But yeah, Bacillus Thurengiensis for caterpillars..... As you noted already dirty... Neem's good too.

 

Oh yeah, and WB, if your insects attacking your plants appear to be tiny black or red dots which crawl fast across the leaves when disturbed, and you spray a mist near the area and you can see webbing, then yeah, it's spider mite. White oil and neem are the cures usually, although sulphur will do the trick it's a bitch to use and get off the plants... (as other posts I've made here attest...) and there are harsher chems which are reputed to kill mites, but I wouldn't go there, and I doubt you'd want to either.... You may be interested to note wb, that a product called Eco-Oil is available which is similar to white oil, but made with canola and essential oils I think... might be a diff base oil. Anyway, it's not harmful to predators apparently, or hasn't got the effect that most do, and is certified for use in greenhouses with Integrated Pest Management (IPM)... That's not an easy thing to get approval for... Have a look for it, it may be what you're looking for to battle the mites....

 

Good luck with your grub battles gentlemen. May you be victorious.

[dirty]

, thanks Luke!

 

just got home yesterday after being away for three days , and realised that I hadn't managed to squash all of the little offenders.

 

Also those little fuckers had like tripled in size. Two of the plants had been pretty heavily munched ( on the leaves only).Each plant only had one caterpiller on it, but I guess that was one too many.

 

I'm off to the shops to get some neem or whatever tomorrow, but I am pretty sure I have got all the fuckers now.

I checked for new carnage today, and was relieved to find none

 

thanks for the helps peeps

 

oh yeah, its an outdoors grow

[Luke Skywalker]

No worries dirty.

 

Outdoor plants will continue to be susceptible until you treat them with some form of catterpillar repellent/killer. I'd have to emphasise the BT again, it's cheap, effective against all caterpillars and has absolutely no effect on humans. Neems okay, but it's quite a bit more expensive. Remember to take all the directions into account, and don't use any sprays during the heat of the day in summer unless it's below 30 or so. Otherwise you're going to burn them with the blockage of the stomata.

 

Good luck....

 

Caterpillars are a bastard arent they... Most species can eat more than their weight per day in food, and any plant outdoors is liable to be infested with them in most Australian environments at one stage or another unless you take preventative measures.

 

Keep us updated on how ya go dirty, you'll beat the bastards yet.

 

Try leaving some panda plastic with the white side up in a circle around the base of the plants... You could use paper or other plastics too. This allows you to see exactly where the buggers are by seeing their droppings on the plastic, which you can then follow up and see them on the underside of the leaves nearby.

[white_cluster]

use that HG biocide