Caterpillar question

[cangrow]

I've got a plant at 7 (of 9-10) weeks flower. I had 1-2 (max) caterpillars in probably 30-40% of the buds last week. I got rid of all of them, as far as I know. They did leave behind a decent amount of droppings in and around some of the buds.

Today I went over each and every bud with a literally toothpick, opened up each part gently. Hardly found any droppings there anymore, but collected and removed what I did find.

I found one single caterpillar, tiny baby, in one bud. Squish.

But the rest of the plant looked clear... should I be good to go to harvest and smoke as normal, then? Or are the buds that previously had caterpillars in them a big risk?

I have a hopeful feeling that maybe I caught the invasion quick enough?

I also have my plants in pest netting now. Never thought I'd hate butterflies

 

If I keep it clear and continue to keep checking for new caterpillars from here on out, am I good to go?
 

Edited February 2, 2021 by cangrow

[Anoma]

Were they white butterflies?

[cangrow]

Were they white butterflies?

Yep. The caterpillars were little green bud worms.

[Anoma]

I'm no expert on winged creatures but the missus and another person informed me about cabbage moths recently after I mentioned one comes around for a few minutes every day, you might want to google that and see what you can do about it

[EmmaGray]

I also didn't think that I would ever be against caterpillars, which turn into beautiful butterflies sooner or later. But these caterpillars were eating my plants, so I had to find a way to get rid of them. And anyway, my plants are too expensive meal for them, . By the way, if you have the same problem, you can find many videos on YouTube about how to get rid of caterpillars without harming plants. Thus, I learned that my caterpillars don't like Neem oil, which means it's the safest insecticide. But there are other pests that cause problems for me, and it seems that this repeller doesn't work on them. Recently, I've found small holes on the leaves of some plants, and they don't look like tracks left by a caterpillar. I'll probably have to contact a pest control service to solve this problem. If you know an effective way to get rid of such pests, let me know.

[brick]

I also didn't think that I would ever be against caterpillars, which turn into beautiful butterflies sooner or later. But these caterpillars were eating my plants, so I had to find a way to get rid of them. And anyway, my plants are too expensive meal for them, . By the way, if you have the same problem, you can find many videos on YouTube about how to get rid of caterpillars without harming plants. Thus, I learned that my caterpillars don't like Neem oil, which means it's the safest insecticide. But there are other pests that cause problems for me, and it seems that this repeller doesn't work on them. Recently, I've found small holes on the leaves of some plants, and they don't look like tracks left by a caterpillar. I'll probably have to contact a pest control service to solve this problem. If you know an effective way to get rid of such pests, let me know.

Try Dipel a natural product made in Aus and is used by market gardeners. I tried it and it works better on caterpillars than anything else I have tried. Available at Bunnings.