HELP! Caterpillar infestation, bud rot! Neem ineffective

@Sirsmokes
Pretty sure mantises are beneficial, carnivorous insects. Keep them around if you can.

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Okay the worms have it Topanga and Calabasas. We picked off 12 so far. What have you discovered that works to get rid of these buggers.

Okay the worms have it Topanga and Calabasas. We picked off 12 so far. What have you discovered that works to get rid of these buggers.

@KingShark

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Itā€™s all right here in this topic @KingShark

Lol :sweat_smile: we post at the same time @bob31

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Yeah, I saw that @Niala

hard to believe with the thousands of posts on here that we would wind up on the same one at the same time with almost the same exact info!

Lol :sweat_smile:, hard to believe, indeed, I just had a notification, lol :wink: :innocent: :v:

Maybe synchronocity :wink: :innocent:

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Eeewwwww. @Trav I know thatā€™s a girly responseā€¦but eeewwwww! Spiders creep me out with all those hairy legs and beady eyes.

Hey Trav looks like you have a fine solution!

Got home a few hours ago and hung out with the girls to find 4 more of the devils burrowing into my buds. Sprayed em again with spinosad then going to do another round of Dipel Sunday (think that is BT). Got too big a spread to cover like you did without the neighbors seeing it.

Just need 3 or so more weeks to bring in the harvestā€¦guess nothing worth doing is easy eh?

Iā€™m going to have ā€œPTCSā€ from now on clearly :slight_smile:

Good Luck to all my friends!!!

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@DaGoose @AnneBonny
Yeah the BT worked out real well, and I have spotted a few spiders guarding their little spots amongst the buds.
There was a time where I wasnā€™t a huge fan of spiders, but after Iā€™ve met some of the pests that they eat, the spiders are more than welcome in my yard!

I came back from out of state about a month ago and discovered my 2 week old orange tree sprouts had been chewed almost to death. I was pretty bummed since they grow super slow and it seemed like the culprit was nowhere to be foundā€¦ Until I looked closer, I hadnā€™t noticed the little tiny spider that had killed a LITTLE GREEN CATERPILLAR (yes just the same as my weed plants) and had it hanging on the side of a solo cup. Thatā€™s the moment I welcomed spiders into the yard. Donā€™t get me wrong, I donā€™t want to be surprised by a spider & web to the face on the way to the trash can at night, but I think we can all get along with a bit of effort.

During the 2 weeks we were gone, a family of brown widows had moved in. Normally, I take out black widows just because I donā€™t want to stick my hand into something and get bit. Brown widows are like the timid cousin of a black widow. These girls were so pretty, and had just eaten the pest that tried killing my baby trees-- I couldnā€™t bring myself to kill them, even though they were right there where I grab the pots to move the plants. Anyway, within a day they had moved to places where they wouldnā€™t be disturbed so much, so any ā€œdangerā€ of being bitten was gone.

Well in true noob fashion, I ignored the fact that a caterpillar was in my garden. Three weeks later theyā€™ve infested my buds! I should have started looking back then, but oh well I learned something.

Spiders are pretty cool if you give them the chance.

Anyhow just stoned and thinking :slight_smile:

Brown widow through my jewelerā€™s loupe

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Me and spiders have an agreement. If they leave me alone I will leave them alone! Lol.

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I know, youā€™re right. They serve a purposeā€¦for the greater good of our plants (I have a lemon tree so I understand your frustration with your orange tree). Thankfully we donā€™t have black widows here (that I know of). Just the occasional brown spider. And Iā€™m glad they helped with you caterpillar issue. I will try to adopt @bob31ā€™s philosophyā€¦

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Idk, worth a try, Iā€™d guess. You can get small table top size ones. I put mine in the front of my house because my back sliding glass door has a gap where I put the dog door & all kinds of flying critters try to come in. Seems to help, when I remember to plug it back in after mowing the grass, lol.

Thatā€™s a pretty one! We have brown recluse here in AL & the occasional black widow. Iā€™m with @bob31 if they catch bugs to keep them outta my house they can stay. Itā€™s the half dollar sized brown recluse I found on my bathroom wall right next to where I reach for TP that was escorted to a hasty death.

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How about if you spray painted the net w camo colors?

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I had one (praying mantis) on my front storm door the other day. It was about 8 inches, biggest one Iā€™ve ever seen.

Heā€™s uggggly! Ewwww

Just spoke with a local So Cal San Fran Valley nursery. The caterpillars are on the march. Besides the organic caterpillar spray that can be used up until harvest (he has in stock) he recommended getting a black light.

He said the caterpillars light up like a full moon when you use a Black Light on your plants at night.

Just wanted to pass that on to all.

Happy Caterpillar Hunting!

@Rugar89 @Manny_FTGUTube @bob31 @FloridaSon @Trav @KingShark @Screwauger @bruinsfan33 @Willd

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Just spoke with a local So Cal San Fran Valley nursery. The caterpillars are on the march. Besides the organic caterpillar spray that can be used up until harvest (he has in stock) he recommended getting a black light.

He said the caterpillars light up like a full moon when you use a Black Light on your plants at night.

Just wanted to pass that on to all.

Happy Caterpillar Hunting!