Cannabis is not only delightful for humans, but the skinny leaf eating caterpillar loves it too. Caterpillars come from butterflies and moths that lay their eggs during the budding season. When caterpillars get hungry, they have plenty of cannabis leaves and buds to choose from. If you don’t regulate with an effective cannabis caterpillar killer, the problem occurs when they poo. This poo, also known as “frass” is the excrement of the caterpillar and is harmful to the buds of cannabis. The reason for this, is caterpillar poo is loaded with nutrients. In some places where caterpillars and butterflies flourish, it will literally rain poo leaving the droppings to fertilize the soil below. Nutrients and fertilizer are usually hot and when placed on the bud by the caterpillar via their excrement, it proves costly to the fragile cannabis buds.
Check out the photos below of caterpillars on our plants, caterpillars can wreak havoc on any plant or any experienced gardener.
Cannabis Caterpillar Killer
The best way to get rid of caterpillars is to use Bacillus Thuringiensis. BT is organic and burns off quickly with the sun. It is best to apply in the early evening, say around 3-5pm as it is harmful to honey bees unfortunately. How BT works is it attacks the caterpillar once they eat it. Upon digesting the BT, their lifespan has an expiration date set and it’s SOON. The way you know a caterpillar has digested the insecticide, they begin to turn a darker, more “spottable” color. As seen in almost all the photos above, caterpillars are normally very difficult to spot. When they digest the BT, they become much easier to find because they are no longer camouflage with their surroundings. It is the best cannabis caterpillar killer.
Spinosad is another option for treating caterpillars. Spinosad is a natural substance made by a soil bacterium that can be toxic to insects. It is a natural product and is approved by several agencies for organic gardening. Spinosad controls a larger range of bugs when compared to BT which only works on Caterpillars.