How to get rid of Caterpillars

Caterpillars are larva from butterflies and moths. They wake up hungry and eat nonstop until they are ready to metamorphosis into a moth or butterfly. These harmless, but destructive creatures come in many different colors and sizes. You usually find them during the summer and fall months of the year. There are many different ways to treat caterpillars. In this section, you will learn how to get rid of caterpillars fast and safe!

Pick by Hand

For small outdoor grows, it may be possible to search out caterpillars and remove by hand. This is an ideal method because it requires no spraying! However, it is very challenging to locate these unwanted guests. Caterpillars blend in and a very hard to locate. If you are adamant to hand removing your caterpillars, more power to you! Just know and expect that you will probably miss one or two or ten. To locate, try and identify areas where you see caterpillar damage or caterpillar poo. Those are the best spots to start looking. If you find an area like that, remove all the damaged foliage and caterpillar poo. Try and clean that area up to avoid bud rot and mold.

DIY Home Spray

Garlic to the rescue? Some growers claim that mixing garlic powder and water does wonders against caterpillars. I have also found this to be true. I think they dislike the strong taste of garlic. You can also try dish soap or vinegar solutions to deter caterpillars infestations. Soapy water sprays work great against a number of pests. Vinegar sprays also work, but should be applied cautiously because it can burn foliage. Before purchasing an organic pesticide, try making a DIY spray.

Bacillus Thuringiensis

Bacillus Thuringiensis or BT for short is a natural occurring soil microbe that disrupts the digestive system of caterpillars. The EPA has found that BT has no effect on humans. But I play it safe; in fact I always avoid spraying around harvest. I read somewhere that BT can last between 24 hours and 22 days depending on conditions. So try to avoid spraying for at least 3 weeks before harvesting. I have used BT on just about all my outdoor grows and it works wonderfully. I spray it regularly because sunlight breaks it down rapidly. In fact, the directions on the bottle say to spray once a week.

Spinosad

Spinosad is another option for treating caterpillars. Spinosad is somewhat similar to BT. They are both soil bacteria that occur naturally. It works well against caterpillars, but also does good against other pest like spider mites, thrips, ants and more.

Where to Buy

BT is affordable and available online and locally. It comes ready to spray or in concentrate.
Spinosad also is very affordable and easily purchased. It also comes ready to spray or in concentrate form.

When to Spray

There are two good reasons to avoid spraying in the morning or mid day. First, spinosad and BT both degrade rapidly in sunlight. Second, you want to avoid spraying or infecting our precious bee’s and other beneficial bugs.

Final Thoughts

I hope this short blog helped! If you have any questions, please post them in the comment section. If you are interested in learning more about growing cannabis, please check out my blog. Here are a few of my most recent: