2017 was the year of the big pests

[zem]

I think that some of you might remember my thread about the rats in my growroom, I later found a dead baby snake stuck to a loose duct tape and some snake remains somewhere else but that was not so bad. I took a pic of it. after that some other newcomer which I never before encountered found its way in and that is the caterpillar! I never thought that it can be so resilient tough blatant destructive and what else! began to pluck them out manually thinking that I got em all, went all the way to finding cocoons here and there and then at harvest was tough. I had to wash them thoroughly in h2o2 and they are so well dug in that they I would be holding a stem of a bud submerged and they would float from inside it, one time a living moth floated out from its cocoon and another one tried to fly away as I was giving it a shower at the end. It got even worse when it was taking me too much time to wash them so I kept some hanging overnight and the next day I was finding crawling caterpillars in my drying room. Their cocoons survive on drying plants I also took a pic of a freshly cocooned caterpillar. They are very very tough creatures, if only they were not so slimy. Just wanted to share this bad experience at the end of the year, sort of let it out, hoping to not encounter any more beasts in the coming years, after I learned the hard way. Though, like at every happy ending to a story, the bud, turned out great!

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[Hackerman]

Dang, girl. I sure hope 2018 is better for you. LOL

Keeping the grow room sealed and clean is soooooo important.

I was talking to another person about his room and he uses HEPA filters and it's near 'clean room' quality.

He claims the pot tastes 10x better. He says you can see the dust, dirt, dander and so many other pollutants under a microscope. I think that might be a little overboard but, definitely a good idea to keep any grow room clean and sealed tight.

Good luck in 2018.

 

[Rosebud]

Hi zem, zem is a dude hackerman. I thought i had it bad with mites. Woa, no snakes or rodents just horrible russet mites, Here is to a bug and varment free 2018.Mojo zem.

 

[Hackerman]

zem is a dude hackerman.

Oops, sorry. I guess something along the way gave me the idea he was a she. Hard to tell online, sometimes.

Either way, he/she/it had some tough times this year. LOL Better mojo for next year.

 

[RubyRed]

Zem is a Hermie? :giggle:


A wise Man once told me. " A clean room, is a GREEN room

 

[zem]

Yeah my mistake was that I had underestimated the problems that can arise in vegging. The rats had come in while I was keeping strains for months without flowering and the snakes normally follow to eat the rats. The dead rats got flies in and I suspect that a moth might have survived a while and before I was able to detect the caterpillars, I was way in flowering and they act very very fast. I am not sure whether the type of moth differs in whether the caterpillar is more or less aggressive but I know that the one that I was fighting was really tough and it was my first and hopefully the last experience with caterpillars. They dig into the bud under a leaf and twist it for cover and make cocoons there. I started looking for twisted leaves and I had to look closely and for long time which gave me headaches and after all that still failed to detect some that the h2o2 soaking flushed out. Both rats and caterpillars are quite easy to prevent them but once they infest a grow they can destroy it fast if left unchecked.

 

[Hackerman]

You sure sound like you learned a lot. I guess it's true what they say.... what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. LOL

 

[pcduck]

Jeepers Zem it was a rough grow year for you.
I put steel wool in all the places mice/rats can get in. I leave the snakes, they get rid of the vermin like you said. When I got Caterpillars, they got in from me carrying them in. They would land on me then get carried in when I would go check on the girls.
I use aem (activated Effective Microorganisms ) for pm. I have used milk, but aem is better and also good for the plant. The 3.9 ph of aem would rid the pm.:aok:

 

[dcooke431]

Jeepers Zem it was a rough grow year for you.
I put steel wool in all the places mice/rats can get in. I leave the snakes, they get rid of the vermin like you said. When I got Caterpillars, they got in from me carrying them in. They would land on me then get carried in when I would go check on the girls.
I use aem (activated Effective Microorganisms ) for pm. I have used milk, but aem is better and also good for the plant. The 3.9 ph of aem would rid the pm.:aok:

What did you use to kill Caterpillar

 

[zem]

What did you use to kill Caterpillar

Spinosad is quite effective ime