Caterpillars On Marijuana Plants

Caterpillars love marijuana plants! Corn Borer and Hemp Borer are the two most destructive caterpillars.

These pests will diminish the strength of your plant by eating away at the marrow inside the stalk causing stem cankers to form. If the plant is really infested it will breakdown.

Read this article and learn how to identify caterpillars on your marijuana plants and how to get rid of them.

Signs of caterpillars

All it takes is about five to ten caterpillars to demolish your plant. What’s even worse is that the hole Corn Borers carve into the stems creates an open doorway for other pests that will complete suck the life out of your marijuana plants. Hemp Borers will damage the buds (see picture).

You can easily identity their damage by the chew marks left on the leaves.

Download my free marijuana grow guide at this link for more growing tips

Stem boring caterpillars do their damage from the inside of the plant so, they can go undetected until it’s too late and the harm is done. Observe the plants stems to see if there are holes with brown trails around them. If you notice visible holes on your plant, then you most likely have a problem.

Not sure if caterpillars are causing the damage to your marijuana plants? Check the article Marijuana pest and bug control for a list with pictures of all pests and bugs

How to get rid of caterpillars

You can simply rely on nature to eradicate caterpillars by having parasitic wasps around. Mostly likely they will come all on their own as soon as the sense caterpillars are nearby. These wasps will lay eggs on the caterpillar’s body and when they hatch, the caterpillar becomes food for them.

Another way nature can assist you with this is the praying mantis. These insects love eating caterpillars and will remain until all of them are fully devoured.

When it comes to stem borers the only way to really get rid of them is to cut them out of the plant. If the plant doesn’t revive itself, then completely remove it by doing a clean cut at the bottom of the train. This will guarantee no further damage.

Download my free marijuana grow guide at this link for more growing tips

A commercial product like Bug Blaster will always to the job. If you want to be sure to kill them all buy something like Bug Blaster.

Neem oil spray is excellent for caterpillar control. Use this once the sun has gone down or on an overcast day. The sun will make the solution useless. Spraying the tops and base of the plants. Don’t overdo it, just cover it really good.

Making your own neem oil spray is easy, just pour 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons liquid dish soap into one gallon of warm water. Pour in one ounce of neem oil and shake well. This concoction will lose its strength after 4-8 hours, so it’s pointless to keep what you don’t use. Do this once a week until all caterpillars are gone. You can buy neem oil at a nearby garden center or get it online at this link here.

List of marijuana plant symptoms

– Holes with brown trails around them
– Chew marks on the leaves
– Yellowing on the top leaves
– Holes and damage to the stems

Remember caterpillars are marijuana lovers! If you see any signs of these, you definitely want to do something about it immediately. These pests will destroy and potentially suck all the life out of your plant.

Remember that plants with strong genetics have less change of getting sick and are less vulnerable for pests and diseases. So make sure you buy your weed seeds from a trusted seed bank.

Thanks for reading. Please leave comments or questions below and don’t forget to download my free grow bible

Robert

The founder of I Love Growing Marijuana, Robert Bergman is a marijuana growing expert that enjoys sharing his knowledge with the world. He combines years of experience, ranging from small-scale grows to massive operations, with a passion for growing. His articles include tutorials on growing... [read more]