I had these stem boring 'pillers last year ā Had a few compromised stems break when they got heavy, and they munched into some buds as well which was pretty nasty. I donāt recall noticing them until flower last year, but they were probably there much earlier and I just wasnāt aware yet. This year I recognize the enemy!
Iāve been doing a neem and bt spray weekly as a preventative, but just realized I shouldnāt have stored the bt in the greenhouse, as it can be deactivated by high temps. Oops! I mighta cooked it.
Anyway, Iām considering spraying 2x week after I restock 'cause I donāt want these guys around during flower. The problem is not widespread yet, only two spots and gonna do a careful look-thru the whole grow tomorrow.
Anyone else have any hot tips on dealing with these?
Especially any thoughts on getting them out of the stem and treating the bore hole so it doesnāt become an entry point for rot or mold!
When I top larger stems that are hollow inside, I spray the mix into the stem. You might try injecting some of the mix into the bore hole, but if the worm dies in there, youād have a decaying worm carcass in the stem. Iām not sure what other problems that might cause.
Thanks @Tracker that looks like a broad spectrum mix. Am I right that all of those are bacterial? Do you spray that during flower?
Yeah, tough call dead bug in the stem may be a problem too, but a live one keeps shoving damp chewed plant matter out the bore holeā¦ itās a tossup.
I have used a razor to slit the stems of squash plants along the length, and pulled them out. It āworkedā in that the plant didnāt flat out die, but I donāt know if I actually helped any.
Never done it to potnplant, I would also be concerned about rot from opening a stem up like that.
I do not apply sprays during flower. I apply weekly up until the end of the stretch when bud formation starts. Then, I keep my fingers crossed until the end. I do outdoor, so I always end up with some blemishes.
@roosterhash not sure of the name of the moth, but it is in the same family that lays eggs on and bores into the silks and ears of corn. i have seen people use small flexible wires like pipe cleaners to gently probe in there and kill or remove the worm. a good imp spray [insect mold pest] is your best bet. lots of formulas out there i use neem agisil aloe mix once a week and after any rain on my outdoor and it seems to work. the agisil /protec keeps the powdery mildew away. my receipt for 1 gal sprayer. mix 1 table spoon of neem oil with 1 tea spoon of agisil / protec or silica of choice in a shot glass until emulsified. [whipped butter like] fill sprayer bottle with very warm water which helps mix up the neem when it is added. mix 1/4 tea spoon 200x aloe vera powder to the warm water. shake well. this is both a wetting agent to help this spray stick to leaves and also good root stimulant. once aloe is mixed in add the emulsified neem/silica and shake well. spray plant thoroughly and continue shaking sprayer during use. good luck and enjoy your grow.
A guitar high E string jammed in the hole and up the stem was my weapon. They always seem to bore up. You can feel the string pop them, itās quite satisfying!
I never had a problem leaving the corpses in the stem, or bothered to plug up the hole.
I did learn to stake up any damaged branches, they can break when the buds chunk up.
Thanks gang! I re-upped my sprays, pretty sure I cooked the Bt I was working with, itās been well over 90Ā° in the greenhouse where I kept it. I found 2 more bore holes but with no new insect frass coming out itās looking like the spray has done the trickā¦ but Iām watching like a hawk. Currently using Neem oil, Bt, and spinosad, will add some GFF when I get ahold of it ā PM/Botrytis season incoming!
@mainerJ that too! Forgot to mention it, but I do a little AgSil and 200x aloe in anything Iām spraying, itās great! I forgot it the other day and could immediately see the difference in how the droplets bead up on the leaf without a wetting agent.
I read similar somewhere and started to give this a try, but like you suspected itās no good for weed, the stems are just too woody ā you can make an incision but not effectively pry it open. Probably have to absolutely wreck it to get in there. I quit while I was ahead!
@mainerJ & @HorseBadorites, Pipe cleaners / guitar string, now weāre talking! 'll give that a shot if I find another live hole.
Hey folks, following up here, I just did a thorough inspection and Iām happy to say it looks like the 'pillars are under control ā no new holes since around the time I changed my spray mix, and any holes I see have no new frass or debris coming out. Seems like I got 'em!
Iām at or around the end of stretch now, with some of the earlier plants budding up, so I wonāt be spraying any more. Fingers crossed from here on out!
