seed slaya
Active Member
Brutal..
How To Deal With Beetle Stem Borers?
- Thread starter markexpress
- Start date
Brutal..
JJ05
Well-Known Member
you could of ran a stick down the inside n killed them, a long needle works well.
markexpress
Active Member
MY CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS DEALING WITH COMMON STEM BORER, SUMMER 2013
Hey guys! The Common Stem Borer season is now almost over. New infections have now stopped (July 20-ish) in my Ontario spot. Very soon, in a week or two (first-second week of August), borers already nesting inside plants will begin to leave (may cause mayhem/damage on the way out) and prepare for wintering in the soil. I can say with confidence that I have found solutions to this nemesis. I'll try to be short and simple - this is the summary of my 4-year battle with this fucking problem.
1. In south/central Ontario, Common Stem Borer (CSB for short) starts infecting garden plants with wide stems in the second week of June. Last infections happen in late July. Borers start exiting plants (typically by making another exit hole or holes) in early August.
2. Common Stem Borer (CSB for short) has a particular preference for marijuana plants, its "delicacy". CSB's are present in wilderness areas with tall grass and thick stemmed weeds and certain fast-growing species of trees (yes, trees!). From experience, infections can reduce harvest potential on infected plant on average by 25-50%.
3. Check your plants at least twice a day! Borers are mostly active at night (MOSTLY, BUT NOT ALWAYS) - keep that in mind! The earlier you notice a problem, the sooner it can be fixed. Every hour passing is CRITICAL.
3. Cutting down your infected valuable plant is often a bad idea. I do NOT recommend it. In most cases, the more you cut off, the less you will get back - talking from experience here. Chances are if there's a borer inside, then there's MORE in the area so all you doing is just senselessly killing your plant. I cut a plant down just past the first node [multiple times] and it never grew to the size of others. I regret cutting them. Topping it, on the other hand, may be fine, just do it as last resort. Cutting stem exposes it to long-term serious threat of infection and/or attack by ants, spiders, fungicide, mold and other pests.
4. SUPPORT your plants just before the infection season begins. Hollow infected stems can easily crash with wind. When/if stems do crash, do not hurry with cutting them off the plant, unless they are heavily wilting! Do as much as you can to use multiple posts and a bunch of string to right the stem back up from at least two sides. 75% of the time the stem HEALS BACK. I learned that this year. Just make sure to monitor the spot regularly and apply insecticide powder, anti-fungicide, anti-mold spray (3% hydrogen peroxide and add 1% portion liquid antibacterial soap) when needed.
5.The only product that I've seen that works well against the CSB is Worry Free GardenTech Brand Dust Shaker Pest Control, Garden Tech Sevin 5% Dust and the liquid Worry Free GardenTech Brand Concentrate Pest Control. PS - makes sure that the only way pests can climb up your plants if by stem - avoid having other plants/grass/trees touching your plants. Borers are relentless are will keep searching a way to get on your plants. Work as hard as you can to prevent borer infection for their full potential.
Why dust? CSB cannot be killed by insect sprays in the garden. Those dry up quickly or dissipate. Only direct contact with insecticide (a GOOD amount) can kill this relentless pest. A good FINE DUST layer of pesticide just around the stem and lower half of the stem (SAFE to be applied to stem as well!) most often works to REPEL and/or DISORIENT the borer. It DOES NOT kill the borer right away, no insecticide does. It takes about 12-24 hours for the borer to die. I did controlled tests and experiments (there's no shortage of borers in my area). DO NOT apply insecticide to the leaves or to the whole plant. It is common knowledge that insecticides significantly slow down the growth of plants by clogging them. The dust will need to be applied EVERY DAY, thats right. Why? Because moisture and the sun cooks it into cake form, which is not effective. FINE DUST comes into unavoidable contact with the borer. Check your entire plants REGULARLY (morning and nights are best) for the disoriented borers that are trying to shake off the dust. Kill them, don't toy with them (they are good escape artists).
Why liquid? If the borer ends up inside, you MUST respond ASAP before the borer starts laying eggs inside and causes more damage. The longer you wait, the more damage is done and the harder it becomes to kill the borer. Borers typically move up first when they get inside a plant. Buy a bunch of diabetic needles, inject the liquid version of this product (do not dilute it!) as high up the hollow stem as possible. Try to figure out how far the borer went, either using a long grass blade, thin metal string, or probing the stem with the needle (do not stab the stem too many times!). Inject as much of the product inside the borer holes and the stem as you like. As long as the borer comes in contact with the liquid. I never seen damage to the plants from the liquid. Do this as early as possible, before the borer lays eggs inside. When you stop seeing borer poop outside the stem and around the plant then it means the bug is dead (those are NOT eggs - eggs are laid inside, borer releases its poop on the stem and around the plant in a way to tell other borers to fuck off its turf). Collect the borer poop and put it around the stem of uninfected plants as effective repellent (works for short amount of time). A few borers attempt to leave the plant and die outside. Most die inside the stem. That's fine, just make sure that the stem heals itself - apply that dust to the wounded area to deter other pests. Apply fungicide as well if necessary.
If the plant is infected, you can try using a durable grass blade or a specialized aluminum/metal string to reach inside and force out or kill the borer. This method only works if the borer got inside the plant within the recent couple hours. Try figuring out with a string or a glass blade (probing inside) as to how far the borer has gone. Use a durable thin metal or aluminum string (try to find some!!!) and force inside the stem at the furthest extent of the borer stem shaft. Use another one to prevent borer from going south of the hole. Gently and slowly push it in until you see the borer near the hole, going from the top down. Now remove the borer. Anyway, there's many methods of removing the borer manually - figure them out yourself. Be careful with the stem, don't cause too much damage or it will be prone to disease later on. Inject the liquid, save the hassle.
RESULTS
Its easy to visually determine which plants were infected with borers - yields and plant size say it all.
25% of my big non-auto plants ended being infected. I lost two plants to collapse and disease caused by constant borer holes. Using the liquid injection method, I killed all borers in all big plants except one - I started injections two weeks later and the stem is too thick I guess and injections were tougher to administer and didn't succeed.
60% of my autos were infected. I am going to give them a dose of the liquid injection this week, just in time before they exit and run away for next season.
GOOD LUCK GUYS! I hope my experience helps you all! Please let me know how it worked for you!!!
Hey guys! The Common Stem Borer season is now almost over. New infections have now stopped (July 20-ish) in my Ontario spot. Very soon, in a week or two (first-second week of August), borers already nesting inside plants will begin to leave (may cause mayhem/damage on the way out) and prepare for wintering in the soil. I can say with confidence that I have found solutions to this nemesis. I'll try to be short and simple - this is the summary of my 4-year battle with this fucking problem.
1. In south/central Ontario, Common Stem Borer (CSB for short) starts infecting garden plants with wide stems in the second week of June. Last infections happen in late July. Borers start exiting plants (typically by making another exit hole or holes) in early August.
2. Common Stem Borer (CSB for short) has a particular preference for marijuana plants, its "delicacy". CSB's are present in wilderness areas with tall grass and thick stemmed weeds and certain fast-growing species of trees (yes, trees!). From experience, infections can reduce harvest potential on infected plant on average by 25-50%.
3. Check your plants at least twice a day! Borers are mostly active at night (MOSTLY, BUT NOT ALWAYS) - keep that in mind! The earlier you notice a problem, the sooner it can be fixed. Every hour passing is CRITICAL.
3. Cutting down your infected valuable plant is often a bad idea. I do NOT recommend it. In most cases, the more you cut off, the less you will get back - talking from experience here. Chances are if there's a borer inside, then there's MORE in the area so all you doing is just senselessly killing your plant. I cut a plant down just past the first node [multiple times] and it never grew to the size of others. I regret cutting them. Topping it, on the other hand, may be fine, just do it as last resort. Cutting stem exposes it to long-term serious threat of infection and/or attack by ants, spiders, fungicide, mold and other pests.
4. SUPPORT your plants just before the infection season begins. Hollow infected stems can easily crash with wind. When/if stems do crash, do not hurry with cutting them off the plant, unless they are heavily wilting! Do as much as you can to use multiple posts and a bunch of string to right the stem back up from at least two sides. 75% of the time the stem HEALS BACK. I learned that this year. Just make sure to monitor the spot regularly and apply insecticide powder, anti-fungicide, anti-mold spray (3% hydrogen peroxide and add 1% portion liquid antibacterial soap) when needed.
5.The only product that I've seen that works well against the CSB is Worry Free GardenTech Brand Dust Shaker Pest Control, Garden Tech Sevin 5% Dust and the liquid Worry Free GardenTech Brand Concentrate Pest Control. PS - makes sure that the only way pests can climb up your plants if by stem - avoid having other plants/grass/trees touching your plants. Borers are relentless are will keep searching a way to get on your plants. Work as hard as you can to prevent borer infection for their full potential.
Why dust? CSB cannot be killed by insect sprays in the garden. Those dry up quickly or dissipate. Only direct contact with insecticide (a GOOD amount) can kill this relentless pest. A good FINE DUST layer of pesticide just around the stem and lower half of the stem (SAFE to be applied to stem as well!) most often works to REPEL and/or DISORIENT the borer. It DOES NOT kill the borer right away, no insecticide does. It takes about 12-24 hours for the borer to die. I did controlled tests and experiments (there's no shortage of borers in my area). DO NOT apply insecticide to the leaves or to the whole plant. It is common knowledge that insecticides significantly slow down the growth of plants by clogging them. The dust will need to be applied EVERY DAY, thats right. Why? Because moisture and the sun cooks it into cake form, which is not effective. FINE DUST comes into unavoidable contact with the borer. Check your entire plants REGULARLY (morning and nights are best) for the disoriented borers that are trying to shake off the dust. Kill them, don't toy with them (they are good escape artists).
Why liquid? If the borer ends up inside, you MUST respond ASAP before the borer starts laying eggs inside and causes more damage. The longer you wait, the more damage is done and the harder it becomes to kill the borer. Borers typically move up first when they get inside a plant. Buy a bunch of diabetic needles, inject the liquid version of this product (do not dilute it!) as high up the hollow stem as possible. Try to figure out how far the borer went, either using a long grass blade, thin metal string, or probing the stem with the needle (do not stab the stem too many times!). Inject as much of the product inside the borer holes and the stem as you like. As long as the borer comes in contact with the liquid. I never seen damage to the plants from the liquid. Do this as early as possible, before the borer lays eggs inside. When you stop seeing borer poop outside the stem and around the plant then it means the bug is dead (those are NOT eggs - eggs are laid inside, borer releases its poop on the stem and around the plant in a way to tell other borers to fuck off its turf). Collect the borer poop and put it around the stem of uninfected plants as effective repellent (works for short amount of time). A few borers attempt to leave the plant and die outside. Most die inside the stem. That's fine, just make sure that the stem heals itself - apply that dust to the wounded area to deter other pests. Apply fungicide as well if necessary.
If the plant is infected, you can try using a durable grass blade or a specialized aluminum/metal string to reach inside and force out or kill the borer. This method only works if the borer got inside the plant within the recent couple hours. Try figuring out with a string or a glass blade (probing inside) as to how far the borer has gone. Use a durable thin metal or aluminum string (try to find some!!!) and force inside the stem at the furthest extent of the borer stem shaft. Use another one to prevent borer from going south of the hole. Gently and slowly push it in until you see the borer near the hole, going from the top down. Now remove the borer. Anyway, there's many methods of removing the borer manually - figure them out yourself. Be careful with the stem, don't cause too much damage or it will be prone to disease later on. Inject the liquid, save the hassle.
RESULTS
Its easy to visually determine which plants were infected with borers - yields and plant size say it all.
25% of my big non-auto plants ended being infected. I lost two plants to collapse and disease caused by constant borer holes. Using the liquid injection method, I killed all borers in all big plants except one - I started injections two weeks later and the stem is too thick I guess and injections were tougher to administer and didn't succeed.
60% of my autos were infected. I am going to give them a dose of the liquid injection this week, just in time before they exit and run away for next season.
GOOD LUCK GUYS! I hope my experience helps you all! Please let me know how it worked for you!!!
markexpress
Active Member
Hey man, wanna know something scary? Those are not the Common Stem Borers [nemesis] you got there. Looks like its European Corn Borer or another type. Well done with the kill, but looks like you had to sacrifice some of the plant's potential to do it
Those types of borers you got there rarely infect marijuana plants, its not their main choice. I experienced very few infections in my plants from corn borers (and other beige-red ones), even with a corn field couple hundred metres away.One Common Stem Borer will go through the length of the entire stem, they are much tougher to deal with. I don't have a 9-foot long needle or a metal string, haha.
japanese steel
New Member
I fucking hate bugs with a passion. I had 5 plants going and only 2 ended up being females and now these 2 girls are being attacked relentlessly by stem borers. It's fucking annoying.
MonkeyGrinder
Well-Known Member
If there's sawdust looking stuff around the hole you've probably got one in there.
I hate those little bastards with a passion. Although I haven't had any issues with potted plants.
They love autos.
On a side note they'll decimate a zucchini plant as well.
I hate those little bastards with a passion. Although I haven't had any issues with potted plants.
They love autos.
On a side note they'll decimate a zucchini plant as well.
mr buddy
Well-Known Member
I'm an indoor grower I haven't noticed any loose sawdust like mater2around the hole or plant I'm going up to check soon and gonna poke a toothpick inside . Then seal the hole up with tape
ALong14U
Well-Known Member
Holy shit balls! I have never seen anything like that! My climate is dry and I'm dilgent about no bugs in my whole house let alone my garden.
Where do these fellas live?
mr buddy
Well-Known Member
On very close inspection of what looks like a bore hole ... it isn't. . It's were I cut a stem and it had dryed up and I must have caught it and it fell off... just to be certain I got a toothpick and tried to insert it but it doesn't go anywere stick point just hits hard stem .. no hole . I did super impose my picture and it did look like a hole . But I can now rest lol .. all other plants checked and fine
mr buddy
Well-Known Member
They live in the stem ... and soil
ALong14U
Well-Known Member
Ha! Your a funny guy lol. I meant region? Probably should have mentioned that. But I'm burnt. So like northeast Southwest only in Canada! Lol guess I can find out myself. Damn I'm lazy lol.
mr buddy
Well-Known Member
I'm uk but was taking no chances. . But I believe there abundant in mercia. . Hahahhahahahah lmao .. only joking. .. I think it's mainly outdoor grows effected
ALong14U
Well-Known Member
mr buddy
Well-Known Member
Laws are terrible . No growing at all .. if you have upto 9 plants then it all gets confiscated any more and it's an arrest and charged
ALong14U
Well-Known Member
Little better than here. 1 plant can get you prison time if your not a medical patient. And if you are a patient the feds can still fuck you.
Nice grow journal to btw!
mr buddy
Well-Known Member
Shit in it yet the government grow it to use for medical purpose yet we get fucked. . THanks pal ..gotta catch us 1st lol
ALong14U
Well-Known Member
Yup lol. And I'm a runner!
mr buddy
Well-Known Member
How many u got on the grow at the moment
ALong14U
Well-Known Member
I'm not exactly sure at least 30. Give or take a couple. Lol. I inspect them daily and know how many I started with. Had a male. Gave up on a couple. Then got reinterested in them. I'll count tonight. See how many. I try to stay 30 or more at least. Shoot for 1gpw with 2k watts. 9 week cycles.