Insects: The good, The Bad, and the Bugly

[Humanrob]

My biggest problem is Caterpillar’s.
They love eating my buds. How do you fight them!

First year I grew outdoors, no worms. Second year, lost a bunch of my best colas to worms. Third year, they ruined about 30-40% of the crop. Once the moths found us, they seemed to increase exponentially.

Now I grow under bug netting, ZERO worms. It would be more challenging with photos that can get to 8'+ tall, but with autos that stay under around 5' tall, the nets can be held up with simple PVC hoops.

There are some downsides/challenges to growing under nets:

They reduce the sunlight by around 20%, so if you are a backyard grower and already have limited sunlight, they will decrease available light even more.

When it does rain, the nets trap moisture which then can drip on the plants for a few hours after the rain stops, creating mold-inducing conditions. So now at the end of the season (when the rains come here) I am prepared to cover the top of the netting with plastic (leaving the sides open for air flow). Commercial "clear" plastic can cut another 20%(+/-) of the light, so I only use it when I need to.

Lastly, I think the netting does decrease airflow a bit, so again, towards the end of the season when there is more morning dew to cook off, I think it stays damp under there longer than if there were no netting.

All that said, I wouldn't go any other way. My girls get about 6-7 hours of direct overhead sunlight per day. With six autos under these nets I got over 2lbs. last summer, which is enough meds for us for a year.