Cutworms have the worst effect on younger marijuana seedlings. These pests can completely destroy them in just one night. They are a part of some moth species.
Cutworms are around one to two inches with soft bodies that are brown or gray in color. Some may have stripes or spots and have a tendency to curl into a ‘C’ shape if you touch them.
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Signs of cutworms
Cutworms like to attack the weaker, more vulnerable marijuana plants. They prefer to sneak around during the night or in dark areas because they are light sensitive.
Pull up a few inches of loose soil around the damaged plant and if you see little tiny balled-up rolls, then those are likely cutworms.
These pests curl around the bottom of seedlings and chew through the stems, basically beheading it. You can identify the presence of cutworms when you see the tops of your seedlings laying on the ground. It will look like they were just cut off.
Not sure if cutworms 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.
Also read Cannabis pests & bugs – Control and identification
How to get rid of cutworms
There are some things you can do at the time you are planting to ward off cutworms. Till your soil to reveal any cutworms. Make sure your garden has no grass and weeds when planting seedlings.
Using the correct nutrients and plant protector will get you a long way and your plants will have less chance of getting sick, in addition of being less vulnerable for pests and diseases. I have created multiple grow sets which features all you need in order to grow healthy plants from seed to harvest!
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- Everything you need to grow your plants!
- 20 feminized seeds
- Marijuana Fertilizer Set for 5-10 plants
- Plant Protector for 20 plants
Planting sunflowers near the borders of your garden will serve as a source of attraction for pests like cutworms and keep them away from your marijuana. If you ever see cutworms on the perimeter where your sunflowers are, immediately eradicate them. One way to get rid of cutworms is by drowning in a bucket filled with water and soap or gasoline.
Big blaster for marijuana plants
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.
Parasitic wasps and frogs will eat these things up. Mulching your planting site will welcome frogs during the night and they will eat cutworms, as well as all other pests who come out at night.
Want to make sure that you give your plants the best protection? I have created three various bottles to counter most diseases or pest in order to fight back!
Bergman’s Plant Protector
- Protect your plants from diseases and harmful pests.
- Consists of three 20 ml bottles
- Enough plant protection system supplies for up to 20 plants
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Marijuana pest control is something gardeners have had to deal with for centuries. Whether they are birds, insects, mammals, or even other humans, cultivated plants seem to have a target on their backs.
One easy way to get rid of them is by going out at night with a flashlight and simply removing them yourself. You can also sprinkle cornmeal in your garden too. Ants, fleas, cutworms and the like will feast on this but will fail to digest it, which causes them to swell up and die.
Know how to perfectly time your harvest so you can maximize your yield. Download our free mini harvesting guide.
List of marijuana plant sypmtoms
How to recognize marijuana plant symptoms caused by cutworms:
- Tops of the seedlings look like they are cut off
- Cutworms appearing as little round gray or brown balls in the soil
- Older plants are titling over and wilting
While cutworms can potentially be damaging to your plant, they are also very easy to remove. Don’t let the suckers kill your precious plants. Get them before they become a problem, or else you can kiss your plants goodbye.
Remember that plants with strong genetics have less change of getting sick and are less vulnerable for pests and diseases. So make sure to buy marijuana seeds from a trusted seed bank.
Faq about cutworms on marijuana plants
Do Cutworms affect younger marijuana seedlings very badly?
Yes, Cutworms are very dangerous for marijuana seedlings. They can completely destroy them in just one night.
What is the main sign of cutworms on marijuana plants?
Cutworms are light sensitive, so pull up a few inches of loose soil around the damaged marijuana plant and if you see little tiny balled-up rolls, then those are likely cutworms.
What’s the best way to control Cutworms on marijuana?
The best way to keep Cutworms away from your marijuana plants is to use Bug Blaster. It is a commercial product that will always to the job
Thanks for reading. Please leave comments or questions below and don’t forget to download my free grow bible
Happy growing!
Robert
Thanks alot
Never knew about the cornmeal thing. I never put any pesticides on something I’m consuming.
I’ve gots ants all over my property. It’s a problem. I also have dogs so the cornmeal thing is great cuz it won’t affect my dogs.
Will my plants recover after being attacked this late in the year being outside??
Your style is really unique compared to other people I’ve read stuff from.
Thank you for posting when you have the opportunity, Guess I will just bookmark this site.
I would like know do the caterpillar and hemp bores where do they go in cold rainy weather we cant find them bc it cold and rainy
My plants are a few weeks before harvest yesterday the top of a real nice bud just got our attention we grabbed it to look and it just feel off it was a little brown well brownish orange hairs on it. So we started looking around it cause it’s beautiful green sticky then a little more feel off we looked a little later again and finally found a worm living in the buds we cut the stalk of the plant is that enough or do I have to work about all the plants and the rest of that one in particular please help
Carolyn,
Any time you find worms in your buds, it is prudent to inspect all plants daily and remove all worms found. Late in the grow it is not advisable to spray anything, so I feel for you. Perhaps look into companion plants that might attract the worms during your next grow. Sorry I missed this last month. Happy growing 🙂
Got to try that cornmeal thing buds and realeztate incly
uded meanwhile plucking the basturds and watching them swim in acid gives me a rush
Its all about who will have the highest worm count heck make it a family challenge an annual event
Not good news here. After a really hot summer of 45 days above 100, plants were hit by worms in the buds again. I planted an early crop of autos that made a great smaller crop that will get me through the next year.
Finding the worms inside the stems or stalk and hollowing out the stem causing the tops to wilt. Cut one open and found dead worm inside it leaves brown deposits on the shoots. Any thoughts?
Andre,
It is hard to guess what type pf worm; If it is a worm , that has infested your plant. I advise you to join our Forum and post some pictures of you issue. We offer a Support ticket; Also. Check it out! 🙂
Hi there,
I ordered and received 10 seeds from ILGM, followed the instructions on the webside, 5 seeds came up and 5 didn’t do anything, left them in the little grow “sponges” anyway to see if they were just late bloomers but I noted just now that their are tiny white (almost see true/clear) worms in the grow ‘sponges”…. what the hell are those?
Anyone have a clue?
Thanks in advantage,
Andre
[…] Thankfully, it’s not too difficult to get rid of cutworms. Like some of the other pests listed here, they have a number of natural predators, so sometimes they’ll just go away without any extra intervention. Often, you can get rid of cutworms just by tilling the soil or planting sunflowers around the edges of your cannabis garden. Tilling is a good reactive measure, will the sunflowers are preventative, allowing you to keep cutworms out until the plants are big enough that you don’t need to worry about cutworms. Read more about Cutworms on marijuana plants […]
Eating the worms never came to mind, but since they ate the trichromes I thought about smoking a bunch of them alive. haha. Might still do it if they come back. Birds were helping on the stems but not inside the buds. Everyday 15 or so would come cleaning the plants of unwanted visitors not getting close to the sticky parts. Feathers were found occasionally in cleaning the medicine, a part of nature included. After the worms ate what they wanted mold set in on the stems. Those plants went in the green waste, that’s what they were. 8 years of cross breeding and carefully watching and testing in the trash. Temps over 100 were common so 25% died of stress. The thc level was dropping on those hot days I assume ? Plants bloomed too early, so I think auto flower ? Those genes might be in that batch of seeds being from ruderallis.
The worst year since 1970. Crop was a failure in 2014. Worms ate the buds from the inside, hard to see till clipping. Trashed huge buds from the waste inside, poop and dead worms. Medicine down the drain. Moths were around the garden the whole growing period. Bug lights got some but with an infestation like I had a loosing battle a 70% loss. Hope this year is better
Hi Johnny hopefully everything goes well this year. Keep us posted.
i had worms from from the gypsy moth again this year and i have been spraying neem oil since the spring,,and bt powder when my plants first started flowering,,,,,but i have the same problem this year,,,but the plants i put out last july didnt have the worms,,is it just some thing in the south??i tried to stagger the times i planted this year but im still having problems,,,,,,??????
yea
email [email protected] for issues with orders. This is a Grow Support blog; Not customer service. Thank You. 🙂
I had worms every year when the plants were in bloom. They would eat my buds and I swear I thought about eating them suckers but no! I don’t no much about the types of worms but my thinking is these types of worms come from flying things that lay and then boom that sucker is eating my stuff. So the remedy is and it is a little difficult but I did it and it worked Ok OK. All I did was Spray Water on the plants every day. All are gone.
In the beginning I saw moths flying out, after that nothing.
Just plain water ? Those little bastards love to dig into your Bud’s !!!! Have done a lot of manual inspection .Wish there’s a easier way .
You have to hand pick worms. Whoever told you that spraying water on them, was off…
I use this: https://www.amazon.com/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-10/dp/B00025H2PY/tag=greenrel-20
If that does not help you out. Join our support forum for many more opinions, expert advice.
[…] Cutworms […]
i will try the corn meal i will put it all over and on the buds