I have nice plants growing outdoors. The deer have not shown interest, but someone told me that they will eat the sweet flowers. Agggggghhhh! Truth or BS!?
They will eat it but i read that it gets less inviting to them as the plant gets more mature.
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Around here the deer go after the young tender seedlings. I’ve lost a few . 
I’ve never had them eat a mature plant or buds.
Usually as the plant ages and starts to smell they will leave things alone.
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My experience outside would be just the opposite I have had the deer come along and top them for me in veg stage. But I have never had them eat the buds. Once you get buds I feel like you are pretty safe with the deer. At that point you got to start thinking about the thiefs.
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I’ve had deer tracks right up to my plants and they have never touched them. They walk around them all the time but as far as I can tell, I have never seen a place where they’ve even taken a bite off any plants. I have four 6ft plants outdoors in the woods right now and the only thing that is messed with them is little bugs.
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What kind of insects should I be watching for in the Midwest?
I’m in the Great Lakes area and here we have to worry about caterpillars and moths, green aphids, leafhoppers, grasshoppers, and a few random smaller insects that like to eat leaves. I get a few leaves on my plants that are affected by insects, but I keep a steady supply of Captain Jack’s deadbug on them and don’t seem to have too much problem with bugs
Captain Jack’s? Where is that available? Is there something safe that is available at Lowe’s/Menard/Home Depot?
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Home Depot/Lowe’s should all carry it.
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Um deer will absolutely decimate a crop of cannabis! Like eat the whole crop in days. Say 30 plants! All but the stumps
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@Grizzlybare captain jacks has been amazing for my outdoor gals! I highly suggest it for outdoor bugs are bad this year! I got mine at lowes. Happy growing!
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Captain Jack’s contains spinosad, and spinosad isn’t approved for use on cannabis by the Oregon Department of Agriculture. I feel that they are at the forefront of research into toxicology of pesticides.
It’s a personal decision for you, but there are alternatives to applying spinosad directly to your plants. I apply BT to my plants weekly, and simply washing the leaves with water, water with vinegar, or water and citric acid, can do a lot to manage pests. I’ve also started introducing predatory insects into my pest control regime. It’s worth it for me, and we can talk more about that if you want.
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Is the BT Bacillus Thuringiensis?
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Yes it is.
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I will say that where I live, I have lots of deer and in 30 years of off and on outdoor growing, the one problem I never had is the deer eating my plants. Not saying they wont but maybe here they have better things to eat?
Do you use a pump sprayer to apply / wash with? There is no way I could do my plants by hand, thats way too much material! Currently Im using a 10 liter pump sprayer to do my garden with.
I have 3 different options. I have a $5 ZEP spray bottle for every application (BT, Citric Acid, pyrethrin*, etc) a $25 pump sprayer, and an in-line dosimeter-style system for my garden hose. It just depends on how much coverage I need. I do really like the in-line system with my garden wand, but it’s a whole process. I found the quick-disconnect fittings, like air connections but for water, save a huge amount of time and make me more likely to do the chores.
I’m also just getting in there and squashing bugs with my hands, first and foremost.
Home Depot sells battery powered sprayer backpacks and I might treat myself to one someday.
Note: I mentioned pyrethrin but I don’t use it on cannabis. I apply it to my vegetable crops as a sort of last resort, since it may kill beneficial insects.
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Will just spraying the plants with a mixture of vinegar and water do the trick? Not sure where citric acid is found. I have some soap with Citrus oil in it, but that wouldn’t seem right spraying a diluted mixture of that on my plants.
Any plant wash is just about breaking mechanical bonds and removing the pests from the leaves. Plain water works. pH 9.5 water works. pH 4.5 water also works. I won’t buy things marketed as “plant washes” anymore, especially ones that are targeted at the cannabis community; too many of them include regulated pesticides in order to make the “wash” seem more effective. There’s very little regulation of “plant washes.” So I make my own, saving money and gaining peace of mind.
I have a 10lb bag of powdered citric acid that I ordered off Amazon. It’s pretty inexpensive. You can buy Dr. Bronner’s Baby soap there too, which is unscented and ideal as a wetting agent.