by Nebula Haze
Spooky horrors from the cannabis grow room…
Boo! 👻 It’s almost Halloween, and while the world prepares for trick-or-treating, I wanted to share some spooky horrors that can haunt your cannabis garden. Brace yourself as we descend into the Garden of Horrors!
What unexpected villains might be lurking in your cannabis grow room?
The Werewolf in the Grow Room
Quick Summary: The adorable puppy you brought home apparently developed a taste for cannabis leaves! You look away for one minute and somehow in that time your precious plants have been chewed to bits. Hint: Other common cannabis-eating pets include cats and bunnies.
Beware pets eating your cannabis plants!
Grower’s Tip: Keep your cannabis plants secure from pets. In the example below, the puppy was only able to get in because the grow tent door was left open. Always close everything up (and shut the door behind you) to ensure that your furry friends don’t get hangry on your garden. Remember, pets don’t know the difference between a chew toy and a cannabis plant. It’s not their fault they love cannabis, too. It’s up to you to keep plants safe from potential predators, including the cutest ones!
This grower knew his puppy (the “werewolf”) had visited when he saw dirt outside the grow tent…
But nothing could have prepared him for the horrible sight inside. The plant devastation was beyond belief. There wasn’t a single survivor of the attack.
The Ghostly Bug Infestation
Quick Summary: Mealybugs are white flat bugs with tons of legs, which leave bits of white fluff everywhere. This leaves your plants looking like they’re haunted by creepy ghosts. Think of mealybugs as tiny Caspers that haunt your plant and litter them with fluffy white puffs.
You notice white fuzzy spots on the buds. Huh…
On closer inspection, you see what looks like a ghost bug from hell! Mealybugs look like they arrived from another world.
Grower’s Tip: As with any cannabis pest, the hardest part is often identifying the bug. Once you know what pest you’re dealing with, you can choose to use whatever cannabis-safe insecticide or other solution that is effective against that type of bug. Luckily, you’ve already figured out the species here.
Quick overview to get rid of mealybugs: Spray off all the bugs and fluff you can with a water sprayer if that’s an option. Then treat plant with something like insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, or alcohol/water solution. Be careful not to go overboard. You can also dust the area around the plants and top of soil with Diatomaceous Earth, which kills soft-bodied insects that walk over it. Some growers introduce beneficial insects like ladybugs. Learn how to get rid of mealybugs here (complete tutorial)!
Don’t leave your cannabis plant haunted by mealybugs!
The Bloodsucker’s Webbing
Quick Summary: In this haunted house, the cobwebs aren’t from spiders, but the tiny plant-sucking vampires known as spider mites. Spider mites are attracted to a hot, dry environment. They start by leaving bite marks all over the leaves, which look like tiny round spots. If spider mites gain in numbers, their coven starts turning your cannabis plants into webbed monsters. Don’t let your plants celebrate Halloween in a mess of webbing, act quickly to get rid of spider mites!
A disturbing photo of a cannabis plant that looks like a webbed veil was laid over the top. Spider mites did this!
Grower’s Tip: Similar to mealybugs, the important thing here is to choose a remedy that’s proven to work well for spider mites. This cannabis pest can be tough to get rid of (especially if you got them from another cannabis garden) so you’ll want detailed instructions. Learn how to get rid of spider mites for good here.
Spider mites turn your beautiful buds into a horror show. Image Source: Whitney Cranshaw
The Biblical Grasshopper Plague
Quick Summary: This one is actually outside, and (hopefully) can’t happen in a grow room, but it’s so terrifying I had to include it in the list. Just look at the pictures below! A huge portion of this field of cannabis plants was stripped clean by grasshoppers. It’s something out of my nightmares. Talk about munchies of “biblical proportions”.
Grower’s Tip: For outdoor growers who see the first sign of grasshoppers, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Get rid of grasshoppers before they gain in numbers. Consider using cannabis-safe insecticides or adding beneficial insects to protect your plants. You can also physically protect cannabis plants with row covers, which are like light mesh blankets you hang over your plant. They let in light and water but not most bugs including grasshoppers and caterpillars. For more detailed instructions,check out the full tutorial on how to stop grasshoppers.
A barren cannabis field with a lone grasshopper’s silhouette on branch that was eaten to the bone. Apparently this little bugger got full and stopped to take a nap 😠
These cannabis plants were almost completely eaten up by grasshoppers. A horrifying loss.
To add insult to injury, grasshoppers also leave poops on your plants. A true monster!
The Foxtail Phenomenon
Quick Summary: Heat or light stress can can buds to grow long strange-looking growth known as foxtails. No, your cannabis plant isn’t dying and the buds are still safe to smoke. Your bud is just growing in this way because that part of the bud was suffering from stress!
Grower’s Tip: Keep your grow lights the recommended distance away (how far to keep cannabis grow lights?). Reduce the power or move lights further away if you see foxtailing. Use a thermometer to keep track of temperature and make sure to do something if it’s getting too hot. Your grow space should be under 85°F throughout the grow for the fastest growth, and under 80°F in the late flowering stage to maximize bud quality.
A cannabis bud with a freakish-looking foxtail. It may look like a nightmare, but these are totally harmless. It’s just a regular bud growing in a funny shape out of heat or light stress.
Modern LED grow lights are powerful and can cause foxtails when kept too close to plants, even if it’s not hot. The top skinny part of this bud is a foxtail. Light stress has strange effects!
Pharaoh’s Fungus: The Curse of White Powdery Mold
Quick Summary: Your buds are turning into moldy mummies due to a mold called white powdery mildew (WPM for short). It’s as if King Tut’s curse descended on your plants and wrapped them in a powdery shroud.
These white powdery patches are actually a type of mold called White Powdery Mildew.
Grower’s Tip: Keep the temperature under 85°F/30°C, humidity under 55% RH, and constantly give plants plenty of fresh moving air to keep molds and mildews at bay. Read the full white powdery mold tutorial.
WPM can appear all over your cannabis plant. It hates fresh moving air and loves warm, humid spots on the plant. A good environment is your best prevention against this annoying mold.
The worst is when the WPM curse turns your buds into moldy mummies!
The Walking Dead Buds (Re-Vegging)
Quick Summary: Light leaks during their dark period, short nights, and changing light schedules can cause your flowering cannabis plant to revert back to the vegetative stage (“re-veg”), turning your beautiful buds into zombie buds that will soon die as the plant leaves the flowering stage. Zombies might be fictional, but zombie buds are real and equally horrifying!
This plant was put out too early in the season and started making buds. The buds were getting close to harvest but when the days started getting longer, the plant reverted to the vegetative stage due to the short nights. As a result, all the once-vibrant buds turned brown and died. Image Source: Dave
Grower’s Tip: Once your cannabis plant starts making buds, ensure uninterrupted 12-hour dark periods every single day to avoid re-vegging issues. Learn more about re-vegging here.
The next plant had just started growing buds, but suddenly started growing smooth leaves at the top. The baby buds died. If you see new cannabis growth with smooth leaf edges, your plant is re-vegging and any buds are the “Walking Dead”. They’ll soon wither and die as your plant reverts back to the vegetative stage.
You survived! I hope you got a thrill from these spooky horrors…
You’ve reached the end of today’s journey through the Garden of Horrors. Although these issues might feel like vampires lurking in the shadows of your plants, remember that a little knowledge serves as both garlic and a stake against them.
Here’s a quick recap of today’s villains:
- 🐶The Werewolf in the Grow Room – Beware of pets who may try to eat your cannabis plants.
- 👻 The Ghostly Bug Infestation – White creepy mealybug infestation looks like a ghoulish haunting.
- 🕷️ The Bloodsucker’s Webbing – Spider mites cover your plants in a veil of webbing.
- 🦗The Biblical Grasshopper Plague – Grasshoppers can decimate entire fields of cannabis plants.
- 🦊 The Foxtail Phenomenon – “Foxtails” refer to long thin growths on buds that come from light or heat stress.
- 🍄 Pharaoh’s Fungus: The Curse of WPM – Patches of white powder appear on your plant due to heat, high humidity, and lack of moving fresh air.
- 🧟♀️ The Walking Dead Buds – All the buds turn brown and die once a plant starts re-vegging.
This article was written in good fun, but it’s never funny when actual horrors invade your cannabis garden. Luckily, simply follow the grower’s tips in today’s article, and you’ll permanently exorcise these ghouls from your garden!
Here’s to a Happy Halloween and even happier harvests!
Nebula Haze
Co-Founder of GrowWeedEasy.com
Looking for some awesome new cannabis strains to grow? Wondering where to buy marijuana seeds? There are lot of choices, but learn about the marijuana seed banks we recommend here: https://www.growweedeasy.com/seeds
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About the Author: Nebula Haze
Nebula Haze founded GrowWeedEasy.com with her husband Sirius Fourside in 2010. Since then, they have published hundreds of growing articles in print and online, taught hundreds of students via online courses, and have dedicated their lives to teaching people how easy it is to grow marijuana indoors.
Happy growing! ~Nebula Haze
