Caterpillar infected buds, smokable or not if i wash them?

Thank you all for your quick answering. I was afraid that this problem won’t be resolved due to washing. I will harvest tomorrow in first light and see how many colas are really affected and contaminated with caterpillar poop. What a shame for those big buds😩 but this is how it can be. I think 20% of the buds will be thrown away at the end. Sadly there will be some of the biggest amongst them.

I had a similar caterpillar infestation a couple of years ago, right before harvest. I tried everything to get rid of them but it was too late. I ended up harvesting a bit early and using the techniques folks here have described. Triple-washed with lemon water, etc. Even after all of that, there were some caterpillars dropping shoots during the dry. I couldn't believe it. I cured them anyway but the damage was done. Some buds were weirdly hardened and there were even some signs of poop still remaining here and there, and the taste was definitely off. I still have PTSD from it all 😅 I can see the little bastards hiding in buds even when they're not there. Anyway, good luck!

lol wash it with lemon water all you want... whatever you extract or squish is gonna have fecal matter in it. even a sieve would not prevent the contamination. so, how much are you willing to ignore... wash it well and you'll get anything visible off, but don't lie to yourself saying it is clean... even if you do a h2o2 wash, lemon wash then water wash 3-step process... still gonna eat or smoke shit in some amount. to put it in perspective, you enter a bathroom every day coated in fecal matter, so... at some point it is a small enough percentage of total, but if you don't know where that threshold is for your health, then it's just a guess as good as anyone else's. have fun smoking that fecal matter :P it's going to be at the back of your mind even if you choose to do it willingly, lol.

Infected parts soon be bud rot. Better no smoke, maybe even preventional trimming off ... If rain and you chop too big top it will have entrance for all diseases, so be wise, paper tape to cover if big wound, or even early harvest if you see any rot.