Yuck! They will be showing up soon as they do every year. Is there a way to prevent them from coming and attacking the tomato's? They make me lose my appetite for eating the tomato's we wait patiently for every year!
Tomato Hornworms
They eat the leaves, not the tomatoes, so the fruit is still OK. But they will annihilate a tomato bush fast. I just pick them off and give them to the birds. But for those who are more squeamish, you can use Bt WHEN THEY ARE SMALL - it doesn't work on them when they are large and getting ready to pupate. You spray the plant, they eat the leaf, and the Bt (a bacteria) enters their gut causing them to stop eating. You do not have to spray the worm, only the plant. This Bt is toxic only to caterpillars, and anything eating the caterpillar is not affected. Don't use it in a butterfly garden, or on plants that support the larvae of butterflies. It does not distinguish between good caterpillars and bad caterpillars.
Some commercial names are Green Light Bio-worm killer and Thuricide. There is a powder formulation called Dipel.
Thank you for the information. It seems like one day they're not here and then all of a sudden they are and they are big! I never can understand where they come from all of a sudden. Are they present when they are little and I'm just not noticing them?
Yes! Keep a lookout for chewed on leaves, and the tell-tale sign of black poop. They are very difficult to see, even when they are huge.
Great, looking forward to it....NOT!
Ah - think of it as a challenge: You vs hornworms. ;-D
Ok, I'll keep that in mind as I'm using a big long stick to try to flick them in a bucket!
Do you know what they turn in to, if anything? Some sort of moth?
Yes, a clear wing moth, similar to the hummingbird moth. Good luck with that long stick. They are very hard to knock off. If they are on a leaf, you could cut the leaf off and let them fall into the bucket. Or put on some garden gloves and pick them off... It gets easier after awhile.
Post a Reply to this Thread
More Garden Pests and Diseases Threads
-
Disease Identiciation on Red Twig Dogwood
started by roberca1
last post by roberca1Mar 09, 20242Mar 09, 2024 -
Something eating my bougainvillea
started by Duegen
last post by DuegenJan 04, 20240Jan 04, 2024 -
Something wrong with by Broccoli!
started by TGardener17
last post by TGardener17Apr 19, 20242Apr 19, 2024 -
Something eating my bougainvillea
started by Duegen
last post by DuegenMar 09, 20241Mar 09, 2024 -
Salvaging a fir tree from armillaria
started by kellogs
last post by kellogsMar 16, 20240Mar 16, 2024