Does anybody know what this is? I picked seven of them off my tomatoes today they're about 2-4 Inches long and really hard to spot. Is there a good all natural way to get rid of/prevent them?
![[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/106/106092-ca910b7eb76232d7da66c416a4c74726.jpg?hash=bZojWHTE2c "[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!")
![[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/106/106093-49a763f93ef211c37e105f712332e361.jpg?hash=7-ZSdphUVe "[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!")
Giant tomato worm!
- Thread starter mattjm1017
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil. -
Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
- Status
Tomato Hornworms.
My method of control is pulling them off the plants and feeding them to my ducks. They don't last long once the ducks get a hold of them.
My method of control is pulling them off the plants and feeding them to my ducks. They don't last long once the ducks get a hold of them.
Here ya go...looks like this to me (I'm not a garden-type dude, though):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manduca_quinquemaculata
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manduca_quinquemaculata
Cut in half with pruners or pull off and step on them.
If they are loaded with little white egg casings some suggest leaving them be as that is a natural parasite.
I've seen them eat pepper leaves too.
If they are loaded with little white egg casings some suggest leaving them be as that is a natural parasite.
I've seen them eat pepper leaves too.
![[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/106/106117-017081f7a64e9c0bfa12951ca5d6babc.jpg?hash=wcTiC1-eF- "[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!")
![[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/106/106118-2c0a9df0abf98dabddfe6d6d8f2113ad.jpg?hash=HOnHnm24D- "[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!")
Thanks guys Ill be spending the weekend picking them off. Every time I go past the tomatoes I find another one or two now to find a way to naturally prevent them if there is such a thing.
Augie
Feeling the Heat
OK, this solution depends on what you think of pesticides.
Permethrin is a insecticide originally produced from chrysanthemums. Same thing used in Ortho Home defense, horse spray, and most flea and tick drops and sprays used on dogs, and when you buy clothing labeled as Insect repellent, Permethrin usually has been heat treated into the fabric. Incidentally you can make your clothing insect repellent on your own by spraying the clothing allowing it to air dry and "fixing" it by tossing it in a preheated dryer for a couple of min. The cheapest way to buy it is in horse spray concentrate from a farm store. Mix up some in a hand spray bottle. I use it on the dog, around the house, on my clothes, and in the garden whenever I see the telltale signs of the Hornworm. It is non toxic for human and and dogs but kills fish and makes cats sick. last for about 6 weeks around the house/foundation, week or two on the dog, abut a month on plants
Permethrin is a insecticide originally produced from chrysanthemums. Same thing used in Ortho Home defense, horse spray, and most flea and tick drops and sprays used on dogs, and when you buy clothing labeled as Insect repellent, Permethrin usually has been heat treated into the fabric. Incidentally you can make your clothing insect repellent on your own by spraying the clothing allowing it to air dry and "fixing" it by tossing it in a preheated dryer for a couple of min. The cheapest way to buy it is in horse spray concentrate from a farm store. Mix up some in a hand spray bottle. I use it on the dog, around the house, on my clothes, and in the garden whenever I see the telltale signs of the Hornworm. It is non toxic for human and and dogs but kills fish and makes cats sick. last for about 6 weeks around the house/foundation, week or two on the dog, abut a month on plants
If you see the moths, squish them too. They lay the eggs.
Mom used to put moth ball in & around the garden,
don't know though.
Mom used to put moth ball in & around the garden,
don't know though.
Same caterpillar as the corn earworm, hornworm. One of those can defoliate a tomato plant in no time. I've never had more than three one season on my plants, and that was bad enough. Generally there aren't enough to make just handpicking and drowning in soapy water or squishing a problem. They blend in, but once you know they are there they aren't hard to find. And once they've been there about 1/2 hour they are darn easy to find thanks to their rapid defoliation.
IF you have lots of them, you can try bug juice. Pick as many as you can find, put them in a blender (a junk one, not one you use for food), add water and blend. Dilute and spray on the tomato plants. The idea is that they will contain and spread diseases that the hornworm is susceptible to. Works with most bugs. Will get any it touches, and will wash off the plants with the rains...which should be almost immediately this year.
IF you have lots of them, you can try bug juice. Pick as many as you can find, put them in a blender (a junk one, not one you use for food), add water and blend. Dilute and spray on the tomato plants. The idea is that they will contain and spread diseases that the hornworm is susceptible to. Works with most bugs. Will get any it touches, and will wash off the plants with the rains...which should be almost immediately this year.
Just found one covered in big white bumps Ill leave it and see what happens I hit two with a propane torch today and squished a bunch yesterday. My step mom said to cover my plants with sevin dust but I just cant stand the thought of pouring that stuff directly on something Im going to eat. I know all the stuff from the store has been chemically treated but thats why I wash the hell out of it and dont eat the skins of most fruits and veggies.
I saw one of those moths yesterday when I was almost 50' up in a red maple. Went to grab a branch and reposition myself for making a cut and I grabbed it, it was blended in with the bark so good you really had to look to find it. It was around 3-4 inches long.....I knew it wasn't a luna moth, but was unsure what it was until I saw this thread......
I left the damm thing live, had I known what it was I would have eradicated it.....
I left the damm thing live, had I known what it was I would have eradicated it.....
The white things are Braconid Wasps. That horn worm (s) is/are goners.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-04_braconid_wasp_on_hornworm.htm
![[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!](/talk/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Faggie-horticulture.tamu.edu%2Fgalveston%2Fbeneficials_images%2F1b_mid-sizes%2Fbeneficial-04A-GCMGA14623_braconid_wasp_small.jpg&hash=b49c337271c49cab15eebc11076abaf0 "[Hearth.com] Giant tomato worm!")
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-04_braconid_wasp_on_hornworm.htm
I know that's what the books say...leave the hornworm when it is like that cause all those beneficial wasps will hatch...meanwhile, how much of the tomato plant/how many tomato plants will the things eat before it dies? No one tells you that....
If I found one with eggs, I'd just put it away from my tomatoes and let them hatch there.
I use Dipel dust- an organic method, and I have only seen one in the several years that I've used this- and it was sickly and twitching. MWUHAHAhaha
I use Dipel dust- an organic method, and I have only seen one in the several years that I've used this- and it was sickly and twitching. MWUHAHAhaha
- Status
Similar threads
