tomato horn worm

[KQ6AR]

Anyone have any safe ideas other than finding them & pinching, do get rid of them.
They got 2 nice red tomatoes this week.

Dan

[Show-me]

Trichogramma wasps, only it won't help right away. Google it, you can buy the eggs and they will hatch out.

I hear if you go out at night the are more in the open munching away and you can hit them with a flashlight and pick them off.

[Walt McBride]

Would BT. work that Sundance is selling? It works well on wax moth larva.
I used to use sulphur dust to keep the horn worms down.
Walt

[dragonfly]

Bt should work, but I just pick them off the plant and throw them in the yard for the birds to eat. That's like a triple bacon cheeseburger for a bird;)

[Putz]

What is BT?

[dragonfly]

Bt is Bacillus thuringensis (I may have spelled it wrong);)
It's a bacteria that kills caterpillar-type critters. Works for webworms, corn earworms, and other such "worms". It also kills caterpillars of butterflies, so caution is advised not to just blanket-spray it.

[Bodo]

I hate those little green demons. I found a crew of them on my little tomato bush last week. I then preceded to persecute them.

Funny thing is that later that week I found a couple more on the plant with white pods on them. Being the curious guy I am, I channeled my Google fu and found out that a parasitic wasp laid eggs on them. Who am I to argue with nature? I left them on there, hopefully the wasps will keep my garden clear of any more of them.

[dragonfly]

I channeled my Google fu and found out that a parasitic wasp laid eggs on them. Who am I to argue with nature? I left them on there, hopefully the wasps will keep my garden clear of any more of them.


Yeah, I had the same experience last year, and haven't seen any hornworms yet this year. I think the deer is eating the tomato plants this year;) I don't think parasitic wasps can take care of that one;)

[Pooh]

The parasitic wasps are great. I nurture plants that attract the wasps such as all the plants that produce umbrella-like flower clusters such as yarrow, carrots (overwintered), cilantro, etc. Those that the wasps miss (which is not many) can be spotted by their large fecal deposits, collected and fed to chickens for great satisfaction:D. My white chickens will have a "bib" of green bug juice down their front on a hornworm pickin' day!

[KQ6AR]

Hi,
Thanks for all the help. The horn worm ran through about 4 tomato plants, & ate 6 or 8 large red tomatoes.
I've noticed its activity has ceased or slowed down, so I assume its turned into a moth & hopefully flown to the neighbors house.
There are a lot of asian paper wasps & bald faced hornets in the garden all day long hopefully they will take care of all the small ones they can find.

Dan

[Jeffzhear]

Those caterpillars come from eggs laid by hummingbird moths...once the eggs are laid, they hatch in a week and those horned creatures get to full size in a month or so.

[mike haney]

when my boys were young, i bought bottle rockets by the gross and let them tie the worms to them with thread. they had so much fun they raided the neighbors garden when we ran out. politically correct? NO! fun? YOU BET! they are now 29 and 32 and successfull and still laugh about "back in the days"

[mike haney]

Those caterpillars come from eggs laid by hummingbird moths...once the eggs are laid, they hatch in a week and those horned creatures get to full size in a month or so.jeff, are you saying tomato hornworms come from hummingbird moths? i never knew that! thanks

[TwT]

since bee's dont bother tomato blooms I do it the old fashion way, I spray my plants and havent had one in 2 years, we always called the cut worms but I have heard both, I use Triazicide I get from lowes by the quart, mix in sprayer with water and it kills all kind of insects, doesn't work to good on bee's though, moved a hive not long ago and the returning foragers went crazy stinging everyone within 100 yards, they just hunt for you and get you, I sprayed them with it and not much happened then I used soapy water and that worked fine.
Best stuff I ever used..

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=201143-316-201143&lpage=none

[trumpet01]

Catalpa worms and tomato horn worms make GREAT fish bait. Jim <><

[randydrivesabus]

BT works but you have to spray it before those hornworms get too big. BT Kurstaki.

[Sundance]

Bt Aizawai (Xentari) is also labeled for hormworm.

[BEES4U]

Wrong.
They move down to the soil and burrow in for the next year.
They have a habit that you can take advantage of. They migrate up into the plant when it is cool or cloudy and back down into the shade for hot days.
Give the B.t a try. It was develped for your critters.
BTY. We had a dog that would seek them out and pick them ofF the vine.
Regards,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries

[mike haney]

WOW people on this forum have some REALLY strange dogs! :) :)

[ScadsOBees]

Send them to my house! My boys have been yearning for them for a year now. They want to catch them, let them pupate and then get the big' 'ole moth for their bug collections. Last year he got one hatched but its wings got all messed up.

Finally this week I found three newly hatched caterpillars that were barely pencil-lead sized worms that the boys are working on feeding.

FYI, they do come from moths (make, metamorphasize into...) but you'll never see them since they fly at night.

I remember the first time my (then)fiance now wife the first one she ever saw...I thought I'd step on it to squish it, and did it ever squish...squirted nasty green stuff about 4 feet right onto her new bright white canvas shoes.

Rick

[Angi_H]

I pick them off every Day. Being all orgainc here My chickens and ducks and turkeys go crazy over them. Putting plastic mulch under the plants prevents them from going down into the soil for wintering over. I did that last year and this year they are alot less active. I get the used silage plastic from the dairys or the hay plastic. All they do it toss it anyway. Also I have bees that have been working my heirloom tomatoes so dont say that bees dont work tomatoes because I have personally watched them go from flower to flower. So dont spray the tomatoes especially if you have bees in the yard as when the tomato plant is watered the spray leaches into he ground where the bees will drink from the wet soil and it gets into here systems.

Angi

[dragonfly]

we always called the cut worms but I have heard both,
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=201143-316-201143&lpage=none

Cutworms are a different critter. They live below the soil and cut the plants off at the base. At least that's my understanding. I've never had cutworms (knocking on my skull), just hornworms.

[BEES4U]

They visit petunia and phlox flowers at dusk.
Regards,
Ernie

[BEES4U]

Controlling Tomato Hornworms

Tomato hornworms are one of the more creepy and frustrating pests in the vegetable garden. They can get huge (up to 5 inches long and nearly an inch thick), and with that little horn-like thing at one end, they're scary looking. That is if you can find them. Their green color and smooth skin help them blend into foliage. And can they ever eat. One day your tomatoes look great, the next there's barely a leaf left, and the fruit is half eaten.

Controlling tomato hornworms starts with persistence. Look for them hanging from the undersides of leaves; however you'll probably see their black pellet-like droppings on the foliage first. Handpick and stomp (or drop into a jar of soapy water) the ones you find, but it will be hard to get them all. For better control, spray plants with Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Ready-To-Spray as soon as you see the first hornworm. You can spray right up to the day of harvest.


Products Mentioned In This Article

PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Ready-To-Spray
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Symptoms of Poisoning with Pyrethroid Compounds Find Products Containing this Chemical
- Irritation of skin and eyes.
- Irritability to sound or touch, abnormal facial sensation, sensation of prickling, tingling or creeping on skin, numbness.
- Headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, fatigue.
- In severe cases: fluid in the lungs and muscle twitching may develop. Seizures may occur and are more common with more toxic cyano-pyrethroids.



Regards,
Ernie Lucas Apiaries.