Be on the lookout! Tomato Worms
(Tomato Hornworm Caterpillar)
(Not the worm on your tomato plants? Check Potato Bug Larva.)
One of the most common insect problems experienced by tomato home gardeners: tomato hornworm caterpillars. While actually quite pretty, these terrible caterpillars can do massive damage to your tomato crop and garden.
You may not notice right away that you have tomato hornworm caterpillars in your tomatoes (they're pretty good at hiding on the inside of the tomato plant where the worms (caterpillars) are not noticed by predators). Or you might just see them as tomato worms, without realizing what they are or the damage they do.
Tomato hornworm caterpillars are usually from 3 to 4 inches long. They very quickly make a hearty meal not only out of the tomato plant leaves, but sometimes also the tomato fruit itself. Just look at the quantity of droppings you find around one tomato hornworm caterpillar & you'll be impressed by the quantity of your tomato plants they've eaten.
Since tomato hornworms aren't always easy to spot, you can watch for a couple of tell-tale signs. The following are strong indicators that tomato hornworms have invaded your garden.
Watch for:
* tomato leaf stems that are barren twigs (the leaves have been eaten by the tomato hornworm)
* large black droppings on the leaves or around the base of the tomato plant. The droppings look a little like small blackberries in shape.
There are actually a few varieties of hornworms, but they all do the same damage. Officially, the "tomato hornworm" has a black horn portruding from it's backside. The "tobacco hornworm" has a red horn. Hornworm caterpillars turn into hornworm moths (large brown/gray moths with white and yellow markings). The caterpillars hatch from eggs laid in the spring by the moths. The young tomato hornworm caterpillars feed for about a month, then they burrow into the ground. When they emerge, again, they're in the moth form. They lay eggs, and the whole cycle starts all over again.
Organic Insect Control for getting rid of tomato hornworms:
hand pick the tomato worms and destroy them.
NOTE: if the tomato worms have small white egg-looking objects on it, don't harm the caterpillar - just place it somewhere very far away from your plants. These "eggs" are actually the cocoons for a wasp that dines on the hornworms (as a parasite). So they're nature's way of controlling the tomato hornworm population. Destroying it will also destroy the beneficial parasites... and we definitely want more of those around!
It's usually not necessary to spray to get rid of the tomato worms, if you're watching your garden. But, if you prefer to spray, you can spray BTK, diazinon, sevin, or something with bacillus thuringiensis (a bacterial insectiside) on your plants to control the tomato worms.
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Note: the advice and information contained herein is based upon our experience and study.
As with any advice, please apply at your own discretion.