# Tomato eating Catapillar



## 2PawsRiver (Aug 4, 2002)

Must be my week for bugs. Went out to check on my tomatos and found this guy eating away at the top of one of my plants. I am a "Live and Let Live" kind of guy, but he's eating my tomato plant.

Was thinking I would give him another day then put him in a jar to see what he turns into......must be one monstrous moth is my guess. 

Got to admit, for a worm he is really something to look at.


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## Hammerin' Hank (Nov 1, 2005)

That is a Tomato Hornworm, the larva of the Five-spotted Hawk Moth. If you don't want to kill it you'd better throw it over the fence to the neighbor's garden:evil: because it will do some damage.

Sean


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## Bunny (May 23, 2006)

Saw one of these on a moon flower last year. They do a lot of damage to plants.


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## MSUICEMAN (Jan 9, 2002)

hate those things... they eat the crap out of tomatoes.... get rid of em with the heel of your shoe! and yes, they go squish


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

Tomato Hornworms spell B-A-I-T guys! The large ones make great bass bait and all sizes make fine dining fair for trout. The problem is that you must hook them through the skin only and they are good for one "hit" usually.


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## Oldgrandman (Nov 16, 2004)

Whit1 said:


> Tomato Hornworms spell B-A-I-T guys! The large ones make great bass bait and all sizes make fine dining fair for trout. The problem is that you must hook them through the skin only and they are good for one "hit" usually.


HaHa, that's where I was gonna go with my reply, good going Whit!


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## enfield (Apr 13, 2003)

One of those critters totally stripped one of my tomato plants a couple of years ago. Zero leaves left! :yikes:


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## Banditto (Jun 9, 2000)

The larva can actually bore through the stalk of the plant, so instead of hurting only one part of the plant it destroys the entire tomatoe plant. 

Get rid of them asap.


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## Happy Jack (Jan 21, 2003)

Removed 2 of them from the garden yesterday. 1 had almost striped a pepper plant, the other was working on a tomato plant.


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

Hunting Hornworms! Be sure to practice QHWH...Quality Hornworm Harvesting, by taking only those worms that are over 1 and 1/2 weeks old. That will save the resource and help the herd (Do hornworms associate in "herds"?). That is done to insure the health of the herd!..........:lol: 

Actually tomato hornworm hunting can offer a challenge given their camo coloring. By the way, they can also infest potato plants.

I've never had any on my pepper plants. That's a new one for me.


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## Creek-Chub (Apr 15, 2004)

Yep, bad stuff those Tomato Worms. We used to pick them off of my mom's plants for bluegill and bass bait. The alternative that my mom used to use is Sevin Dust. I'm sure there's probably something else that is more environmentally friendly these days, but the old powdered stuff used to work just fine. I don't recall my mom ever having them on her potato plants, but it seems reasonable. And yes, they will completely demolish your plants if left alone.


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## jeb (Nov 15, 2005)

Take a couple of them and smush up and put in a gal milk jug with an inch of milk in the jug. Let it stand for a day ( in this weather) or two. Clean the solded out and spray on the plants and it will KILL all other worms.


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## chinamigarden (Oct 21, 2005)

There is a product, well actually its a bacterial spore called BT. I can't spell or even pronouce what the BT is short for. Go to any decent garden store and then will know what it is. It comes as a liquid that you put into water and then spray. Or you can get it in a powder (dipel) Its a natural, organic way to kill hornworms and other caterpiller type pests in the garden. Safe for people and it does not kill all the pollenating insects, like sevin will, that your garden needs to produce. You spray or dust the BT onto your plants and when one of these hornworms crawls accross it, it will enter its system and kill it.

If you find one of these hornworms with what looks like pieces of rice stuck to it, leave that one alone. The rice is actually the larva of a parasitic wasp, these larvae will suck the life out of the worm and then hatch into more of the wasps. They are not the type of wasp that will hurt you, but they will rid your garden of these hornworms.


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## 2PawsRiver (Aug 4, 2002)

Well went out today to capture the villain, however he appears to have moved onto greener tomato plants......or I just couldn't find him 

Will keep an eye out for he and his comarades.


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## Hammerin' Hank (Nov 1, 2005)

Best time to catch the bastages is the early morning.

Sean


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

Hammerin' Hank said:


> Best time to catch the bastages is the early morning.
> 
> Sean


Late evening is also good.

"Bastages".........a Johnny Dangerously line......:lol:


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## Happy Jack (Jan 21, 2003)

Man, the things I learn here. Whit - It got 75% of 1 jalapeno and had moved onto a second.


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## Hammerin' Hank (Nov 1, 2005)

Happy Jack said:


> Man, the things I learn here. Whit - It got 75% of 1 jalapeno and had moved onto a second.


Ah, you may have the rare and exotic Mexican Hornworm  , just setout a cap full of cheap tequila and one of those fu-fu drink mini umbrella's and you'll find 'em under it about siesta time.

Sean


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

Happy Jack said:


> Man, the things I learn here. Whit - It got 75% of 1 jalapeno and had moved onto a second.


I've gardened for years and that is a first for me.

I agree with Hammerin'.........get those Mexicali Hornworms errrr!............hammered! :lol:


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## alexsalmon (Feb 16, 2006)

I have them every year and kind of enjoy them. I pick them off the plant put them in a bucket and feed them to the chickens, they love them!


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## tangleknot (Oct 8, 2001)

Hammerin' Hank said:


> Ah, you may have the rare and exotic Mexican Hornworm  , just setout a cap full of cheap tequila and one of those fu-fu drink mini umbrella's and you'll find 'em under it about siesta time.
> 
> Sean


Just set out the whole bottle. I hear that's how they end up with the one in the bottom of the bottle.


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## stinger63 (Nov 25, 2003)

Be very carefull when handling those nasty things,The horns can actualy sting you with a rather toxic venom the tequilla produces after they drink it:yikes:


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## Whit1 (Apr 27, 2001)

stinger63 said:


> Be very carefull when handling those nasty things,The horns can actualy sting you with a rather toxic venom the tequilla produces after they drink it:yikes:


Nope! That is a myth. The caterpillers are harmless and cannot "sting".


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## chinamigarden (Oct 21, 2005)

A Myth? Maybe but once they start drinking and the tequila muscles start in. Then those things are nasty.  

I guess one lesson to learn is this. Once you find a hornworm, take care of it. Those buggers are hard to spot on the plant.


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## chinamigarden (Oct 21, 2005)

Whit1 said:


> Late evening is also good.
> 
> "Bastages".........a Johnny Dangerously line......:lol:


I had tomato hornworms once. "ONCE"


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## Knight (Dec 7, 2005)

I used to find them on my parent's tomato plants with my brother. We would take them off and throw them on the ground and they would splat. One time one did'nt sploat so I stomped on it. 

The thing's green guts went flying into my brother's mouth. That was the last time he went "tomato worm hunting"


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## stinger63 (Nov 25, 2003)

chinamigarden said:


> I had tomato hornworms once. "ONCE"


WOW that must have been worse than having tapeworms:yikes: :help:


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