More Hornworm Damage

Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:49 pm

Looks like the Hornworms are active again.

Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:42 pm

Jeez... I don't think I'd want to run in to that worm in the dead of night! What did the stick in the Haagen-Dazs container look like before the worm got to it?

Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:37 pm

Aw, bummer!:x I'm guessing the label says "Campari"?
Can you put a netting type cover on your plants?

Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:08 pm

[quote="rainbowgardener"]Jeez... I don't think I'd want to run in to that worm in the dead of night! What did the stick in the Haagen-Dazs container look like before the worm got to it?[/quote]I don't have a before pic, but it was a healthy looking seedling.

Sat Dec 01, 2012 8:42 am

I seldom see these thing in the daytime, BUT, today I found a monster feeding on my Tasti Lee plant. I made short work of it with a pair of scissors. Messy, but effective.

Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:44 am

Yeah, hornworms, unlike slugs and some other pests, are always out in the daytime. They just don't move and are exceptionally well camouflaged, so it takes some practice and close observation to spot them. Then when you do, you wonder how you possibly missed it since it is so big.

Sun Dec 02, 2012 4:06 am

YUCK! Can you see the monsters and kill them? I would be poed over that kind of damage.

Thu Dec 06, 2012 1:40 pm

oh yeah....this will give you a good idea. These suckers are evil....

Click above for the full size horror picture...

Thu Dec 06, 2012 2:58 pm

Internet was screwing up so I could not give you a specific link. If you look at this site you will see a couple of sites for horn worms on tomatoes.

http://search.vt.edu/search/pages.html? ... h%3Dvt.edu

Hope there is something helpful for you.

Thu Dec 06, 2012 4:12 pm

ElizabethB wrote:Internet was screwing up so I could not give you a specific link. If you look at this site you will see a couple of sites for horn worms on tomatoes.

I have dealt with these, fairly successfully I think, for a bunch of years. Finding and removing as many pupae from the soil is a good first start. They overwinter in the ground in the pupa stage. Vigilantly checking the plants every evening (when they're most active)...not as bad as it seems because you'll see the damage if they're there, and they leave piles of castings...find the poop and look up. One you develop an "eye" for them, you see them pretty easy. Finally, (and I don't know how this with the organic folks) an application of BTT (the same bacteria they use on gypsy moths, etc.) will stop the problem in its tracks. Its a bacterium that only infects and harms caterpillars...completely safe for humans. Works great for cabbage whites as well...

Fri Dec 07, 2012 2:53 am

If I can be teacherly for just a minute:

JayPoc - I usually don't correct people, but just to make it easier for people to find, what you are talking about is Bt (bacillus thuringiensis, but you don't need to know that). It is sold under various brand names such as Dipel and Thuricide.

Elizabeth - one more little thing it is helpful to know for posting here. When you post big long addresses like that, it breaks the formatting and then you have to scroll back and forth to read the posts, not only yours but the whole page. It is better to hide it, using the URL button. When you mouse over the button, instructions for using it appear just over the text box. Click the url button and this appears

[url]

Delete the second bracket and type = then paste in your long address and put the second bracket back. Then give your link a name and click the URL button again. Your link then would look like this:

hornworm control

Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:03 am

Thanks Rainbow - I was not aware of the disruption.