Angry Gardener Observes Hornworm Damage
Photograph © Kerry Michaels
EEEEwwwwww!!!! Ickkkkkk! All of a sudden my tomatoes were being decimated. The leaves were chewed off entire branches in a matter of hours. Tomatoes were being chomped and crumbly black droppings were appearing (ick again). The dreaded tomato hornworms had discovered my beautiful thriving tomato plants.
These monsters are large, ugly and very unpleasant to deal with. Knowing my audience, I approached my 14 year old son and his friend with my tale of grossness. Instantly they took up the challenged and armed with swords (I kid you not) off they went to hunt down and destroy my enemy.
Tomato hornworms wear a clever camouflage are very hard to detect. The boys found that they had better luck getting down on the ground and looking up at the plants to spot the predators. I ran inside and hid behind my computer.
Hopefully the infestation has been controlled. If not, my son has assured me that his tomato hornworm ninja skills are on call. Got to love teenaged boys.
More info on tomato hornworms.
Comments
I feel your pain. I had the little green critters on my tomatoes in Florida last year. I was leaving, so didn’t have time to fight them. It really makes you feel victimized when all of a sudden you realize your tomato vines are disappearing before your eyes. When you first spot one, it is gross to say the least, then you see another and another!! I told my Mom about them and in all her years of gardening she had never heard of hornworms! She must have a lot of bees, cuz those parasite wasps will lay eggs on the green monsters and the die!
Oh I know I have at least one and for the past 4 days have looked for the little bugger, can’t seem to locate him. In the past I have had no problem finding them. He must really be incognito this year and he is doing a number on my Sweet 100′s in particular. Squash bugs and cucumber beetles have destroyed my cucumbers and zucchini and now a horn worm getting my tomatoes. Very frustrating.
I used to have a problem with hornworms, but a years ago I started planting a couple of marigold plants in each tomato pot and I haven’t seen but one hornworm in the last 3 years.
I was able to find them by cleaning the plants of their droppings with a spray of water and then going out a couple of hours later and looking for the fresh droppings. The critters were usually on the leaves or fruit just above the droppings
I hope these tips will help
Julia
Thanks for the tip, Julia! I will try the marigold thing next year and send the boys out with a hose.
Lynda559 – I envy your mom! My hornworms almost all have the parasitic wasp eggs (I thought my daughter was going to give up eating tomatoes, she was so grossed out by them), but they don’t seem to be killing the worms. Every day I have more and more of the worms. YUCK!!
BethL – This can be a really frustrating time of year. Some years are just terrible, but it doesn’t mean that next year will be too. Hang in there!