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Tomato Hornworms: How to Identify, Control, and Prevent Them

Image Credit:
Amanda Hill
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Big, green, and hungry—tomato hornworms can wipe out your tomato crop almost overnight. These giant caterpillars love to feast on tomato leaves and fruit, and they won’t stop there. Peppers, eggplants, and potatoes are also on their menu.

”This one is nobody’s friend if you’re a gardener and like to grow tomatoes,” says entomologist Jeff Smith, curator of the Bohart Museum of Entomology’s Lepidoptera collection.

The good news is that these pests are easy to spot once you know what to look for, and they can be controlled without resorting to harsh chemicals. In this guide, learn how to identify tomato hornworms, understand their life cycle, and discover effective natural ways to get rid of them—plus tips to keep them from coming back next year.

🐛 Hornworms munching your tomatoes? Our Almanac Garden Club members get exclusive pest guides, expert webinars, and practical tips to protect their crops. Protect Your Garden Now.

What Are Tomato Hornworms?

If you’ve ever walked out to your tomato plants and found bare stems where lush foliage used to be, chances are hornworms were at work.

  • The tomato hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and the closely related tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) are garden pests found throughout most of the U.S. and southern Canada.
  • Both species feed on plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae): tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, tobacco, and potatoes.
  • Because of their size and appetite, a small number of hornworms can defoliate plants quickly.

These pests are the larval stage of large night-flying moths (sphinx or hawk moths).

Tomato Hornworm crawling on a tomato vine.
Tomato troublemaker in action—meet the tomato hornworm! Photo by Amanda Hill.

Identification

How to Identify Tomato Hornworms

Look for big, green worms on tomato plants! Hornworms are some of the largest caterpillars in the garden. Key features include:

  • Color: Pale green with V-shaped white markings along the body
  • Horn: Dark, pointed “horn” protruding from the rear
  • Camouflage: Blends almost perfectly with tomato leaves, making them tricky to spot
  • Size: Can reach up to 4–5 inches in length

Tip: Inspect your tomato plants daily. Check the undersides of leaves for eggs and watch for early signs of feeding damage.

Tomato Hornworm vs. Tobacco Hornworm

Both species damage tomato plants, but here’s how to tell them apart:

  • Tomato hornworm: White V-shaped markings; black horn
  • Tobacco hornworm: Diagonal white stripes with black spots; red horn
tobacco hornworm
Can you tell which hornworm this is? 
(It’s a tobacco hornworm! Notice the white stripes with dotted black lines and a red “horn.”) 

Signs of Tomato Hornworm Damage

  • Chewed or missing leaves, often starting at the top of the plant
  • Wilted stems and bare stalks
  • Dark green droppings (frass) on leaves or soil
  • Chewed fruit and sunscald on tomatoes (caused by loss of leaf cover)

Tomato Hornworm Life Cycle

Understanding the life cycle helps you prevent infestations:

  1. Eggs: Laid on undersides of leaves in late spring; hatch within 1 week
  2. Larvae (hornworms): Feed heavily for 3–4 weeks
  3. Pupae: Burrow into soil to overwinter in a cocoon
  4. Adult moths: Five-spotted hawk moths emerge in spring to repeat the cycle

In warmer regions, there may be two generations per year.

Tomato hornworm moth (female)
Tomato hornworm moth (female). Look out for the moths in late spring. Photo by Didier Descouens/Wikimedia Commons.

Control and Prevention

How to Get Rid of Tomato Hornworms

1. Handpicking

  • The most effective method for small gardens:
  • Check plants daily and remove caterpillars by hand
  • Drop them in soapy water, or feed them to backyard chickens

2. Use Organic Controls

  • Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt): A safe, natural bacterium that kills young caterpillars (must be ingested).
  • Neem oil or insecticidal soap: Can work on small caterpillars, but less effective on large hornworms

3. Encourage Natural Predators

  • Parasitic wasps lay eggs on hornworms (you may see white cocoons attached)
  • Ladybugs, green lacewings, and birds also feed on eggs and larvae

If you find a hornworm covered with white cocoons, leave it—the wasps will do the control work for you

A tobacco hornworm covered with parasitic wasp eggs.
Nature’s drama! A tobacco hornworm becomes a nursery for parasitic wasps.

How to Prevent Hornworm Infestations

  • Till soil in fall or spring to destroy overwintering pupae (up to 90% mortality)
  • Rotate crops—avoid planting tomatoes in the same spot year after year
  • Use companion planting: Interplant dill or basil to deter pests; plant marigolds at borders
  • Attract  beneficial insects  by planting nectar-rich flowers

Frequently Asked Questions

Do tomato hornworms bite?
No. They look intimidating, but they cannot sting or bite humans.

What does a tomato hornworm turn into?
A large five-spotted hawk moth, also called a sphinx or hummingbird moth.

When do tomato hornworms appear?
Eggs are laid in late spring, and larvae are most destructive from June through August.

Can tomato hornworms eat other plants?
Yes. They also feed on peppers, potatoes, eggplants, and tobacco.

More Help for Gardeners: See our Garden Pest and Disease Library for tips on other common problems.

Do you have tomato hornworms? How do you handle them in the garden?

Garden Pests

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Timothy Miskell</span> Tue, 09/17/2013 - 20:34
I planted about 6 or 7 plants this yr . We had a ton of tomatoes , some plants were 3 to 4 feet wide, alas I too believe I have these ugly worms. I have found holes right through the tomatoes at times. I have a question , is it safe to cut up the tomatoe and eat what the worm has not eaten ? Are there effective moth traps out there ? I have read about the sticky traps for indoor cereal moths . Should my ground be rotatiled in the late fall to get rid of any edges , or worms? Next yr I will start going out to examine the plants in evening I guess , if they make good fish bait , worms beware!!
<span>Timothy Miskell</span> Tue, 09/17/2013 - 22:24
I don't know, maybe they are fruit worms , I guess I will have to find one to identify it. Does newspaper work with deterring fruit worms?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 09/18/2013 - 13:16
If your pests are tomato fruitworms, you can control them by picking off any leaves that have tiny white or creamy eggs on them (check both sides of the leaves). Introduce beneficial insects, such as Trichogramma wasps or lacewings. Place row covers over the plants, at least until the plants flower, to prevent adult moths from laying eggs on the plants. Spray Bacillus thuringiensis (BT). Till the soil before and after the growing season. Plant tomatoes away from corn, which is a major host for these pests (in which case, it is called a corn earworm). As for whether to cut out the bad part of the tomato and use the rest, we wouldn't recommend it with fruitworms. Because these larvae live inside the fruit, they eat, tunnel, and leave waste inside. Hornworms, however, mainly attack the foliage but may also take bites out of the fruit. They do not live inside the fruit throughout their larval stage, however. If your pest is a hornworm, it might be possible to cut out the bitten area of the tomato fruit and use the rest (after a thorough washing); be sure to inspect the fruit thoroughly first, to see how far it has been eaten, and whether the insect has left frass (waste) as well--in which case, we'd suggest not using the fruit.
<span>Denisestl</span> Fri, 09/13/2013 - 14:22
I am a preschool teacher. Yesterday, my kids and I found a big fat beautiful Horned Tomato Worm on our tomato plants in our outdoor classroom. He is now living happily in our classroom munching on an endless supply of tomato leaves with 12 very excited and eager kids watching him. We have added tall sticks for him to climb and lots of leaves in hopes that he will build a cocoon and hatch into a moth. They have found books about caterpillars, looked at pictures on the internet, and even collected leaves to feed him. They are so excited to show him to everyone willing to look. Yes, I know these worms are pests for most of you, but for this class, this worm is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to experience the bear witness to the magnificent and wondrous cycle of life while fostering language, science, math (rulers to measure him and counting days if he forms a cocoon), cooperative learning, ownership /responsibility, peer interactions, and so much more. For me, finding this garden pest was just an excuse to turn a little pest into a teachable experience.
<span>Susan G.</span> Tue, 08/04/2015 - 06:48
I have done this with my kids. When it is time, the caterpillar needs to dig into dirt to form its cocoon. I was surprised to hatch 16 large flies instead of the moth! Fortunately, they were in an aquarium!!!
<span>Georgette Soares</span> Thu, 06/26/2014 - 11:11
Lucky kids in your classroom!
<span>Laura King</span> Tue, 06/30/2015 - 16:45
They are very lucky kids in your classroom. I have hornworms on my tomatoes but I think you are doing a great job teaching these kids!!!!
<span>Sophia Ficarra</span> Wed, 06/04/2014 - 03:59
The first tomato horn worm my dad found in the garden became my pet at the age of 4. They are beautiful, soft and easy to care for. The cocoon and transformation was so fun as a kid, and they are so unusual, I couldnt wait to find a new one the next season. I spent hours patiently tracking their munching and pooping so I could bring it into my kindergarten class to share. We ended up keeping it as the class pet, and watched the transformation throughout the fall. Every year, my old kindergarden teacher would call me out of class to ask if I could find her another worm for her current kids. I brought her a worm each year until high school. I am almost 30 and just started a tomato garden in my first home. I hope I find a fat, green horned worm:) sooner than later...
<span>E Paul Colella</span> Wed, 05/07/2014 - 19:34
Good job! Your kids are so lucky to have you as a teacher. The worms may be Pests perhaps, but just the sort of thing to fire a child's imagination and, who knows? May start someone on the road to being a scientist ... Or better yet, an inspiring teacher!
<span>Carol Vega</span> Wed, 02/05/2014 - 13:38
What a wonderful teacher you are!!