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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>Jaime</span> Sun, 10/18/2020 - 12:55
As mentioned, hornworms turn into hummerbird moths which are very beneficial pollinators for gardens and the overall ecosystem. Instead of killing the hornworm how about planting a row of plants that they enjoy and that you are willing to sacrifice to them. This way you can move the worm over to those plants to eat instead, and your garden will get to benefit from the pollinating moths after the worms transform. Before jumping to conclusions about a so called “pest”, take time to consider it’s place and reason so that we can support the ecosystems that have evolved over thousands of years.
<span>Carrie Cooke</span> Fri, 06/24/2022 - 08:41
Thank you Jamie! The tobacco "hummingbird" moth is one of my favorites and this is my first run in with the caterpillar stage. Woo! They are gigantic, voracious, and a little intimidating 😳 I adore your idea of some sacrificial plants to keep beneficial insects alive. Thank you for speaking your thoughts freely. -Carrie at Good Energy Ranch
<span>Mari Evans</span> Sun, 09/20/2020 - 12:59
I examine my six tomato plants and red bell pepper plant daily. In the past two weeks, my husband has pulled off at least nine of these little monsters. It amazes me how quickly a hornworm just "appears". Does anybody have an evolution on how this little sucker grows? I swear I do look at the tomato plants very closely and see nothing, then I look again and a worm appears. We pull off three this morning and put them in a cup. I watched two ofthem latch their little caterpillar legs together while the third pushed them under as it tried to selfishly save itself.
<span>Klw</span> Sat, 08/08/2020 - 18:34
We had been wondering if we would get these in our little raised garden bed, and just found two (the first one with a shriek). I didn't know drowning was a way to deal with them, but I dropped them into the planter platter we used for a bird bath and that definitely did them in. And some happy birds apparently snagged them before I made it back to my window five minutes later. Circle of life. I've noticed sparrow flusters (clusters of flutterbombs) paying a lot of attention to my tomato plants lately (the past week). I'm wondering now if they have been feasting on eggs and fresh hatchlings... Thanks to krp for the tip on biting. And thanks to Mr. Smesler for the tip on blacklights. I'll be trying that this evening!
<span>Krp</span> Sat, 07/11/2020 - 22:32
You're a liar if you say they can't bite. Whenever I get pick one off, it tries to bend up and bite me. I once got a bigger one that actually drew blood!!!! If you want to say that they can't bite, I can assure you that they can AND WILL!! I don't care what your entomology textbook may have told you. I know from experience for a fact that they DO bite. My preferred method of dealing with them is to either take a long-nosed lighter and set their horned tail on fire, or strip off the leaf they are on and drop the whole thing in a bucket of water. Doesn't have to be soapy water, they will still drown
<span>Veronica Toon</span> Tue, 06/23/2020 - 21:07
I can attest that I've seen these little beasts twice so far. I live in Colorado and we recently were hit by a huge swarm of moths which have thankfully died down now. I caught the first one eating my sage and basil, which I quickly removed and put it outside to eat some more wanted-to-remove plants. The second one came just today where I caught it in one of my pots with a celery stalk missing most of its leaves. It was also removed and humanely released into the weeds. Hopefully the rest if my plants, including my tomatoes, will be spared from this creature's attacks.
<span>Lisa</span> Fri, 06/12/2020 - 07:29
Can a tomato plant survive a hornworm attack? Mine were left with only a few leaves overnight, can they be saved?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Fri, 06/12/2020 - 14:43

Hi Lisa,
With only a few leaves left, chances are the plant cannot be saved. You could try leaving it and see if it starts to grow again, but the loss of leaves will most likely stunt the overall growth of the plant. Another option is to purchase a new transplant from a local nursery, as it's not too late to try replanting. We hope this helps!

 <span>Mary K</span> Wed, 06/10/2020 - 20:59
Today we found these little devils eating the plants. At least 6 on one small plant. I planted seeds that had already sprouted inside the tomato - as an experiment. Could the larve have been inside the tomato?
<span>Seth</span> Sun, 06/07/2020 - 01:31
I've been gardening since the 1970's. This year I had a problem with my rhubarb being eaten. It was a mystery and stunting the plant. Yesterday after finishing weeding I found a rather large tomato hornworm eating it. I had no idea that they ate rhubarb. I viciously killed the beastie. I felt better. I hope the rhubarb will start putting out taller stems. The only reason I can come up with for this behavior is I didn't put out my tomatoes, peppers and eggplants until late and in beds far from the one I had last year. It was about 5' from where the tomatoes were last year. This years plants are in the opposite direction and at least 8' away.