Big, fat, and green! Here are tips on how to identify, control, and get rid of tomato hornworms in your garden.
What Are Tomato Hornworms?
If you’ve ever grown garden tomatoes, chances are you have dealt with these green caterpillar pests. They can be found in most any region of the US and can ruin your tomato crop in record time; they also feed on eggplants, peppers, and potatoes. They can blend in quite easily with the green foliage and feed non-stop, creating spotty and chewed leaves and fruit.
Tomato hornworms live according to the following life cycle:
- In late spring, large adult moths lay eggs on the undersides of foliage, which will hatch within a week.
- Caterpillar larvae will feed from 4–6 weeks before creating a cocoon for overwintering in the soil. If the weather is warm enough, larvae may only burrow for as little as 2–3 weeks.
- Moths will emerge in the spring, and will then lay eggs once again. More than one generation a year may be possible in warmer climates.
Photo Credit: GrowVeg.com/Ilisa on Flickr Creative Commons. Look out for the tomato hornworm moths in late spring.
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My chickens love them
A time consumer finding them and picking them off my tomato plants, but a tasty treat apparently for my chickens.
Dawn & water solution.
After picking off what worms i could find i sprayed a solution of dawn & water on my tomato plant leaves. Now the leaves are turning brown & the whole plant is looking poorly. Also what blooms there were are falling off. I thought this was supposed to be a safe way to rid the plants of worms. I think i have lost all my tomato plants. Any ideas??
Hornworms
I go out after dark with a flashlight and a pair of scissors. I just cut them in half and let the good bugs have dinner on me.
Just one thing if you see a similar looking worm on your dill please don't kill it because it's swallowtail butterfly. I plant dill in various areas of my yard just for them.
Horned worms
These pests devoured my trumpet plant! I picked off at least 15 of them, thinking at first it was deer that devoured my plant. Upon looking further it was these same worms that affect tomato plants! We drowned them then fed them to the wild turkeys. Totally taken aback that they ate my plant! I hate them!
Hornworm eggs
I had those nasty creatures & ended up pulling off what tomatoes I could that were still geeen & hope they ripen in the house or the windowsill. Those nasty eggs(larvae) left my nice new deck with green spots! How do I get rid of the stain without harming my deck? It hasn't been stained yet. Those creatures are gross!
Tobacco vs. Tomato
The pictured worms are actually Tobacco Hornworms. The tobacco hornworm caterpillar has black margins on its white stripes and it has a red horn, the tomato hornworm has green margins on its white stripes and the horn is blue. Just as hungry though!
Hornworms
Is it okay to spray a dawn and water solution then spri lie with cayenne powder on purple Cherokee tomato plants to treat for hornworms?
Dawn & water solution.
I started having a problem with green tomatoe worms so i used a solution of dawn & water to spray the plants. I think it is killing the plants as the leaves are turning brown & the blooms are falling off. They are not looking good. I wouldn't use it.
hornworm
I noticed my tomato plant leaves curling, a week or so ago and attributed it to the Texas heat. It had been many years since I'd had a tomato garden, so I had forgotten all about that 'sign'. I'm hoping the pesky worms have all been located. My question is, will the leaves of my plants uncurl and look full and lush again?
Hornworm Damage
Leaves that have been directly chewed or affected won’t recover, but any new growth should be fine as long as the insects didn’t infect that plant with a disease. Keep an eye on the plant to see how it develops.
Horn tomato worms
They are not just tomato eaters. I just found 3 large juicy ones on my small petunia like plants. WOW, didn't expect that. I pulled the plant out since it was just a twig now and placed the plant with worms attached in a plastic ziplock Baggie. Off to the dump they go!
My method for diposal
Since I use no chemicals in my garden and hand pick off all pests found I feed them to wild birds. I have a platform made from scrap wood in the middle of my garden space where I toss the pests. This, in turn, attracts more insect-eating birds to the garden I have seen them scratching and feeding on something just below the surface of soil on several occasions. If have chickens or ducks just add pests to their feed. When I had chickens I would let them into garden in spring before planting and in fall after crops pulled and let them feast.
Tomato Hornworms
My grandmother used to go out in the evenings or early mornings with a pair of scissors and just snip in half every hornworm she found - never had to touch them.
1st time I've seen these
I noticed a lot of black dropping on the ground around my cherry tomato plants about 1 month ago they looked like coffee grounds because we had some gusty winds the night before I thought that they had blown off the roof and as I was sweeping them away I notice a large green caterpillar I googled it and discovered it was a tobacco hornworm so I went over all my plants and removed over 20 all varies sizes then I got my husband to check over them behind me and discovered a few more that I missed. The next morning there were more droppings and I removed another 10 and for the next 3 mornings after more droppings but only 3 this time then 1. Then nothing I thought I was in the clear then just last week I found a huge amount of dropping around by Better boys and discovered the biggest fattest hornworm yet. This is the 1st year I've seen them do you think I will get them every year now? I forgot to mention that all my Tomatoes are in containers on my deck with fresh soil every year.
Tomato Hornworm
Hi Lesley,
The tomato hornworm pupates into a sphinx moth, also known as a hawk moth. They lay eggs on tomato plants that will turn into the hornworms. Since you change your soil every year, it is unlikely that they will be a consistent problem year to year: No pupas will overwinter in your soil. The moths are just finding your plants. Keep in mind, right now is prime moth season. As summer moves on into August, you will see less sign of caterpillars and moths.
Cutworms or hornworms on tomato plants
Years ago, cutworms would devour my tomato plants just before I could harvest tomatoes until my mother-in-law passed along some tried and true Wisdom to me. When you plant your tomato plants take a "WHITE" Styrofoam cup size Large, cut the bottom out of it, place it in the hole and put your tomato sprout in it, be sure to leave the cup up out of the ground most of the way (use just enough dirt to hold it around the plant). As your tomato plant grows make sure that you prune any stems that can touch the soil which are usually the first stems so the worms cannot crawl up the stems that they can reach from the ground outside the cup. The white cup acts like a barrier to keep the cutworms off the plant, this is the same reason that crickets are kept in white Styrofoam bait boxes, cutworms & hornworms like crickets will not pass over WHITE - True story, I never have had a problem since nor has anyone I have shared this knowledge with - Blessings from Mary Joe Green Taylor !
Thank you for the info
I just put a UV blacklight flashlight on my list for purchase. Really appreciate that info. I'm not sure I want to see all the other stuff it can reveal though!
Also the info about leaving the ones that have the wasp larvae on them is interesting. Did this article really tell us they dont cause any more damage to the plant once they are studded with these little white things?
I take great pleasure in chopping these things right in half, right on the stem they are on with my Fiskar pruning shears when I find them...like killing an alien life form when their green slime is spilled. I am so mad at them for robbing me of the produce my plants would have provided, I wish I could do worse to them.
Also, when they are killed and left behind, especially the parts that fall off the plant to the ground (some parts stay clung on and shrivel right there), the rest of nature loves to eat them. I saw little yellow bees just gobbling the carcasses up and of course the ants and all love them.
Hornworms with Wasp Eggs
Your assertion is correct: infected hornworms will continue to feed until they are killed by the parasitic wasp larvae. If you want to ensure that there will be no further damage, you can remove the infected hornworm and place it far away from your garden. This way, the caterpillar won’t damage your crops, but the wasps will still be able to emerge and attack more hornworms.
Below comment
Worm / Caterpillar on Morning Glory plant and we have several other butterfly plants there but also used to have some tomatoes.
VERY large green Caterpillar / worm on Morning glory
Can I leave a picture to know if this is a GIANT Swallow tail OR a Tomato Horn worm
Green worms on tomatoes
Are Horn Worms the only GREEN worms to be found on tomatoes. I found 3 smallish green inch worms on my plants this morning, no horns I could see but many holes in leaves and one good size stem almost completely severed in half. Maybe they are baby Horn Worms?
Green Worms on Tomatoes
Hi Donna,
It sounds like you have cabbage loopers on your tomato plants. They eat a variety of different foliage, and are 1 to 1 ½ inches long. Horn Worms are already babies, being the larval stage of the Sphinx Moth. Horn Worms are about 3 inches long. We hope this helps!
Green Worms Imbedded In The Fruit Itself
What remedy do you suggest for those smaller green worms found imbedded in the tomato fruit itself? Finding limp, mushy green tomatoes with worms busily devouring the fruit though no sightings on the limbs or leaves. Oddly, it's random-- surrounding tomatoes seem both uninhabited and healthy. So far, no sightings of the larger horn worm.
Tomato Fruitworms
The pest you’re describing sounds like the tomato fruitworm, which is known to bore into tomatoes and cause them to rot. Once they get inside the tomato, there’s not much you can do, so stop them beforehand by routinely checking for eggs on leaves and spraying with a natural insecticide, like Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis).
Hornworm
I just found the big est green horn worm or should I say the biggest Catapillar I've ever seen in my life
Horn worms
Very jnformative, thank you.
hornworms on my collards and kale
I've had whole collard plants eaten and kale that was chewed this year and could not find anything eating them, just some black "poop balls" left behind. Today I notice a tomato plant completely bare of its leaves and found this huge hornworm covered in the wasp larvae. My question is, Is it safe to eat greens that have been chewed by these creatures?
safe greens
It should be OK; we haven’t heard about any cautions regarding hornworms affecting edibility of crops in that respect. After harvesting, cut out any damaged areas and throw out any rotten leaves. Then wash the greens thoroughly just before eating, using cool running tap water. You can blot the leaves dry with a paper towel or use a salad spinner. Be sure that your hands and any utensils/tools and food preparation surfaces are clean. (It is recommended that hands are washed for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water before handling food.)
worms on tomato plant
i have what i thought was the cabbagelooper doing damage to my plants but now i'm not so sure. i've been collecting the cocoons at various stages and have come across many that look like a worm encasing hundreds of eggs. could this be a way of reproduction for them that i'm unaware of?
please advise
eggs
Are these cocoons on a caterpillar? See the photo of the tomato hornworm with the braconid wasp cocoons above - these are one insect per cocoon. Braconid wasps are parasites of the hornworm. If you see these on a worm, leave them be. The hatching wasp larvae will take care of the hornworm pest.
The eggs of a cabbage looper are laid with no protective covering on leaves, singly or in small clusters, and are whitish yellow to green. Each pupa is encased in a thin white cocoon under foliage; the pupa itself is green, then turns brown to black, before transforming to a moth. A few insects make egg cases, such as praying mantids and spiders (egg sacs), which contain many eggs. A common tomato pest that might do this, though, does not come to mind at the moment.
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