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.
Tomato hornworm moth (female). Look out for the moths in late spring. Photo by Didier Descouens/Wikimedia Commons.
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Attacking my Jalafuego pepper plant
I've noticed this is the first year I've had THWs got them 3 times now on a new jalafuego plant almost destroyed it, grew back just found number 2,3,4. #2 was about an inch long maybe 3mm thick other 2 were fresh hatched worms clear and tinyyy. I can't till because my bell pepper plant is 5 years old and is huge and would love to not destroy it. Anyway add any pepper plant to plants they attack, not just bells sadly :/
companion plants
I have basil, marigolds, and dill planted amongst my tomato plants in my raised bed...still got a hornworm. :(
Not Just Tomatoes
These devils bypassed my tomatoes and ate my potatoes down to the ground, then infested my datura plants. As these are night-blooming flowers, I am not entirely surprised, but pulling them off by hand is harder than you would think. Those suckers are STRONG. I have a small garden, so hand-picking works well, but planting dill only ended up feeding the grasshoppers. Did nothing to deter hornworms.
it's my first year gardening in Alabama after 20 years in Colorado. Takes some time to identify indigenous pests. A bunch of worms the size and thickness of my middle finger springing up out of nowhere? Didn't expect that.
hornworm problem
As I got older I started container gardening in one side of my driveway figuring it would be easier and less pest. Little did I know
these monster hornworms where more at my door step than I thought.They are a real wrestler when it comes to hand removal
so I now use needle- nose pliers to remove .Four Oxheart tomato plants this summer and removed ten of these rascals.
Horn Worms & holes in my tomatoes
I just went out and checked my 4 pots with tomatoes planted in them. I found a bunch of horn worms and actually one big brown worm that looked similar to a horn worm except for color. I picked off the worms I found and pulled them in half and threw them away but I also found that a lot of my tomatoes had holes in them and many of the holes were very discolored. I cut into one tomato expecting to find a worn or something but there was nothing there. Can you tell me what might have caused these holes in my tomatoes?
Hornworms
I bought a blacklight flashlight and go out after dark to look for hornworm. They glow really bright against a black light.
blacklight flashlight
Thank you! Didn't know about the black light! I will give that a try.
Horn Worms
I'm surprised this article did put the best and easiest way to keep horn worms from eating your garden.. Which is planting onions in between your plants whatever they are.... It always works every time....
Tomatoes
What do you think of DE for the pests?
Diatomaceous Earth
Diatomaceous earth (DE) does work against hornworms, though you should only use it when the plant is NOT in bloom. DE will kill pollinators, so avoid using it on or around flowers.
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??
The leaves may have gotten
The leaves may have gotten burnt. You don't want to have wet leaves getting scalded by the sun. Pick off or cut off the brown leaves. See if the plants gain strength.
Hornworm
Do not spray dish soap spray on a sunny day it will burn up your plants recommended for cloudy days
dont use dawn dishwashing liquid
Don't use dawn it is to harsh , if they use it to take oil off of birds etc imagine what it would do to a tomato plant! yikes . I use Thuricide Bt Caterpillar control. I also use pure Neem oil and Dr Bronners Pure Castile liquid soap.
Dawn &Water Solution
I did the same with similar result. Lost several tomato, jalapeno, and Italian pepper plants to the soap mix while trying to combat the worms. I was told later to only use a very small ratio of soap to water. This is my first year gardening so I expected a learning curve. Next time I try this I will do a small test area on a single plant.
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.
Natural prevention
First year growing in containers and hope for a better yield. Last year due to excessive rain when growing in back yard I experienced cracked and bottom rot fruit so I went to containers to allow moving plants to control moisture. For insect repellent I read to mix in a cup of hot water a tablespoon of Baking Soda, oil I used olive oil though something called fern oil is directed and only a drop of dawn dish soap only to emulsify oil into solution for spraying. Once the cup is mixed pour into sprayer with water. Shake well and I always try to use water that has sat dormant for a day or two so any chlorine residuals are dissipated. I love and been growing home grown tomatoes for years and must enjoy the challenge and learning more about gardening because for the time and effort spent over the years it would be cheaper buying them from the local farmers market. Do to the deer, rabbits, raccoons, and birds I now have a potable fencing system.
Blossom-end rot
Blossom-end rot - rot on the bottom of the tomato - could be a result of insufficient calcium in the soil. Crushed eggshells break down and replenish the calcium in the soil.
Calcium
Tried this on my squash this year and very pleased. Crush tums (2 per gallon) and add to a gallon of water...works great to add calcium with very little cost.
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.
You have to rinse it off.
I use dawn (actually the store brand version of it) on my plants all the time to get rid of soft-bodied bugs. It works great. HOWEVER, you have to rinse it off. Spray the plant then wait about 5-15 minutes then use a hose to rinse the soapy water off thoroughly. It doesn't take long to kill soft-bodied insects with soapy water. Most die instantly. Some people say using soapy water sprays with dawn or other soaps with degreasers damages your plants as it kills the good bacteria on the leaves. But my plants always look and grow healthy as long as I rinse the soapy water off. You have to understand that most gardening information, whether on blogs, videos, books, etc, is purely anecdotal. For me, I use what works so I can have a bountiful harvest. I grow organically - the only exception is my use of soapy water sprays. I have to keep the bugs at bay or else I might as well stop gardening altogether.
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.
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