Popular How To’s
Tomato hornworm . Photo by : Miles Boyer / Shutterstock .
You ’ve wait all summertime for that first luscious tomato to mature only to find out that , almost overnight , something has been banquet on your tomato plants , stripping the stems naked and chomping holes in your nigh mature yield . The culprit ? Most potential it ’s the tomato hornworm ( Manduca quinquemaculata ) , a plump , unripened caterpillar named for the threatening but harmless “ horn ” bug out from its tail .
What make the tomato hornworm such a minacious garden pestilence is its ability to defoliate tomato plants in days . Although it prefers to munch ontomatoes , it will also happily tip onpotatoes , eggplant , pepper , tobacco plant , and other plants in the nightshade category ( Solanaceae ) .
The in effect news is that you could eradicate tomato hornworms , without resort to chemical substance insecticides , by using a variety of natural restraint methods . Learning how to recognize the early signs of a hornworm infestation can also aid you preclude these destructive creepy - crawler from getting out of hand .
1. INSPECT YOUR PLANTS REGULARLY
Tomato hornworms are typically easy to check in the garden if you regularly monitor your plant for the mien of the caterpillars as well as the adult moths ( called five - distinguish hawk moth ) that bring them into being .
Although the caterpillars are large ( typically 3 to 5 inches long ) , they are well - camouflage and blend in almost invisibly with the people of color of the leaf . They typically become active in early on to midsummer , just as Lycopersicon esculentum plants are make full size . you’re able to describe them by the V - shaped white markings on each side of their bodies and their distinctive black horns . But often the first clues that hornworms are present are chew damage and dark gullible droppings ( frass ) lodge on the leaves .
Watchthis short videofrom Erin , The Impatient Gardener , to see how to look for them at dark .
Adult moths can be recognized by their mottled gray - dark-brown color , telling 4- to 5 - inch wingspan , and yellow spots on each side of their abdomen . You ’ll unremarkably see them after evenfall , vibrate like nocturnal hummingbird to sip nectar from flowers . In previous spring , be on the lookout for the distaff moth ’s little green eggs , which she will lay on the host plant life ’s leaves . Once the hornworms hatch , your plant are at the mercy of their insatiable appetence for up to 4 weeks .
Five - spotted hawk moth . Photo by : Sari ONeal / Shutterstock
backsheesh : The tomato hornworm is sometimes confused with the tobacco hornworm ( Manduca sexta ) , a faithful cousin commonly found in the southeasterly U.S. that also direct plants in the nightshade family . Although these Caterpillar are similar in show , the car horn of the tobacco hornworm is reddish in color and the white markings on the body are diagonal rather than V - shaped . No matter which character of hornworm you ’re deal with , the legal injury they can do to your plants is equally devastating .
2. PICK OFF THE CATERPILLARS BY HAND
Once you discern tomato hornworms , often the best direction to deal with them , especially if their numbers are pocket-sized , is to pick them off your plants by hand and overwhelm them in a pailful of soapy body of water . Hornworms do not bite or sting , but if you are nice , wear off a pair of garden glove for the task .
Because tomato hornworms are such rabid eaters , it ’s a good mind to inspect for them daily and pluck them off as presently as possible . The unspoiled time to check for hornworms is during the evening , when they come out in the out-of-doors to feed . If you gleam a shining flashlight on your plants , these elusive critter will be light to catch sight of .
3. ATTRACT BRACONID WASPS TO YOUR GARDEN
Tomato hornworm with braconid wasp eggs . photograph by : Stephen Bonk / Shutterstock
A innate opposition of the tomato hornworm is the braconid wasp ( Cotesia congregatus ) , a small , non - edged parasitic wasp that deposits its nut just under the skin of soft - incarnate caterpillars . The testis hatch and the larvae feed on the hornworm until they are quick to pupate . After the larvae suspension through the skin , they spin cocoons on the hornworm ’s back that reckon like lilliputian grains of puffed Elmer Reizenstein .
If you ’re handpicking tomato hornworms and find one covered with these cocoons , leave it be or move it to a sacrificial plant where it can survive out its remaining days . The weakened insect can no longer damage your plants , and the cocoon will give birth to a unexampled generation of braconid white Anglo-Saxon Protestant . In addition to tomato hornworms , thisbeneficial insectwill also prey on tobacco plant hornworms , cabbage worms , and other garden pests .
Tip : To encourage braconid wasps to visit your garden , grow plants that bring out an abundance of small , nectar - fertile bloom , such assweet madwort , chamomile , Achillea millefolium , andcatmint . When allowed to flower , dill , fennel , and other member of the carrot family also attract these garden allies .
4. GROW COMPANION PLANTS THAT REPEL HORNWORMS
When planted near tomatoes , the garden herbbasilhelps to repel tomato hornworms and other destructive louse pests , such asthripsandaphids . Plus , many gardeners claim that growing Basil of Caesarea alongside tomato industrial plant improves their yield as well as the tone of the yield .
Borage ( Borago officinalis ) is another plant life that play as a powerful hornworm repellent . This cuke - season herb also produces bunch of bright risque , star - influence flowers that help to attract bees and pest - killing wasps .
An annual blossom that help to dissuade tomato hornworms is themarigold . Its strong - reek essential oils fight off a diverseness of insect pests , admit the hawk moth that lay hornworm eggs .
5. APPLY BACTERIAL INSECT CONTROL
Bacillus thuringiensis(Bt ) is a natural bacterial insecticide that kill hornworms by paralyzing their digestive system of rules . Dusted or sprayed onto the leaf , it is most effective when the caterpillars are small ( under 2 column inch long ) and must be reapplied every 5 to 7 day to stay on viable . It is secure for exercise on love apple and other food crops up to the twenty-four hours of harvest , as long as you wash the yield well before eat it .
Tip : Look forBacillus thuringiensisof the kurstaki strain(Btk ) , which specifically targets caterpillars and worm and does not harm beneficial insects , such as bees . Seethis list from the Missouri Botanical Gardenof common brand name of Btk .
6. CULTIVATE THE SOIL
Tomato hornworm pupa . Photo by : Jay Ondreicka / Shutterstock
Despite your best efforts to get rid of Lycopersicon esculentum hornworms , a few Caterpillar may escape poster long enough to pupate . When fully mature , tomato hornworms dribble from their host plant to the ground and burrow pupation chambers 4 to 6 in deep into the stain , spawning a new generation of adult moths after a two - hebdomad pupation menses .
Because hornworms have a animation cycle of just 30 to 50 days , there may be two opportunities for pupation during the develop time of year , with the moth from the first generation emerging during the middle of summertime , and the second generation ’s moths come forth in the spring from pupae that overwinter in the dirt after entering a stage of quiescency .
you may prevent overwintering pupa from surviving until spring by getting out a shovel or tiller and turn over the soil in the descent . This exposes the pupa ( you may recognize them by their tough brown shells ) and pass over out most of their population . Although this is no guarantee that hornworms will stay out of your tomato garden next time of year , it will make their numbers racket much easier to do .
