Gigantic green worm thing eating my tomatoes

[digitS']

I used to have hornworms now and then.

One time, I found some damage on a few tomato plants that were growing on the edge of the garden. Along with the tomatoes, there were a couple of sunflowers. The sunflower seed was just beginning to ripen and they were being visited many times each day by chickadees.

Before I could get back to the tomatoes with some Bt caterpillar spray, the damage stopped . I blamed the chickadees and later learned that they are major predators of caterpillars.

These days sunflowers are in my veggie garden every year. Haven't had any hornworm damage since I don't know when . . .

Steve

 

[Augustmomx2]

ewwww....

 

[davaroo]

Sunflowers with tomatoes, eh. Now wouldnt you know that is just what I have growing together.....

But I was always taught to just reach in and pluck the worms out of the foliage. It's a little intimidating at first, but you get used to it. If you have chickens, they love them. If not, toss the hornworms on the ground and make "boot-toe guacamole" out of them.

 

[mediaOrganic]

If any of them develop little white cocoons hanging on them, don't kill them, that's a parasitic wasp, once you have them, you'll have them forever - and never have much of a hornworm problem again.

This is true! Last summer I found the desicated husk of a hornworm covered with them. Must have been a horrible way to die but hey...

Ann - do you know what these wasps look like? We saw a bazillion tiny wasps on our basil and fennel and I wonder if it was them.

I hope they come back.

Phyllis

 

[Reinbeau]

Ann - do you know what these wasps look like? We saw a bazillion tiny wasps on our basil and fennel and I wonder if it was them.

I hope they come back.

Phyllis

No I have no idea what they look like - I'll wander around google and see if anything comes up.

Ok, I'm back. From this article on the tomato hornworm you're lead to this page, but no picture. Ah! Found a picture here.

If this google search works, you can see all sorts of pictures here!

 

[ams3651]

my mom would generously dust the plants with flour and the worms would eat the flour and bloat up and die. Works on broccoli too.

 

[seedcorn]

I wouldn't mind hornworms so much if my bantams would eat them. They are picky bunch of bantams.

 

[sparkles2307]

Lucky for us we used sunflower hulls for bedding in our chick brooder, then dumped it in the garden...and now has sunflowers coming up all over in the garden! So, I think we will be covered for attracting bug eaters!