Green Hornworms Destroy Tomato Plants. Chomp! Chomp! (Pictures)
I think I’ve been cursed. There is a tribe in the Sudan that believes much of what happens in life is due to witches. These witches either knowingly or unknowingly curse people. I think that this explanation is just as good as any other for what recently happened.
The desert is a harsh climate and can sometimes present challenges that many other gardeners will never have to face. In return for putting up with endless heat and dry conditions, desert gardeners don’t have as many issues with bacteria and mold. I also thought that there were a few pests that we were safe from. One of which is the tomato hornworm. Boy was I wrong! For anyone who has ever had the pleasure of encountering these guys, you are aware of just how destructive they can be.
I went out for a quick water around 7am on Wednesday at which time everything was normal. I went back outside at 7pm to water again (remember we don’t really have a problem with mold so watering at night isn’t an issue) only to find fat, green monsters had ravage my tomato plants. Somewhere in a matter of 12 hours the eggs had hatched and these creepy little things ate literally half my tomato plants. I was flabbergasted considering this was one of the hottest days of the year at 112 degrees.
The tomato hornworm is actually a large caterpillar that can reach up to 4 inches long. They eventually turn into the hummingbird moth. They are not only ugly but also quite mean. We proceeded to pull them off but it wasn’t an easy task. They hold on tight and are ready to fight you every bit of the way. While they do look creepy, with fake eyes along their body, horn and of course the green slime they ooze most of these features are just to deter predators.
If you are unlucky enough to find yourself a victim of these creatures of mass destruction, grab a pair of pliers and gloves and get to work immediately pulling them off. They work really fast so you don’t want to delay. If you can’t bring yourself to pulling them off, pick up some BT (Bacillus thuringiensis) spray. Try to check you tomatoes often over the following days to be sure another egg hasn’t hatched.
I hope that you never have to deal with the problem of tomato horn worms. They are unbelievably destructive and just downright creepy.
Luckily I think I caught them in time and my tomatoes will survive.
Good luck and happy gardening.
Posted: July 6th, 2008 under Pest Control.
Comments: 37
Comments
Comment from Adventures in Mommyland
Time: July 6, 2008, 6:03 pm
I have had this problem all week long! I have posted so much about it on my blog that my readers are probably having “hornworm” nightmares. You are right, they are pretty feisty. I put them in a jar and they seemed to get really aggressive with each other. I couldn’t help but sit there and watch. They are pests in the garden, but they are still kinda cool to look at. I removed mine over a period of 4 days and have not seen anymore (cross my fingers) I hope they are all gone, it is hard work finding them!
Annie
Comment from Thomas L
Time: July 7, 2008, 2:18 am
Wow, they are huge!
The only good thing that I can think of about your situation is that the hatched hummingbird moth are pretty beautiful.
Comment from Jeff
Time: July 7, 2008, 9:33 am
I had those last year here in Indiana. We have wasps that lay eggs on the backs of the tomato hornworms. The eggs burrow down into the hornworm and dissolve the caterpillar from the inside, turning into goo over a period of several long, painful days (the hornworm is alive while being dissolved). That doesn’t help your problem, but it may make you feel better to know that many of them die a slow, agonizing, and painful death!
Comment from Jim Dean
Time: July 7, 2008, 9:44 am
Boy they do look like hungry critters dont they?
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
Comment from figz
Time: July 7, 2008, 9:52 am
To add to what Jeff said:
http://tinyurl.com/6q6r4t
When you see them like that, don’t kill them. You want the wasps to hatch and kill more hornworms!
Comment from James
Time: July 7, 2008, 9:55 am
I have the same problem in Georgia, Sevin dust seems to work well against them.
Comment from Tim Brown
Time: July 7, 2008, 10:09 am
If you have kids, you can at least make a science lesson out of your caterpillar infestation.
We recently had a big green caterpillar eat a whole basil plant in an afternoon. We stuck it in a jar and it made a cocoon about a day later and then after about a week it turned into a moth. My kids was fascinated.
Of course once you have a moth you might want to keep it in the jar instead of letting it free to make more caterpillars to eat your garden
Comment from Ray
Time: July 7, 2008, 10:24 am
My wife has had some success with organic pesticide made by soaking
onion, garlic, and red chilies until it begins to ferment (3days).
The oil sits on the plants and prevents moths and caterpillars from devouring the leaves. It must be reapplied after every rain or watering.
I figure if she adds some mustard seeds, I can distill and weaponize the brew.
Comment from Improbus
Time: July 7, 2008, 10:45 am
They make great fish bait. Just FYI.
Comment from Anon.
Time: July 7, 2008, 11:55 am
Try putting dish soap on your tomatoes. It works.
Comment from GaryB
Time: July 7, 2008, 11:59 am
There is an elderly woman in my neighborhood who has been living there since 1939. She told me to put a 1/2 teaspoon of epsom salts in the hole before you plant your tomato plant. I did this last year and I didn’t see one of these worms (I was plagued by them the previous year). I haven’t seen any this year either.
Comment from Pat
Time: July 7, 2008, 12:12 pm
I just had to fight some off of my peppers. Head on down to your local nursery and look for some liquid Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis). It’s a naturally occurring bacterium which kills them off. Weekly treatments have kept them at bay and my peppers are coming back.
Comment from Bob
Time: July 7, 2008, 12:25 pm
I had a lot of Hornworms as well in New Jersey. But I never found a living one. I would only find them after they were already incapacitated and had dozens of little (presumably) wasp egg cases laid all over their bodies. At that point, I left them hanging there hoping for more wasps to hatch. The wife found that incredibly grotesque.
I was always shocked how fast these suckers seemed to grow. I’d go out to water the tomatoes in the morning and I’d find a third of a tomato plant eaten away and a big fat 3″-4″ Hornworm hanging there with egg cases all over it. I’d like to know how many days it took them to grow to that size. I never once found a living Hornworm.
Comment from Raj
Time: July 7, 2008, 1:41 pm
Look up “Bug Juice”. It works great for me with Tomato Hornworms. I blend up one hornworm with some water, castille (or any plain, pure soap), some garlic (some people add tobacco juice) and then strain it through cheese cloth and pour it into a sprayer and then spray it on the plants. I respray when it rains.
Comment from emily
Time: July 7, 2008, 1:48 pm
well, I disagree, I think they are the most beautiful worm in the world. How can they be gross…they are a beatiful color green and the certainly do NOT ooze any goo. I am a big fan of these worms. Although they have destroyed some of my plants, I am hoping that I will get more this year (I try to find them before too much destruction has taken place…then i keep them in a fish bowl and feed them tomotoe leaves.) Anyways, i understand that it sucks to have your tomatoe plants eaten, but damn, these things are so awesome that it’s worth it, I had 3 last year on my plants, but still has more tomatoes than I could eat. I could watch these things eat and grow fat all day. I can understand your irritation….but I cannot understand that the beauty of these little guys are not recognized. long live the horn worm. (interesting fact: The ancient mound-building cultures of north america thought that the hummingbird moth was sacred, perhaps because it also eats datura…which was considered sacred)
Comment from Nico Chakote
Time: July 7, 2008, 5:08 pm
Very interesting find.
I wonder if this creature can live in a cold climate of Russia or Finland. Or perhaps all of it’s eggs would freeze during the winter.
Comment from Pete
Time: July 7, 2008, 8:11 pm
Wrapping tin foil around the base of the plant also works to deter these critters
Comment from CoryG
Time: July 14, 2008, 7:26 pm
I am currently doing battle with these “You -know-whats in my garden. I had them last year. I was wondering why my peppers (that are in a pot for crying out loud) were looking so crappy. Then I went out before the sun hit them this morning and lo and behold two fat hornworms crunching away. I have found 10 in the last two days on the tomatoes and peppers. They seem to materialize out of no where. But I’m on it. I try to be organic but I will give this BT a try if they seem to be unstoppable. I had them last year late in the season and it was pretty much a lost cause. They are fiesty two. One tried to bite me and spit green juice on my when I tried to pull him off. I laughed and drowned him anyway!
Comment from Cara @ gardenview cottage
Time: July 18, 2008, 9:50 am
Mandy, this is what happened to me last night! I went out to water and BAM! ugly green hornworms had eaten half of my plants. I went in search on the net to what they were and found you. Thanks for making me feel better bout the whole thing. I will go out and check tonight to make sure there aren’t more (I got 4 huge daddy’s last night).
Comment from John
Time: July 19, 2008, 7:57 am
The evil creatures attacked my tomato plants about the same time. It must have been hornworm week in Vegas. Unfortunately I was out of town for a couple of days and returned to find several of my best plants completely stripped. They even ate the tomatoes! Have some pics and a post about it on my blog:
http://desertcontainergardening.blogspot.com/
Comment from mandy
Time: July 20, 2008, 10:39 pm
Hi John,
OH NO!!!! They ravaged my tomato plants in a matter of 12 hours. I can’t imagine the damage they can do in a couple of days. I ended up checking the plants 3 times a day for over a week and continually pulled worms and eggs off. Thats when I decided to try BT. I only sprayed it on once and haven’t had a problem since.
I hope your tomatoes bounce back. I know mine have really been doing well with the humidity we have had the last week or so.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Comment from mandy
Time: July 20, 2008, 10:42 pm
Hi Cara,
Be sure to look under the leaves as well. They like to hide but if you look for the horn, you will be able to spot more. At least that’s what worked for me.
If you can’t take it anymore, try BT. I only sprayed it once and haven’t had a problem since.
Good Luck! Keep us posted.
Comment from JoJo
Time: August 1, 2008, 5:51 pm
Dam stupid greenhorn worms destroyed the tomato’s, my biggest plant and most of the tomato’s, not just the leaves ruined by these pesky gross bugs. I pulled them off and stomped on them, all this green stuff came pouring put….gross! Hate em 4 sure!
Comment from Deb
Time: August 18, 2008, 7:36 pm
was wondering why my tomato plants weren’t doing good. I owuld water them and they would look like they were ready to die. Then I noticed these ugly green horn worms on them. I found about seven of them and I think I will keep a eye on them to make sure they dont come back. Sure hate what they have done to my plants.
Comment from Tina
Time: September 5, 2008, 9:09 am
I have been wondering why our tomato plants haven’t been doing well. This is our first year trying to garden and just thought we were doing something wrong. Well, today I went to check on the plants and spotted one…I came in and immediately did a search and found this site! I then went back out and proceeded to find 5 more!!! UGH!!!!! Guess I”ll have to keep a closer eye out for more… but that comment on the science project sounded pretty neat. I just may do that with my kids!
Comment from Ria
Time: November 1, 2008, 8:26 pm
Mandy, I know this blog is mainly to do with gardening but did you think you were being funny with the comment about witch curses? A witch would not unknowingly curse someone because she would understand the nature of curses and even “karma”. These greenhorn worms are part of the beautiful diversity on earth. Why would the visit of any creature be a curse on you? There a ways to be funny without putting down earth loving witches.
Comment from mandy
Time: November 6, 2008, 1:53 pm
Hi Ria,
Thanks for the comment. If a witch knowingly curses something depends entirely on the culture in which the witch resides.
You see, I was referring to a belief system of the Azande tribe in Africa who don’t believe in coincidence. They believe that everything that happens because of witches. E.E. Evan-Pritchard, who did extensive research on the Azande, explains an incident in which a grain silo collapses on a group of people sitting under it. After the incident happens, everyone in the tribe says it was due to witches. Evan-Pritchard says it wasn’t due to witches, the silo was infested termites. The Zande man says “of course it was the termites that made it collapse, but why did it collapse at that exact moment? The neighbors has just as many termites but his silo still stands. Why did mine collapse with the people under it? Witches”
In America a witch may not knowingly curse my plants, but cultures around the world may not agree.
Thanks for stopping by Ria and letting me know that American witches wouldn’t curse me.
Hope to see you again
Mandy
Comment from Jim
Time: May 6, 2009, 5:06 pm
I think I just found a way to rid everyone of these suckers forever. My wife went out and found these creatures all over her cherry tomatoes totally destroying her plant. My wife can be a total witch when she wants to be. So I believe as the Azande tribe does. DON’T PISS OFF THE WITCHES
Comment from Robie
Time: May 12, 2009, 12:57 pm
These little suckers suck! They ate all my plants in a day, they are also disgusting and if witches curse me then my wife may have something to do with that…..lol
anyway hope not to get any this year or I will declare war on the Greenhorn worm and he will never get to fly!
Comment from dan
Time: May 25, 2009, 7:55 am
hi mandy. im contacting you about a post from july 6 2008 about green horn worms. “green horn worms destroy tomato plants chomp!chomp!” are you the one whom is growing tomatos in 112 degree weather? i live in az and started growning tomatos and peppers for the first time. ive had attackes from many pests(aphids, leafcutter bees, thrip, desert rats) and now green horn worms. were do these things come from? i need to talk to some experts in growing produce in the desert. all my stuff is grown in containers that are a couple feet off the ground to prevent pests. anyway just trying to find out if this website/you are located in the desert southwest. thanks
Comment from Josie
Time: May 25, 2009, 12:35 pm
These evil creatures must be stopped, so far nothing I have done has inhibited these annoying bugs. any advice on how to stop these things is greatly appreciated, they don’t wanna let go when you try to pull them off the pants, how disgusting are these creatures???? YuK~~
Comment from Mandy
Time: May 25, 2009, 8:44 pm
Hi Dan and Josie,
I am sorry to hear about your misfortunes with hornworms. I know first hand how destructive these worms can be and how quickly they can grow in a very short amount of time. Tomato hornworms are the rebellious offspring of Hummingbird moths. They lay their eggs at night on the underside of the tomato leaves. I have found the best defense is to check for the eggs and/or worms on the underside of the leaves at dawn or dusk and just pull them off. I actually had to pull the large ones off with pliers because they just don’t want to let go!
I have also heard that BT works well.
Just make sure you stay on top of it.
Good luck
Mandy
Comment from Josie
Time: May 26, 2009, 12:30 pm
I actually found a little on on my Lavenda plant yesterday, I think it was one anyway, it was not even an inch long but it was green, no white stripes though, maybe just a catapillar??? I could barley get this thing off the leaf, had to get the plyers……..yuk, yuk, yuk!
Comment from Mary Beth
Time: June 9, 2009, 1:49 pm
I am a first time gardener in savannah GA and when I watered my plants this morning they looked fine. I went back outside at 3:00 and found three huge greens worms. I tried to shake them loose and you know that didn’t work so I took the eaten leave stem off the plant. I couldn’t believe the damage!! two plants!! one looks beyond repair and on the other, I am temped to pick the dozen green tomatos before they too are eaten! there is also little black circles around the two planters. I thought maybe it was palemtto droppings but now not sure. Also I put three in a bucket and looked an hour later and there were 4!! I called my husband and he is hitting the store before comming home for BT. what do the eggs look like?
Comment from Julie
Time: June 13, 2009, 5:32 pm
thanks… I had been out of town, came back and had these giant, ugly caterpillars on my tomato plants. They had eaten all the leaves on some plants. I am glad to find out what they are. I bought some BT worm killer for my grapes, but will use it for my tomato plants. I too live in the desert… West of Las Vegas. Thank for the info
Comment from Yolander
Time: June 22, 2009, 12:36 pm
i hate these wormy looking caterpillars ;they just want to eat every thing e.g my fresh tomatoes;;;. thanks for the info
Comment from Ali
Time: June 28, 2009, 9:46 am
I was looking for hornworms this morning and saw a hornet on a leaf and it was very busy eating a very small hornworm. It finished it’s breakfast and flew away. Good work!
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