Moon's Graden

by **lanzpeter** » Fri, 31 Jul 1998 04:00:00

I had this tomato plan in a big terra cotta pot. Potting soil, which I
have never had good luck using with tomatos. It seems I can't keep it
moist enough. In any case, a less than robust plant. Yesterday, I
looked at it as I passed, and noticed that half the leaves were
missing,except for the stem and the main vain running up the middle. I
looked closer and found a horror movie of a thing. It was about the
diameter of my ring finger, and 3/4 the length. Green the color of the
tomato plant stem. It looks like it has no features. No eyes, no
mouth. Is this the famous tomato horn worm? I think I can control them
by removing them, but if they can eat half of a plant in one morning...
What to do?

thanks

lp

by **John Bachma** » Sat, 01 Aug 1998 04:00:00

If it has a *** looking, but ineffective on people, horn on one end and a
muncher on the other end it is the THW. I have had a bumper crop of them
this year. I pick off 6 or 7 a day from my 20 plants. Anyone have a more
efficient control method?

Quote:

>I had this tomato plan in a big terra cotta pot. Potting soil, which I
>have never had good luck using with tomatos. It seems I can't keep it
>moist enough. In any case, a less than robust plant. Yesterday, I
>looked at it as I passed, and noticed that half the leaves were
>missing,except for the stem and the main vain running up the middle. I
>looked closer and found a horror movie of a thing. It was about the
>diameter of my ring finger, and 3/4 the length. Green the color of the
>tomato plant stem. It looks like it has no features. No eyes, no
>mouth. Is this the famous tomato horn worm? I think I can control them
>by removing them, but if they can eat half of a plant in one morning...
>What to do?

>thanks

>lp

by **Gary Coope** » Sat, 01 Aug 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

> I had this tomato plan in a big terra cotta pot. Potting soil, which I
> have never had good luck using with tomatos. It seems I can't keep it
> moist enough. In any case, a less than robust plant. Yesterday, I
> looked at it as I passed, and noticed that half the leaves were
> missing,except for the stem and the main vain running up the middle. I
> looked closer and found a horror movie of a thing. It was about the
> diameter of my ring finger, and 3/4 the length. Green the color of the
> tomato plant stem. It looks like it has no features. No eyes, no
> mouth. Is this the famous tomato horn worm? I think I can control them
> by removing them, but if they can eat half of a plant in one morning...
> What to do?

It does sound like you have the famous tomato hornworm. You found a
smallish one; the full-sized ones can be close to six inches long. For
container plants, the best control is picking them off by hand and
stomping on them. This can be very satisfying, especially after you've
seen the damage they do to your tomato plants. I've also heard that koi
like to eat them, if you happen to have a fish pound.
Although they're large and voracious, usually the hornworms don't invade
in great numbers. Look closely for more of them (as you've noticed,
they're well-camouflaged) and you can probably eliminate them by hand.

Gary

by **Sam Nelso** » Sat, 01 Aug 1998 04:00:00

I've read that BTK will stop the little ones (Has any one ever seen a small
Hornworm?).

I have not tried this myself. I had pick the beasts and compost 'em.

Sam Nelson

Quote:

> If it has a *** looking, but ineffective on people, horn on one end and a
> muncher on the other end it is the THW. I have had a bumper crop of them
> this year. I pick off 6 or 7 a day from my 20 plants. Anyone have a more
> efficient control method?

> >I had this tomato plan in a big terra cotta pot. Potting soil, which I
> >have never had good luck using with tomatos. It seems I can't keep it
> >moist enough. In any case, a less than robust plant. Yesterday, I
> >looked at it as I passed, and noticed that half the leaves were
> >missing,except for the stem and the main vain running up the middle. I
> >looked closer and found a horror movie of a thing. It was about the
> >diameter of my ring finger, and 3/4 the length. Green the color of the
> >tomato plant stem. It looks like it has no features. No eyes, no
> >mouth. Is this the famous tomato horn worm? I think I can control them
> >by removing them, but if they can eat half of a plant in one morning...
> >What to do?

> >thanks

> >lp

by **Trent Hil** » Sat, 01 Aug 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

> If it has a *** looking, but ineffective on people, horn on one end and a
> muncher on the other end it is the THW. I have had a bumper crop of them
> this year. I pick off 6 or 7 a day from my 20 plants. Anyone have a more
> efficient control method?

Dipel and Thuricide work beautifully. The active ingredient in both is a
bacterium called B. thurengenis var. Kurtaki (BtK), which kills off
hornworms, fruitworms, cabbage worms, and other various wormy horrors. It
even keeps squash vine borers in check, which I discovered much to my joy
and happiness after our zucchini came down with them. I went to the local
feed 'n' seed, picked up a bottle of Thuricide and a syringe, and injected
both of our plants with lots of Thuricide solution. We lost a bunch of
older leaves and two fruits that got "bored" out, but I'm happy to report
that last night my sweetie and I harvested the first healthy fruit from
the more-or-less recovered plants. Two sprayings of Thuricide pretty much
took care of a fruit- and hornworm problem on the tomatoes too.

======================================================================
Trent Hill Where it says knife read

Like a police whistle--Charles Simic

by **donsof** » Sat, 01 Aug 1998 04:00:00

Picking them off is one way.
Seven dust is another.

Quote:

> If it has a *** looking, but ineffective on people, horn on one end and a
> muncher on the other end it is the THW. I have had a bumper crop of them
> this year. I pick off 6 or 7 a day from my 20 plants. Anyone have a more
> efficient control method?

> >I had this tomato plan in a big terra cotta pot. Potting soil, which I
> >have never had good luck using with tomatos. It seems I can't keep it
> >moist enough. In any case, a less than robust plant. Yesterday, I
> >looked at it as I passed, and noticed that half the leaves were
> >missing,except for the stem and the main vain running up the middle. I
> >looked closer and found a horror movie of a thing. It was about the
> >diameter of my ring finger, and 3/4 the length. Green the color of the
> >tomato plant stem. It looks like it has no features. No eyes, no
> >mouth. Is this the famous tomato horn worm? I think I can control them
> >by removing them, but if they can eat half of a plant in one morning...
> >What to do?

> >thanks

> >lp

by **Lori** » Wed, 05 Aug 1998 04:00:00

I just posted this problem last week. Yes, that is the dreded tomato
hornworm and yes, they devour your plants!!!!!Pull the sucker off and KILL
IT! (fewww, I feel better now :)
Lori

Quote:

> I had this tomato plan in a big terra cotta pot. Potting soil, which I
> have never had good luck using with tomatos. It seems I can't keep it
> moist enough. In any case, a less than robust plant. Yesterday, I
> looked at it as I passed, and noticed that half the leaves were
> missing,except for the stem and the main vain running up the middle. I
> looked closer and found a horror movie of a thing. It was about the
> diameter of my ring finger, and 3/4 the length. Green the color of the
> tomato plant stem. It looks like it has no features. No eyes, no
> mouth. Is this the famous tomato horn worm? I think I can control them
> by removing them, but if they can eat half of a plant in one morning...
> What to do?

> thanks

> lp

by **Hoope** » Thu, 06 Aug 1998 04:00:00

Keep on pluckin!
I for one feel that tomato horn worms grow out of the seed with the plant.
Government ***? Or alien invasion?

by **Gary Coope** » Fri, 07 Aug 1998 04:00:00

Quote:

> Keep on pluckin!
> I for one feel that tomato horn worms grow out of the seed with the plant.
> Government ***? Or alien invasion?

I think they are cleverly disguised Amway salespeople ... when cut, they
bleed that "Simple Green" solution.
They're just waiting around for us to let our guard down so they can sell
us distributorships.

Gary

by **corneli** » Fri, 07 Aug 1998 04:00:00

i pull `em off and toss `em to the mockingbirds.

i found the shriveled carcass of a hornworm the other day covered with
eggs from those parasitic wasps.they apparently just sucked him dry and
flew away.

----------------------------------------

Confusion will be my
epitaph. - King Crimson

Moon's Graden

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?

big fat thing ate my tomato leaves?