Tomato worms ~ what's the best way to get rid of them?

Answer 1

You asked for the best way, and Sevin isn't it.
Use B.T.K. (Bacillis Thuringiensis Kurstaki)
It's a bacteria that, when ingested by caterpillars, eats them from the inside out. It affects only larvae and is completely benign to other insects/mammals/birds/fish, etc. You can get it at any nursery.

I use it on my tomatoes, and one application after the first indication of Hornworm presence always gets them all.
A bonus is that it works on other larvae/caterpillars, such as Cabbage loopers and cabbage moths.

Answer 2

Tomato hornworms are voracious feeders in their immature stage. As catapillars they are big and can chew tomato leaves at an alarming rate. The adult stage of this insect is a large dark colored moth. If you find a tomato hornworm. first, take a look at its body. A beneficial insect, a braconid wasp often will parasitise the worm. The tell tale sign is small white tufts on the worm's body. These are developing larve that have been deposited as eggs by this wasp. As they mature, they feed on the body of the worm, and eventually kill it.
Nature works wonders. If you notice significant damage to leaves but do not see the worm on tomatoes- look harder. They are well camoflaged but nothing can consume leaves as fast as these big green worms. Spraying with sevin (carbaryl) as labeled will eventually kill these insects, but in my experience, manual and natural controls work best. Keep in mind that Tomato and tobacco are closly related and share many pests and diseases. If you are a tobacco user, never smoke in your garden or discard tobacco products in the area. Diseases can be spread easily this way. Some varieties are very resistant to these diseases, but the older and heirloom varieties are especially vulnerable. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But the Truth? Remember, your question states the "best way", so here is the best answer. By hand. A, #1 best way. The second best way is a couple hungry chickens loose in the garden. The prefered way, a little dusting of 7 dust before bed each night.

Answer 4

Go with the BT answer. I have 60 tomato plants in my garden and always use BT every year. Never have any trouble with gnawing caterpillars at all. Good stuff, that.

Answer 5

Hand pick them off the plants and kill them (or fish with them).

There usually aren't more than a few. One can decimate a few plants in one night. So the alrming destruction doesn't incate hordes...just a few.

They blend in - but they're big. Take you time, and visually inspect each plant, and remove the little monsters.

Answer 6

As kids we picked them off by hand and threw them on the driveway. They splatter green goo a remarkable distance! :-D

Answer 7

i use sevin dust, it works great,and its safe for humans and animals.it will also get rid of all the other insects like grass hopper etc.

Answer 8

They're great for fishing. Nice and juicy. Fish love 'em.

Answer 9

I JUST PICKED MINE OF OFF OF MY TOMATO PLANTS. as for using them for fishing ? i tried that and they didn't work @ all?????