What is the best way to get rid of Tomato Hornworm. Some say leave them but they are destroying all the leaves

Answer 1

I prefer to avoid chemical pesticides whenever possible, since they can have negative effects on beneficial insects (like honeybees, who are pollinating our plants, or ladybugs, who are eating aphids.) Tomato hornworms blend in with the tomato foliage pretty well, but you can usually spot them by looking for fresh piles of their droppings (little black dots) on the leaves. They are usually right above the piles of droppings. Pick them off and either step on them (which is gross but 100% effective) or drop them into a bucket of soapy water, which is less gross but also effective. There is one time when it is good to leave the tomato hornworm on the plant, and that is if you see a number of sort of white oval things stuck to them. Those would be the eggs of a parasitic wasp - nature's way of keeping things in balance. The wasp lays its eggs on the hornworm, and the baby wasps hatch into the hornworm, killing it as they feed on it. So you would want to leave the egg-infested worms alone, because they are already doomed, and by letting the little parasitic wasps come to maturity, a new generation of hornworm -sucking wasps is born. (Don't worry about the wasps - they are tiny and harmless, unless you are a hornworm!)

Answer 2

Either pick them off by hand or go to the garden center and get a bacteria culture called "BT". It is a natural product and it "eats" the hornworms! Kills them overnight. I use it (Too many tomato plants to hand pick the worms) because it isn't a poison. All my stuff is grown organically. I don't use any type of poison or commercially prepared fertilizers. Weeder geese will also get 'em. But the plants get too tall for the geese to reach the tops. I cage my tomatoes in 6 ft. tall cages and they always grow higher than the cages. But the geese do a good job on other bugs and they are marvelous at helping keep the weeds out of the garden!

Answer 3

I haven't grown tomatoes in a long time, but I do remember I had a heck of a time with tomato worms. I bought this stuff that had a live bacteria in it that was organic and totally non-toxic to humans. Sprinkled it on and the worms were dead overnight. If you would rather not put anything on your tomatoes, you can always just pick them off the plant. I know they look pretty mean, but its all show. They cant hurt you. Just wear some gloves. They do leave a pretty rank smell on your hands. By the way, does anybody know what tomato worms turn in to? I was told they metamorphize into those huge moths that are about the size of a hummingbird.

Answer 4

With your bare hands. You can handpick tomato hornworms and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. If they persist, try releasing beneficial trichogamma wasps. They’re no threat to you or your pets, but they do kill over 200 species of caterpillars including the tomato hornworm.

Answer 5

At the first sign that I have any hornworms, I borrow a friends big old weeder goose for about 2 days, and no more hornworms for the rest of the season.

Answer 6

rid tomato hornworm leave destroying leaves: https://bitly.im/c14/what-is-the-best-way-to-get-rid-of-tomato-hornworm-some-say-leave-them-but-they-are-destroying-all-the-leaves

Answer 7

i'd hand pick all the tomato worms and destroy them if i were you,
to keep tomato worms away, plant marigolds around and among all of your tomatoes, it really works

Answer 8

Spray the plants with either liquid 7 or malathion.

Answer 9

we use 5% sevins dust. get it at almost any home store. apply in AM when dew is still on plant and it will adhere better. m

Answer 10

Sevin dust, get it at walmart, or a farm supply store.