Tomato Hornworms How to get rid of them : GardenFork.TV

[1949RL]

Makes great largemouth bass bait.

[erochow]

@1949RL indeed, hornworms are cheaper than bass lures! thx, eric - GardenFork

[consaka1]

snack time for the chickens for sure.

[erochow]

@consaka1 chickens LOVE hornworms. my neighbor feeds them to her chickens.

[consaka1]

@erochow hahha lots of hornworms = fat chickens!

[MrSkater830]

you get rid of them by feeding them to your reptile

[npat34]

they don't always die from the wasp larva some will servive and make it into the ground and grow into a moth just to lay more eggs on your plants

SO KILL THEM ALL!!

[fretkills]

God made this process... being eaten alive

[Pimpmastahanhduece]

heres a trick, put a trench of diatomacous earth between the plants, theyll kill most invertebrate pests that crawl across them. Thats smart with using a sacrificial tree. Thats what nice about killing a native pest, theres usually something in the immediate vicinity that keeps them in check. Culling the infected caterpillars is a great technique that needs no chemicals and the cost of 1 dying plant.

[erochow]

@Pimpmastahanhduece thanks, the idea of the sarificial plant works for us, but we still get these guys eating out plants. thx, eric.

[jims72]

I have a real big problem with these things on my peppers! I am allergic to wasps so what else can i do to get rid of them?They are even eating my ghost peppers!

[erochow]

@jims72 the parasitic wasps that are on this hornworm don't sting people, from what I know. these are very small wasps, not the kind that make those paper nests and sting.

[jims72]

@erochow what is their genus name so i can see if they are here in AZ.I have yet to see any of the eggs.i have came up with one way to get rid of them as they are found.feed them to my oscars and my blue gill.Yep the circle of life is great and i love being on top!

[erochow]

@jims72 Five-Spotted Hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) according to wikipedia, they can be confused with the tobacco hornworm as well. thx, eric.

[Williaml9518]

@erochow I keep them as pets. dude they make good pets and when you do,you take them off the plant as well.i would suggest tenebrio molitors as pets too.

[Mtoker68]

why not just step on them ? that would be more fun

[blahblah7644]

@Mtoker68 you are one fucked-up individual if you think killing a wonderful creature is fun.

[ConsulOfTheAge]

In my yard, I have a 10 foot long and 4 foot wide patch of moonflower (Datura) and cherry tomato that i move the hornworms too. Also, the moonflower seems to keep the moths attracted to that area of the yard, since they love its flowers. Look into it, and get over the killing mentality shared by too many gardeners.

[ConsulOfTheAge]

The BEST solution to a hornworm problem, or as i see it, a gift, is to ensure you have an unkempt patch of sacrificial plants. This part you have right. The sacrificial patch not only allows the hornworms and their future moths to survive, but it also allows the predator population to survive and control the population.

[ConsulOfTheAge]

First of all, these are almost always Tobacco Hornworms (Manduca sexta). Historically, they plagued tobacco crops and have always been a pest to gardeners. Sadly, it is a true crime to kill a hornworm, for it is (as stated by blahblah7644) a truly amazing creature once mature. The adult moth, the six-spotted hawkmoth, is a unique and highly beneficial pollinator with an extremely long proboscis that allows it to pollinate many night-blooming flowers that need the moths specifically.

[blahblah7644]

@ConsulOfTheAge Well said, thanks for the support mate!



[blahblah7644]

(see below)...to eat. I honestly dont know why somebody would want to kill such an interesting creature. If your pissed about your tomatos being depleted, get some damn cheese cloth or something and cover them up. Nothing is harmed that way.

[blahblah7644]

It saddens me to see such ignorant comments like "I HATE HORNWORMS" when you dont even stop to realize what a beautiful creature they turn out to be. This species (Manduca sexta) has a hell of a hard time enough trying to survive from being parasatized and suffering from different disease, and it sure as HELL does not help when an arrogant person with scissors comes along and chops it in half...your just helping wipe out another species. Whenever I find hornworms, I ensure they have enough...

[darkfire3089]

@blahblah7644 Wow! it looks like the moth from the cover of Silence of the lambs... only without the creepy skull...

I feel really bad when i kill anything bigger than a woodlouse. I tend to Just move them.

[TheDiddleycat]

Hey, thanks for this! I just found one of these suckers, and like a big girl, yelped. I wasn't expecting to see this guy on my dessicated tomato plant. So that's whats doing it!

Informative video! You've got a new subscriber!

[MacTechG4]

Another "cheating" method of finding these accursed hornworms is to go out after dark to the tomato patch with an Ultraviolet light (Black Light), shine the UV light over the plants, they will absorb a good amount of the UV light and be dark, however, the hornworms will reflect more light back to you, they won't *glow* or flouresce, but they will stand out against the darker foliage and stems

[Tommyr]

I HATE tomato hornworms! They give me the willies! Just found one tonight on my cherry tomato plant. Freaking GROSS!

[connorscritters0366]

hornworms aint got no spine. you sir ait got no pancake mix.

[strim75068]

I spray my plants with homemade cayenne pepper tea. These bad bitches don't event try eating my plants.

[erochow]

@strim75068 good suggestion, hornworms are bad. eric.

[swallesque]

@strim75068 Could you give me a recipe?

[strim75068]

I spray my plants with cayenne pepper tea. These bad bitches don't event try eating my plants.

[imnophd]

who would dislike this video? I love that you are taking it it too these nasty tomater eating grubbers

[GoldenPlatinumSTEEL]

Wasp Eggs? Why Hatch If There Ganna Sting You?...

[erochow]

@GoldenPlatinumSTEEL because these parasitic wasps don't sting people.

[duvexy]

That is what I did. Less energy. Yucky green.

[thesunsetreptiles]

leave those on the worm there eggs and when they hatch they well eat the worm.

[elharriso123]

omg send me those for my bearded dragon

[kak400]

oh my..!! What did you do? This is beautiful insect. You could infer it somewhere. J always dream to breed it:P sorry for mistakes.

[xxxbustedsoulxxx]

parasites is on your side........wow, i need to stop watching commercials.

[arcofdescentmusic]

Saved my plants! Thank you!

[ConsulOfTheAge]

I think it is better to just have a plant a patch of alternate foodplant away from the desired tomato plants. That way, you can just transport the hornworms from the desired plants to the "alternate" plant. This seems more beneficial to the environment, since the hornworms in many areas are becoming quite rare (hard to believe it).

[ConsulOfTheAge]

Beneficial to the environment, since they feed birds, wasps, and many other natural consumers.

[patriciaannokeefe]

this was very helpful

[wow23birds]

I love your dog and love all the info. I'm still looking for the buger.

[wamyx8Nz]

Caffeine is actually really toxic to these things. They won't eat leaves that have been sprayed with caffeine, and if they do they die. There are a few studies on it. Bulk caffeine is pretty cheap on the internet, I've had good luck with it so far.

[erochow]

@wamyx8Nz hey thanks for that info. we'll talk about that on next week's GardenFork Radio show, which you can listen to on our site or on iTunes. thx, eric.

[wamyx8Nz]

@erochow That's really cool that you're going to feature it, I've just been dissolving the caffeine in water and using a sprayer to put it on the leaves, it makes sort of a white deposit that doesn't seem to hurt the plant so far. Rain or sprinklers will wash the caffeine off though so it's gotta be re-applied every couple of days. I used to find 2-3 worms a day on my plants, but I haven't seen one in the week since I started using caffeine. Let me know if you want any more info. Good luck!

[bmedeiros678]

As always... great job!

[mieshie]

i found two of these monsters in my tomato patch tonight when i came home from work. i promptly grabbed my execution scissors and cut them in half. it was fun watching the green glop dripping out. one of them was in the middle of eating half of a cherry tomato. i looked and only found two of them, but will look again tomorrow. today was the first time i have seen these things in my life. i found them in my organic gardening book. the ones i killed were at least 4 inches long.

[amazingdany]

@mieshie Worm killer!

[ArchieLovesMe]

Get yourself some Sevin or some chickens.

[mike773240]

i used to work on a farm, and these jerks were EVERYWHERE...my friend john actually cut one of their heads off and put it on a stick to warn the others, haha. and yes, they are FULL of green goo.

[AshThePhantom]

When my dad grows hornworms, I never kill em... I feed them to my bearded dragon. That's the best way to get rid of em. xD

[JorniusX]

nice alot different then the hornworms i look at every single day that i feed to my reotiles the ones i have are blue same pattern and shape just blue oh and the horn is a little bit smaller as well

[JJMDude]

Hehe, I remember these big guys from my childhood. My Grandmother would always find them and let us keep them as pets for a while. Always thought the horn was a strange thing for a big caterpillar to have. I was never sure, do they use those horns to puncture tomatoes?

[Akbal25]

NOOO send me all your hornworms!!! will become nice food for my savannha monitor!

[CountGecko]

I actually consider them good cause they make excellent Lizard food but yeah if you don't catch them in time they can destroy a garden in no time.

[trueepicure]

Ugh, I couldn't snip them in half. I fling them into the other side of the garden and hope the bevy of noisy birds living in the neighbor's bamboo have a nice lunch. ;-)

[bibi14930]

Haha!!! i'm sorry but these worms are just UGLY!!! i feel sorry for them when they were snipped in half by that guy's scissors but not that sorry!

[drumzown34]

what regions or states will they be in. anyone know, can u fill me in anyone?

[ElementMidnight]

you you monster! how could you kill them like that

[leloodallasmultipass]

those are not regulation hornworm snips.

[hoperets]

Idiot, moths are beautiful creatures! Try keeping them until they hatch from their cocoons instead!

[Iquey]

awesome.. the wasp parasites are a good thing? I never thought I'd see the day that parasites were on my side ^^.

[BlueRice]

@Iquey my friends called me parasite. maybe i can be your friend =)

[Dreamline45056]

A less messy way to get rid of hornworms is to drown them by plucking them from the plant and dropping them in a can of soapy water. Also, learn to recognize the moth that grows from the hornworm catepillar and kill the moth. Then you're stopping the source.

[IdentifyWithResearch]

Yeah, but where's the fun it that? (And it's probably quicker than drowning for the humanitarians out there.) Snipping also seems appropriate given what they do to the tomato plants ... and potato, pepper and eggplants, too.

[hoperets]

They eat the tomato leaves to grow, not to be mean to you dumb ass.

[SiliconBlake]

Wow, the goo just dripped out of that thing. B-gak!

[lilmic1987]

what do these things turn in to why dont you just trough then in the woods

[adfasffs]

It's disgusting how you just snip them in half! But yah, like some people here said, i think you better collect them and give or sell them off to lizard, tortise or chicken owners for good feed!

[SawMoviesRock12345]

OOH! I WANT YOUR CATTERPILARS!

[ASSEMblerEX]

Dude don't kill em! Sell em to lizard owners! You'll make a lot of money!

[sofalishus]

can i have your hornworms pllleaseee?

[CropDusterMan]

Use Lannate on them! Ah yes...the sweet smell of Death. By the way, malathion is not that serious a chemical...do you know that it has a higher LD 50 (ie is less toxic) than Vitamin D.

[Battlefrank8]

why are all the bugs I love pests?

[Praxxus55712]

No Malathion! Holy crap that's a nasty chemicl to be using on a food crop. Just pick them off and smash them. Problem solved. Glad I don't have hornworms in my area. I think the chickens would love them though. :)

[homeostasis4me]

It's called MALATHION......

[Kodocha7]

my mom plant brandy wine tomato got worm guest got no tomato

[Kodocha7]

wow i hate these