I noticed alot of my tomatoes have been half eaten. I also found a large green worm (looks like a large catepillar) on the stem. How do I get rid of him before I do not have any tomatoes left.

There were also clusters of what looked like black seeds. Is this the eggs?

-- janel tischler (jtischler@hess.com), August 08, 2001

Answers

most catipillars only eat leaves,, slugs and such will eat the tomatoes,,, if you've seen it,,pick it off and squish it,, but if its a big catipillar,,Id check to see what kind it is,, maybe its a benifitial butterfly,, and the slugs are your problem

-- STAN (sopal@net-port.com), August 08, 2001.

A big green worm is most likely a tomato hornworm. They eat the leaves, not the fruit. The black things are likely fecal material from the hornworm. Pick them off and squish them. Sometimes a parasitic wasp will lay eggs in a worm and it will turn white with eggs, leave those to hatch out the wasps.

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), August 08, 2001.

No doubt about it...hornworms (look closely, there's likely to be more than one!). I've had them eat the green tomatoes and the leaves.

-- Sharon/WI (pinnow@inwave.com), August 08, 2001.

Hornworms are it all right. You don't tend to notice these until they get quite large unless you are used to looking for them, as they blend in so well with the plants. I hand pick them off and just watch the plants closely.

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), August 08, 2001.

Handpick and squish the big ones but you might also want to spray with BT (organic). Make sure you get under the leaves.

-- Cindy in NY (cjpopeck@worldnet.att.net), August 08, 2001.

Hornworms have distinctive "horns" at each end. Occasionally I see small caterpillars eating the fruit of the tomatoes, but I agree it's probably a hornworm. If you have chickens, give them the worms; they love them!

-- Katherine (KyKatherine@Yahoo.com), August 08, 2001.

Those pesky green horn worms also love dill, it was a race to see who could get to the dill faster this year, the worms or me!

-- barb Stiarwalt (Barb43@counrtlife.net), August 08, 2001.

I agree, hornworms do eat the fruit too, not just the leaves. I have had them ruin quite a bit. What do the hornworms grow into anyway? What type of moth/butterfly??? What does it look like and what is it called?

-- Joan (JTYTOR@pressenter.com), August 09, 2001.

Have had the hornworms move from my tomatoes to the trees and start defoliating them. Thay also love to eat the tobacco plants.

-- fred (fred@mddc.com), August 09, 2001.

you are not imagining the little blighters eating your tomatoes! . here is a pict. for proof! http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/M/I-LP-MSEX- LV.002.html .The frass/droppings/poops will be the colour of whatever they are eating. They mature into a big grey & black [hummingbird sized] moth. unless i am being overrun, i toss them into the nearest nightshade, or wild tomatillos. The bluebirds love to snack on them & i like to see the moths at the moonflowers.

-- bj pepper (pepper.pepper@excite.com), August 09, 2001.

The moths are big, and interesting looking. I had no idea the worm ate the fruit! I've got squash bug migration to my tomatoes and I think the hornworms have pupated, never did find them but damage was there.

-- Susan (smtroxel@soket.net), August 10, 2001.

Even though it sounds odd, my mum and I use a cleaner called Incredible Pink. We put a little into a big plastic margarin bowl with a 1/4 cup of water. We pluck the worms off of the plant and let them sit in the liquid. We also found out that the solution takes care of those pesky Japanese beetles too! When your little catches are good and deceased, we fling them into the road but leave the solvent in the bowl to be used again at a later time. Hope that helps anyone!

-- Kelin Bowen (NeonWildChild@hotmail.com), October 11, 2001.

I have tomato horn worms every year it seems. Some as big as hot dogs, and they do eat the leaves and the fruit (red and green)! They also seem to enjoy my peppers, eggplant and potato as much as we do. The moth, called Hummingbird or Hawk moths, have a 5" wingspan, emerge in early summer and can be seen flying at dusk. Eggs are laid on the underside of leaves and hatch in a week, very hungry I might add. When full grown they dig undergroung with their mouths 3-4" where they pupate and winter over in brown cigar like shells, so fall rototilling can sometimes help, as it may leave some exposed to the winter weather. The only other help I know of besides hand picking and Bacillus thuringiensis (such as Thuricide) is carbaryl (such as Sevin).

-- Rebecca Martin (beckolynn@yahoo.com), May 12, 2002.