NON-beneficial Insects – Grrrr…

We often talk about the good insects and great it is to have lady bugs and praying mantises… but today, we talk about the Tomato Hornworm.  You know the one.  He is probably out there right now munching on something he shouldn’t be.

I guess it was about 2 months ago when we really started getting hit hard by them.  I remember spending afternoons out there in the heat picking them off.  Not cool.

Then I thought we had pretty much gotten a handle on things and this weekend we go out into the garden and see this fat fool sitting atop our tomato plant like he is the champion of all things wormy.

The Tomato Hornworm

That is my fat finger you see there… trying to give you some kind of perspective on how big he is.  He obviously had made a haul so far, considering his size.  He was sleeping in the morning dew… loving life I’m sure.  Dreaming of all the tomato leaves he would eat today and all the lil black turds he would be laying on the ones he didn’t eat.

He was quickly eradicated.  I will not tell you the method.  Although, I hear soapy water does the trick… if you like the evil feeling of squishing them… guess that would work too.  I think Labs like to play with them for a while.  Whatever your flavor.

Here is one more picture of the Tomato Hornworm in all his glory…  while it lasted.

Tomato Hornworm Pictures

10 thoughts on “NON-beneficial Insects – Grrrr…”

  1. I hate to have to, er, eradicate the garden pests, but I get it. If there were a way to get the damn bamboo mites off my sasa palmata, I would do it. Only they’re too small and too everywhere to get. Good luck with the battle.

  2. @Megan – I hate doing it, but those guys can take a tomato plant down to stems if they team up… in a few days. Specially when they get that big.

    We try to hand pick and kill most pests, unless its a soapy water mixture we spray on them… something organic if possible. 😉

    Of course.

  3. “but today, we talk about the Tomato Hornworm. You know the one. He is probably out there right now munching on something he shouldn’t be.”

    i dont know why but i was laughing so hard when i read this. there might be something wrong with me. i am not well.

    you hand picked him? eff that. i’d put a cap in a worm that big.

  4. @ghost – It is a big ole worm. I guess with Tomato being in their name… I suppose that is what they are supposed to be doing… but still.

    @deb – my thoughts exactly.

  5. There is another way – buy or make a caterpillarium and just transfer the caterpillars there where they can do no harm. That way you keep the butterfly population going but don’t get your plants munched.

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