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Insects - What is this and how do I keep him away. (photo)

cjs111
13 years ago

So, something has been having its way with my garden. Lots of pepper and tomato plants being gobbled up.

I found 2 of these (see photo below)a few days ago and killed them. This morning I found this guy. Am I correct that they are eating my plants? WHat is it? How do i keep them from coming back? Is ther are trick to finding him. It was sheer luck I saw this guy this morning.

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This is one of the plants.

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Comments (7)

  • thisisme
    13 years ago

    That is a Tomato Hornworm and they can be very destructive. They take on the color of the plant they are eating which can make them hard to see when they are hiding. I remember searching a plant and not finding the worm. Then I saw these large green turds dropping on the soil one after another. My eyes followed them up and found the critter hiding in plain sight.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Hornworm Control

  • sundrop07
    13 years ago

    That is a hornworm worm. It will eat peppers and tomato plants down to nothing if not controlled. If you just find a few, pick and squish. For many you can dust the plants with BT, a natural bacterial control. The trick to finding them is getting up close and personal with the plants, they blend right in and can be hard to spot. Don't know of any way of keeping them out,these are from eggs of large moths. Good luck.

  • cjs111
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    thanks, would this worm alos eat my pepper buds as I have notice many are missing?

    do any of you know an good organic ways to kill/repell other criters. when i go out to my garden i night with a flash light its scarry to see whats there.

  • thisisme
    13 years ago

    They will eat everything on a pepper or tomato plant. Even the peppers themselves.

    Some people spray their plants with seaweed extract to both feed their plants and repel insects. Its not foolproof but it helps. Too high a dose and you can do more harm than good.
    One half to one Tablespoon per gallon of water sprayed at sun up or just before sundown.Don't spray during the day or it will damage your plants. The same is true of nearly all insecticidal oils, sprays and soaps.

    In the fruit and Orchard Forum Spectracide Once and Done is mentioned all the time. Its not organic but it is supposed to be safe.

    Another one used is Bonide Horticultural Oil.

    If you are only dealing with small things like aphids and whiteflies a few drops of Ivory Soap in a spray bottle will do the trick. But you have to spray each time you see them and then spray it off with water before it dries. I just carry around the spray bottle and drag a garden hose around set to a fine mist to wash it off.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Spectracide

  • hellbound
    13 years ago

    these are devastating pick them off anf squash them asap look under leaves for the orange pearly eggs but you can control them by going out everynight and everymorning and looking for them but miss a day and you could come back to a bunch of stems my tomato plants are huge so the damage is local but a small plant like the one in that pic could be devastated they also like eggplant too as for the blossom i've got little birds eating mine and since it's to hot to leave my trusty garden dog out there to scare them off theres really nothing i can do

  • nmgirl
    13 years ago

    Aphids can be removed by spraying them off with the garden hose.

    Whitefly populations can be kept in check with yellow sticky traps. It's best to put these out early in the season but they will work anytime.

    Hornworms are actually a caterpillar and are the larval form of the Sphinx moth. The moth is nocturnal and is an important pollinator and bat food source. The safest way to control the caterpillars is by handpicking. If you know anyone who has chickens you can make the birds very happy by giving them the caterpillars.

  • thisisme
    13 years ago

    Be careful when hand picking tomato horn worms. They can give you a nasty bite. I always use gloves.

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