|
| I've been growing tomatoes here in the Florida panhandle for several years. Previously, the only pest I'd have to deal with are hornworms, which appear usually the end of June and July. There are never many, but all it takes are a couple! I just came inside from picking off about a dozen small caterpillars from my plants that I'm growing in a dozen 20-gallon tubs. No pics -- destroyed the evidence! I've never seen these before. They were 1/2" to 3/4" long, dark green/brownish, soft-bodied, and basically non-descript. Perhaps I caught them before they matured to the point of being larger with more identifiable markings. As near as I can figure with some Googling, they're either armyworms or fruitworms. No damage to any of the developing fruits, just to the foliage. Each one had "sewn" a leaf together and was hiding inside. I've read as much as I can find on these types of caterpillars, but no mention of this particular behavior. Any educated guesses? Another odd thing that I noticed were leaves cut from the plants and laying on the medium at the base of the plants. Usually caterpillars are efficient and not "sloppy" like this. The one good thing about caterpillars is that they are very "seasonal" in their appearance, and aren't like other pests that can continue appearing after they are removed. Thankfully, I'm hyper-vigilant about checking my plants each morning, and noticed the damage before it got out of hand. FYI... Bruce |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| I started having problems with fruit worms several years ago. Spinosad took care of the problem. I have read that it may be slightly more effective than BT. |
|
| I just read a little about spinosad -- it seems to be a relatively benign pesticide. Although, I'm reluctant to put anything on my plants if I can just rely upon my fingers! ;-) Do fruit worms eat foliage, or just the fruit? Have you ever seen them sew a leaf together? -Bruce |
|
- Posted by PlanterJeff 7B GA (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 14 at 13:55
| I use BT here in GA for the little green guys. They are very heavy here. Last year I tried the hand picking method and they cleared out my broccoli first and then moved to the tomato foliage and then the fruits! I used safer brands BT this year at their first site and have not had an issue at all since. I am now sold on BT 100%. |
|
- Posted by northernmn 3/4 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 14 at 21:11
| They might be a "leaf roller" caterpillar |
|
| Yes! Leaf-roller it is! Thanks for that suggestion! Surprisingly, I couldn't find much by Googling "leaf roller caterpillar" and "tomato," but I did come up with the GW thread below with a pic. The monster in the pic is much larger than the ones I squished this morning! The ones on my plants were even slightly translucent, mostly dark green. -Bruce |
Here is a link that might be useful: Leaf roller thread
|
- Posted by northernmn 3/4 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 3, 14 at 22:48
| I get them about the size of yours.... 1/2" to 3/4" but not on my tomatoes. Mostly on my blueberries, raspberries, and apple trees. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Growing Tomatoes Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
