Tomato Worm

[trumpetvine]

Help.......I have a lot of tomato vines this year & I have been looking for a tomato wrom for 2 days. He is doing a number on my vines & I have not found him yet! Anyone got a sure way to find them? Someone told me to look for it with a flash light after it gets dark. Said they would glow in the light.........not mine. Couldn't find him in the dark or the light of day. I have found the traces of him (big tomato worm poop) & from the amount of vines he has demolished in a couple of days he should be the size of a VW. But I can't find him.http://www.plantswap.net/forum/image...extras/taz.gif

[ok_nurse]

As much as I hate using insecticides, I think yours warrants a good dose of tomato worm spray. We had to use it once already this year or we wouldn't have had a crop left.

[trudy]

to find, I've had that problem to but eventually you find him. A trick I learned a couple yrs ago was when you first plant them pinch the first leaf stem near the main tomato stem, not remove but only bruise the leaf stem. This will cause to tomato plant to send out a toxin that keeps tomato hornworms away. I failed to do this to some volunteer tomatoes so I still have had a few. But with 70 something mator plants I've only found maybe 10 worms all season. Not bad IMO.

[jbclem]

Tomato Hornworms are well disguised, they really blend in with the green of the tomato plant. You often have to stare at an area to pick them out, The good thing is that the more they eat, the larger they grow. When you spot their poop, look up above it for the poopster. Also, follow the path of destruction.

jc

[trumpetvine]

My husband & I have both almost put our eyes out looking for this guy! Talk about camaflogue! I guess we have been lucky we have only had three so far this year & have found them without too much eye strain.....but this one!!! I've tried following the path of destruction, above, to the sides & below all the poop & he is still elusive. I keep thinking I'm going to find one the size of a snake with as much as he has eaten.
I have never heard of bruising the tomato stem to create a toxin for the worm. I will definitely try that the next time we plant. I have mater plants coming up all over my yard from the compost I've put out. No telling how many different varieties are there. Guess it will be fun discovering all the different kinds.......if that monster doesn't get them all. LOL
Thanks all for the help!http://www.plantswap.net/forum/image...s/Banane09.gif

[deb_b]

7-dust also. It's a powder that you can sprinkle on everything to keep all types of bugs off your plants. That what we use and don't have much trouble out of the hornworms. If you find him. You should try something. But only if it has little white looking worms attached to it. If it does, pluck him off along with some old tomato leaves and put it in a jar or open baggie. Let the little eggs hatch. I can't remember what they are called, but it's a form of fly that kills hornworms. My son did a project on these. The mother looks something like a bee, but will a really, really long butt. It looks like a long stiff string hanging down from her. The little ones look just like her when they hatch, only in smaller form of course. If you haven't seen one, give the experiment a try. Don't forget to let them go, so they can take care of more hornworms next year. They do a great job around here. Hope this helps and everyone has fun doing this. I learned alot myself.
Deb

[Pushin-up-Daisies]

Trumpet u made me laugh talkin bout the worm,big as a snake.

[trumpetvine]

We cut off all the stems that had been stripped of leaves. That way we could see if there was any further damage. We have not seen any more........maybe one of these mean Texas Mockingbirds took care of him for me. We have a ton of Mockingbirds that keep us laughing when we are out in the yard. I have a bunch of fat old cats, most of the 10 years old. They are too lazy to hurt a bird & too well fed to care about exerting themselves to go after a bird, but those Mockingbirds give them heck. There's one who waits for the cats to come out in the open & the dive bombing begins. If the cats don't come out into the open by 6 o'clock in the evening, this bird will get up in my pecan tree & just start throwing a fit until they come out. Then the bombing begins. The cats will finally just come & sit practically under my feet to get some relief. You can almost see the bird laughing. http://www.plantswap.net/forum/image...s/rotflmbo.gif