Hornworms

[Cassandra]

I found a hornworm attached to a pepper plant in my pepper/tomato bed. I tried to thump him off, but he was really stuck to it! I pulled him off and tried to get pictures, but my camera don't do close-ups.

Should I spray or something. I remember my grandmother used to get huge green tomato worms on her tomato plants and fruits. She would have used sevin dust, which I am inclined to do. But if there is something cleaner, I'm all for it.

Cassandra

 

[patandchickens]

Should I spray or something.

I would really recommend not spraying. Hornworms are one of the EASIEST pests to get rid of. Find. Grab. Feed to chickens. Stand back out of the way of feeding frenzy

Seriously, I can't see poisoning large numbers of innocent or beneficial critters (which any kind of spraying will do) for a pest that comes in small numbers, does not do massive damage, and can, with attention, easily be handpicked off. If you had two acres of tomatoes or peppers that might be a little different, but as it is... just pick 'em. Use gloves or tongs if you are oooogy about it. The chickens will LOVE them.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[Cassandra]

just pick 'em. Use gloves or tongs if you are oooogy about it. The chickens will LOVE them.

Have fun,

Pat

D'oh! Why didn't I think of that? Of course the chickens will love them. I brought the one I caught this morning inside to try to take a pic of it. I wasn't successful. But I ended up having my son flush it down the toilet because I didn't want to throw it in the trash or set it free.



Next time I will give it to the chickens. I wouldn't pick it with my hands, but I picked a leaf from a weed and used that as sort of an oven mitt to pull the worm off the stem.

But, Pat, that is exactly the information I wanted to know. I wasn't sure if I was going to go out one day and find a writhing mess of horn worms. As long as they come in relatively small quantities, I'm comfortable hand picking them.

Cassandra

 

[Beekissed]

I've heard that planting basil in with your tomatoes will deter hornworms. I've never had one but I'm going to try the basil anyway because I just like the idea of having some basil!

 

[patandchickens]

I've heard that planting basil in with your tomatoes will deter hornworms. I've never had one but I'm going to try the basil anyway because I just like the idea of having some basil!

If it deters hornworms, I'd hate to see how many hornworms I would have had otherwise, last summer...

Pat

 

[SewingDiva]

Seriously, I can't see poisoning large numbers of innocent or beneficial critters (which any kind of spraying will do) for a pest that comes in small numbers, does not do massive damage, and can, with attention, easily be handpicked off. If you had two acres of tomatoes or peppers that might be a little different, but as it is... just pick 'em. Use gloves or tongs if you are oooogy about it. The chickens will LOVE them.

This is a great advice Pat, thank you - I was wondering about this as well. We have only 8 tomato plants, and I'm not keen on spraying for just this reason. Our chicken adventure starts June 18th, the day they should be at the Post Office!

~Phyllis

 

[aee96]

I've found 3 hornworms in two days. I hate them, but the chickens love them. Actually it's kind of gross to see 2 chickens play tug-o-war with one.

I have a lot of basil planted in among my tomatoes so I'd hate to think how many there would be if I had no basil. Do marigolds repel hornworms? If so, I might have to plant some. Does it have to be a specific marigold or any marigold?

I have another question, do the hornworms stay on the plant all day - just hidden somewhere in the shade until they come out when it's cool enough to munch? Or do they crawl off somewhere during the day? I never see them until they are huge, but I've read their larval stages last a month, so I'm missing them somewhere.

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

I agree with Pat, handpicking is very easy and kids (well most) love doing it. Chicken tug of war is even better.

I've never heard of planting basil near tomatoes for hornworms but do know that it helps with the sweetness of tomatoes.

Borage, however, does seem to help repelling hornworms, IME.

Marigolds do as well if planted very close.

A marigold spray works good on hornworms and doesn't harm beneficials. Take 1 cup of marigold leaves and flowers and crush them. Put in 1 pint of water. Let stand for 24 hours. Strain. Dilute further with 1 1/2 quarts of water then add 1/4 teaspoon of liquid soap. This seems to work well.

 

[patandchickens]

They stay on the plant all day. They tuck into the shade of the leaves.

I was just reading a tomato-growing book yesterday that suggested you can suss them out (to handpick and, in our case, feed to the chooks) by aiming a fine gentle spray of cold water on the plants. Supposedly the hornworms thrash around in reaction to the cold water, and if you look closely you can see the leaves quivering and know where to search for them. I am slightly dubious but it seems worth a try. My biggest tomatoes are still only 12" high though so I will put it out there in case someone else wants to be the first on the block to give it a whirl

Pat

 

[Buff Shallots]

I'm glad someone brought this up. Last summer I was tempted to feed hornworms to the chickens, but hornworms look so nasty and juicy that I was afraid I'd lose my cookies if I watched the chickens rip 'em apart. It must be mega gross.