What kind of worm is this?

Is it a cutworm? He is pretty big at about 2". He freaked me out this morning while harvesting tomatoes.

Is it a cutworm? He is pretty big at about 2". He freaked me out this morning while harvesting tomatoes.

The tomato horned worm. a lovely fellow but will eat all your crop We give ours to the chickens and I use BT to prevent.
Ha-v-v

Tomato horn worm that is also what I thought. He certainly is a big fella. I'm going to feel bad getting rid of him but it is him or the hard earned tomatoes.

Thanks

p.s. what is BT

Maya Papaya wrote:Tomato horn worm that is also what I thought. He certainly is a big fella. I'm going to feel bad getting rid of him but it is him or the hard earned tomatoes.

Thanks

p.s. what is BT

You know I should have put that in there before I apologize.
here is a link to what it is, its Bacillus thuringiensis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacillus_thuringiensis
I know its in Dipel dust, I would want it in its purest form not mixed with too many other ingredients. I dont like the dust myself, its just a pain with so many plants for me and I think I should wear a mask!!! I have the dust until its all gone. Bonide is a brand that has it as well in concentrate form, Link to amazon here (not promoting amazon, just giving you an idea)
http://www.amazon.com/Bonide-Thuricide-8-Ounce-Worm-Killer/dp/B000OBIP20 you can fill the spray bottles or the pumpers. I have gallon pump sprayers. Thats what I want next. My local Feed Co Op has it and will buy it there.
I was just wondering the other day how you were and how the garden was going. Share with us when you have time, I know summer time is so busy for lots of us in so many ways and I know you work as well, so I hope the summer meant lots of work and prosperity as well as a good harvest for you.
Ha-v-v

Thanks, yeah I have just been busy. The garden is coming along. This is my first time gardening and I have learned a lot. You are right about the damage of the worm - I noticed he had been munching on the tomato plant - man he was huge! I threw him in my neighbors yard to munch on their vegetation (I didn't have the heart to destroy him although he was trying to attack me when I put him in a container!).

I'm an organic gardener so I won't be putting any chemicals in the garden but thanks for the info. I just monitor it very closely.

Thanks again

I'm an organic gardener so I won't be putting any chemicals in the garden but thanks for the info. I just monitor it very closely.

I totally understand, with that in mind when I do a research for things I will hunt organic and always give links. I usually look for that first, but today I tossed what Ive used. I read a lot and I like to share the links so others can say yea or nay.

Threw it in the neighbors yard!!!! lololololololololol
I do not have the heart to kill much either, I have sons or a husband that will carry it to the chickens. The chickens being omnivorous are happy for a treat. I am working towards being totally organic as far as I can. I have an organicide that is from bonide, neem oil, and fish oil combinations as a fungicide I want to test for blight Ill let you know. I love the smell of the fish oil too, call me crazy. I will work on remedies for spring. Its easier to keep up on monitoring a smaller garden and I want to stay small until I can try new more organic methods.

Ok I wonder if you are up to insecticidal soaps? That is small amount of soap in a spray bottle? I use Dr. Bronner's castille liquid soaps for an insecticidal spray. Im still new to gardening as well, Just this year was the first of success
I will hunt around for some things that would be organic for our wormie friends.

Insecticidal Soap Article with recipes.
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/homemade-insecticidal-soap.html

I love the Dr Bronners peppermint soap anyway!! It is so refreshing!!! If they had gallon bottles where I buy it I would, but I buy it by the quart at GNC, I have a card I pay for as well yearly, 1-7 of the month I get 20 percent off and if they are buy one get the other half I save more

I took all chemicals out for cleaners a few years back, and use natural products to disinfect, all ones made with those soaps. That and vinegar, my friend
Ok I know I've really rambled :-D
Ha-v-v

Oh if I had chickens, I would have no problem giving the worms to the chickens! If I find more of these worms I'm going to snip them in half with scissors ( I watched a video from Garden Fork TV) and that is what he did. Thanks for all the info.

Maya Papaya wrote:
I'm an organic gardener so I won't be putting any chemicals in the garden but thanks for the info. I just monitor it very closely.

Thanks again

BT is organic gardening

Maya Papaya wrote:Oh if I had chickens, I would have no problem giving the worms to the chickens! If I find more of these worms I'm going to snip them in half with scissors ( I watched a video from Garden Fork TV) and that is what he did. Thanks for all the info.

That is one disgusting looking worm! I always wondered what they looked like but had never seen one. Dang! My gardening zone is looking better and better all the time. We just don't have stuff like that here!! But even so, snipping it in half with scissors!!!!! I could bring myself to stomp on it I think and if I had chickens I could give it to them but the scissor thing just creeps me out.

GK

Actually, your worm is the tobacco hornworm. It looks almost identical to the tomato hornworm, and both do severe damage to tomatoes, tobacco, and sometimes peppers, eggplants, and potatoes.

Tomato hornworms have a black horn and the markings on their side are v-shaped. They are more common in the north. Tobacco hornworms have red horns, and the side markings are diagonal. They are more common in the south, but we had both in our garden this year in Missouri.

The adult form of the tomato hornworm is the five-spotted hawk moth. The adult tobacco worm moth has six spots.

It doesn't really matter what you call them. They are BAD dudes.

That is a GREAT picture of a BAD dude. The SFG app on the iPhones should have that picture as an example in the pest section.

We were out trying to sort out the mess of tomatoes that we planted and didn't trellis, and we came across this!





I've never seen that before! It's disgusting to think about what's actually happening here, but it's pretty cool to know that we have parasitic wasps

I saw the same sight yesterday and ignorantly threw it in soapy water. It was the most hideous thing I had ever seen, and it was also the first hornworm I had ever seen. After googling it, I realized my mistake.

If any of you see this in your garden, leave it so the wasps hatch and ultimately keep the hornworm population in check. I feel so much regret now!

I am loving my Zone 3b more and more.

GK

OK - so I have a few comments to make

Re stepping on these bad boys - ohhh the mess - I chopped one in half last weekend with my trowel - there was a volcanic squirt initially as it burst (surprisingly tough skins) then it dribbled green ozze down the side of my sfg box - it was gross - the thought of that ooze on the bottom of my shoe --- ewww

So my 8 year old is interested in my garden but didn't know we have horn worms. He came home from camp with a horn worm caterpillar that went into a crysalis - imagine my sadness when it died - I never said a thing though. I just brought him over to the computer to show him a pic of the horn worm and told him we have them on our tomatoes - then I came accross the wasp eggs - and thought I would gross him out as much as I was - and I said (in my all knowing mommy way) do you know what that is, and he said without even blinking an eye - yeah - wasp eggs. Phhhh he knows all kinds of things I don't - I never would have known what was going on if I saw that in my garden! lol

I read somewhere (online) last spring to plant petunias around the tomato plants and they keep the hornworms away. My parents tried it this year an not a single hornworm was found for most of the season. My mom told me the other day that they did have one late in the season but the tomato plant had overgrown the petunias. She said she will plant more petunias next year!

A different way of thinking: Maybe next year I will plant some tomatoes just for them.

Hornworms make hawkmoths? OMG. That makes me REALLY conflicted about what to do with them. I love watching hawkmoths zip around (I thought they were hummingbirds until I finally got close enough to see the difference.)

I'm not sure, but according to this link tomato and tobacco hornworms aren't the ones which turn into the "hummingbird" moths. I think they are in the same family, though. Any moth experts out there who know for sure?

http://www.birds-n-garden.com/white-lined_sphinx_hummingbird_moths.html