Comments on: Black Spots on Tomato Plants, Signs of Hornworms

By: Riyad Kalla

Riyad Kalla — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:59:45 +0000

Sharon,

We looked in the morning, but I don’t recall having better luck with 1 time of the day over the other — the trick is really what Diane outlined, to look for the black spots (their poop) and then look above that location for the worms… they are SURPRISINGLY hard to find, you can even be looking right at one and not notice it and then look around some more and back where you were already looking and finally notice it.

Also on an unrelated note, there were times when we could shake the plant lightly and listen very intently and hear little popping sounds the worms make as a defensive mechanism… they excreet foam when they are upset apparently, but that only helped us find them 1 time — looking for poop is more helpful.

Also a tip I would recommend is using a hose to wash the plants daily, to clean all the old poop off, so you can spot fresh poop right away each day.

It’s time consuming and frustrating… 1 other tip I would suggest you look into is picking up a pesticide spray and just killing the hell out of the worms — but if you are trying to be clean/organic and want to fight them to the death, those are the only tips I know of to share.

Good luck!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:12:47 +0000

Diane,
What is the best time to look for the worms? They are chomping my plants and I cannot see them in the afternoon. Are they easier to find in the morning?
Thanks.
Sharon

By: Riyad Kalla

Riyad Kalla — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:50:34 +0000

Diane,

Excellent tips. Are you ever able to find them when they are small? We were only ever able to find them once they were the size of small trucks — that drove us nuts because by then they were ruining the poor plants

By: Diane

Diane — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:32:57 +0000

I have about 14 hanging buckets with tomato plants that were doing fantastic, till I found the ‘hornworm’. I have become a pro at it though….look on your leaves for little black droppings..horn poop…I ain’t kidding..if you find a ’sixpack’ of them…look above and Trust me…there is a big one up under the leaves from it. Also if you have Pepper plants..they love these too have found one in every pot I have growing, although easier to find then the tomato plant..they are still there under the leaves of the Pepper Plant. I have chickens so they love it when I find one, circle of life eh

Two plastic spoons and first thing in the morning and after dinner we go hornworm hunting, always look for the poop down below and you will find your hornworm, guarantied.

By: Finding More Hornworms by the Day (Time for Wormicide!) | The "Break it Down" Blog

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:48:16 +0000

[...] As is typcial for any decent tech blog, we started touching on gardening tips, like finding Hornworms on your Tomato plants. [...]

By: Editor

Editor — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:01:31 +0000

tdod,

Thanks for the pointer on the garden-safe soap, wasn’t even aware of that… I think that’s something we are definitely going to look into next season.

Also the wasp-larvae issue… we have a wasp nest about 20ft from the tomato plants, but so far… no larve… I have no idea what the wasps are waiting for. Then again if I saw wurms with those huge parasites on them, I think I’d just set the whole tomato plant on fire.

By: tdod

tdod — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:46:07 +0000

Maybe you could encourage wasps to colonize the worms. If you are lucky, then this could happen:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/images/M1224-1.jpg

A more practical endeavor may be to try insecticidal soap, such as:

http://www.gardensafe.com/ProductCategories/indoorinsecticide/InsecticidalSoap/

This is safe to use on edible plants (it is the only treatment I apply to my garden). The downside is that it is short-lived, but it is a safe way to try to deal with many types of insects — I have good luck keeping aphids away from my tomatoes with this.