Tomato hornworms will wreak havoc on your tomato plants. But there may be an exception to when you may just want to keep these guys in your garden.
My mom told me stories about huuuge green caterpillars she would find in the garden as a kid.
The first time I spotted one of these caterpillars in my garden – I just about fell over.
I didn’t think they would really be THAT big.
Some of these suckers I’ve found have been bigger than my finger!
Tomato hornworms will devour an entire plant in just a few days.
They are excellent at camouflaging among the leaves and can go unnoticed while they munch away on your plants.
Many times, you may spot the naked tomato stems before you spot the hornworm.
Defoliated tomato plants are a clear sign that there are some hornworms nearby.
Tip: Using a blacklight at night will help you spot these critters a lot easier!
So what can you do about Tomato Hornworms?
You can remove them from your plants and place in a soapy bucket to kill them.
Or you can move them away from the garden and allow them to become the beautiful Hawk Moths they were destined to be.
And maybe they will even help pollinate your garden in return for saving them!
Note: Pesticides are not recommended as they don’t typically work anyway.
Should he stay or should he go?
There is an exception to when you may just want to keep this guy in your garden.
And that’s when he looks like this gnarly fellow in the picture below.
The white rice looking “bumps” covering his body are actually cocoons of Braconid Wasps.
So Tomato Hornworm + Wasp = why shouldn’t I kill it?
Braconid Wasps are a beneficial insect.
The female wasps seek out Tomato Hornworms, cabbage worms, and other garden pests, to use them as hosts for their eggs.
A female wasp deposits her eggs inside the host’s body. The eggs hatch into larvae that feed off of the inside of the host, essentially killing it.
When the larvae are ready to pupate, they eat through to the outside of the host and form the cocoons you see in the picture.
When the wasps are ready, they emerge from their cocoons and are off to mate.
The next generation of female wasps seek out new hosts for their eggs. And the cycle continues.
Natural pest control at its finest.
Have you found these guys in your garden before? Do you remove them or let them be?
Share your garden with me on Instagram!
Mention @thehomesteadmother or hashtag it #onceuponahomestead
Don’t forget to stop by the seed shop!
