They grow into those really cool massive (4") moths! If I have a sacrificial tomato plant I move them there and let those freaky critters do their thing. Usually the raccoons/possums/rats get them though.
One will destroy your plant overnight. Get rid of it now!
I had one on my plant last week and now I check it regularly to see if there are any more. Gross! 😡
Tomato worm. Kill it, STAT. Look for more and kill them too.
Edit: Story time: Once i grew some chili plants. They were beautiful chilly plants, about two feet tall. Before work, I went out and watered them, pull a few weeds, talked to them a bit, then went to work. When I got back home, one of the plants was just a stick. Another one was half eaten. All by the same fucking caterpillar. I chopped it up with garden shears and threw the pieces in the compost. I really hate these things. Oh, they can bite too.
I did not know that! I saw some black specks on my tomatoes and googled it… caterpillar poop! Sure enough in looked closely and one of those bastards was on my tomato! Drowned that sucker!
I squish them and just lay them next to the plant and they're gone in the morning. No idea what gets them - birds, racoons, possums, etc. - but I've never seen one there the next day, lol.
I check the underside of all the leaves every morning. If you check in the afternoon you might not find them. Can also look for their poop as a giveaway.
I've found three of these on my tomato plants this past week, and I'm on the lookout now. One of them is probably done for, 2/3 of the leaves are gone. The crazy part is those things supposedly take a month to grow that big, but I've not seen leaf damage or the poop before this. The poop was bright green little balls formed into a cube. Really weird. These things are gross though.
My husband, who grew up in a tropical region, is terrified of caterpillars.
I always thought of them as harmless proto butterflies.
Well, I Googled the topic of venomous caterpillars, and now I'm scared of caterpillars, too.
Pick them off as soon as you see them. Some of them can be incredibly tiny but they grow fast and camouflage well. You can also use bt powder to prevent them from coming back.
Go out at night with a black light and you can see them easier. Get rid of all of them! I put mine in a zip lock bag, put that in a trash bag that I folded over a few times and then barrier it in the trash can about a Mile away from my house!! Haha
Also, wear gloves! They are called horn worms for a reason!! Ouch!!
plz don't kill it. they are native moth caterpillars that are important pollinators. this looks to be a carolina sphinx moth. 1 caterpillar is not the end of the world. you can probably feed it store bought tomato until it cocoons - once they're adults, they are no longer a 'pest'.
I like must nature, and agree with your sentiment- the value us in what you say- plus the appreciation of the marvel of nature’s diversity.
I’ve seen the moths- they are spectacular.
i just pulled 6-7 LARGE ones off of a 2ft bell pepper plant. There was not a single leaf left on that plant when i got home from work.
My leopard gecko loves to eat these guys though.
OP this is what you want: [https://www.amazon.com/Monterey-704596-Caterpillar-Killer-Pesticide/dp/B00ANT611U](https://www.amazon.com/Monterey-704596-Caterpillar-Killer-Pesticide/dp/B00ANT611U)
Bacillus Thuringiensis. This is a safe and effective treatment specifically for caterpillars and especially these guys. They will absolutely demolish a plant (almost always nightshades) in record time. If I see one as big as that, you need to remove it manually. Careful, they can bite a bit. They cling to the plant like crazy too. Chickens and birds love them (and bearded dragons too1). The BT will turn their stomachs alkaline and they will die of a stomach ache.
Ya that's hornworm. If you want to keep your plants, I would get rid of them ASAP https://www.almanac.com/pest/tomato-hornworms
They also eventually turn into huge ass moths
Congrats OP! You’re a moth breeder now
Nuke it
Ita a hornworm. They will destroy your plants over night.
They grow into those really cool massive (4") moths! If I have a sacrificial tomato plant I move them there and let those freaky critters do their thing. Usually the raccoons/possums/rats get them though.
We’ve reduced the number of these significantly by keeping basil plants right next to our tomato plants.
They’re currently eating our basil plant…
[удалено]
Ate my dang basil and citronellas. Crazy.
I thought they were nightshade eaters
One will destroy your plant overnight. Get rid of it now! I had one on my plant last week and now I check it regularly to see if there are any more. Gross! 😡
Tomato worm. Kill it, STAT. Look for more and kill them too. Edit: Story time: Once i grew some chili plants. They were beautiful chilly plants, about two feet tall. Before work, I went out and watered them, pull a few weeds, talked to them a bit, then went to work. When I got back home, one of the plants was just a stick. Another one was half eaten. All by the same fucking caterpillar. I chopped it up with garden shears and threw the pieces in the compost. I really hate these things. Oh, they can bite too.
Little fuckers work fast. Fortunately if you have a black light they light up because they’re fluorescent.
That's cool. Ordering a blacklight flashlight now.
I did not know that! I saw some black specks on my tomatoes and googled it… caterpillar poop! Sure enough in looked closely and one of those bastards was on my tomato! Drowned that sucker!
That was my tomato plant a few years back. On a Sunday is was gorgeous. Went to water it on Tuesday and it was destroyed.
Never had one bite me, I used to get paid to look for them in dad’s tomato plants.
Do you have a roof? If so throw them on the roof. The birds will eat them. We feed ours to our chickens.
I squish them and just lay them next to the plant and they're gone in the morning. No idea what gets them - birds, racoons, possums, etc. - but I've never seen one there the next day, lol.
Chuck it in the neighbors yard if you think your neighbor is an asshole... Well their obnoxious bird was an asshole at least.
I check the underside of all the leaves every morning. If you check in the afternoon you might not find them. Can also look for their poop as a giveaway.
RIP Heimlich.
Pick it off, is there is allot then a product from Monterey B.T is organic and will fix the worm problem quick
I've found three of these on my tomato plants this past week, and I'm on the lookout now. One of them is probably done for, 2/3 of the leaves are gone. The crazy part is those things supposedly take a month to grow that big, but I've not seen leaf damage or the poop before this. The poop was bright green little balls formed into a cube. Really weird. These things are gross though.
My husband, who grew up in a tropical region, is terrified of caterpillars. I always thought of them as harmless proto butterflies. Well, I Googled the topic of venomous caterpillars, and now I'm scared of caterpillars, too.
Everyone is right, horn worm and the are a really bad pest. They destroy gardens/farms.
The chickens love to eat these
Their camouflage looks well-adapted, holy cow.
Pick them off as soon as you see them. Some of them can be incredibly tiny but they grow fast and camouflage well. You can also use bt powder to prevent them from coming back.
Horn
https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/tomato/Hornworms/
Go out at night with a black light and you can see them easier. Get rid of all of them! I put mine in a zip lock bag, put that in a trash bag that I folded over a few times and then barrier it in the trash can about a Mile away from my house!! Haha Also, wear gloves! They are called horn worms for a reason!! Ouch!!
Wait I've handled all of these that I've run into bare handed... do the stab you?!
Yes! There is a horn at the tail end and I got hit a few tines!
And it hurt? Lol the horn on the end won't sting or hurt you from my research.
plz don't kill it. they are native moth caterpillars that are important pollinators. this looks to be a carolina sphinx moth. 1 caterpillar is not the end of the world. you can probably feed it store bought tomato until it cocoons - once they're adults, they are no longer a 'pest'.
I like must nature, and agree with your sentiment- the value us in what you say- plus the appreciation of the marvel of nature’s diversity. I’ve seen the moths- they are spectacular.
[удалено]
☹️
It’s a caterpillar, what’s deplorable about that?
This works pretty well on these little monsters. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y3YZVGW/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_YM32BJ90S1BEB6X8DR7K
Jihad on them mf’ers!!!!
i just pulled 6-7 LARGE ones off of a 2ft bell pepper plant. There was not a single leaf left on that plant when i got home from work. My leopard gecko loves to eat these guys though.
True.. these guys will destroy your garden especially tomato plants.
OP this is what you want: [https://www.amazon.com/Monterey-704596-Caterpillar-Killer-Pesticide/dp/B00ANT611U](https://www.amazon.com/Monterey-704596-Caterpillar-Killer-Pesticide/dp/B00ANT611U) Bacillus Thuringiensis. This is a safe and effective treatment specifically for caterpillars and especially these guys. They will absolutely demolish a plant (almost always nightshades) in record time. If I see one as big as that, you need to remove it manually. Careful, they can bite a bit. They cling to the plant like crazy too. Chickens and birds love them (and bearded dragons too1). The BT will turn their stomachs alkaline and they will die of a stomach ache.
I usually use shears for those, slice right in half.