This year I have had a ton of Tobacco Hornworms (Manduca sexta) attack my tomato plants. These are very similar to the Tomato Hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) and either variety will attack your tomato plants quickly and will leave them lifeless in a matter of days. They are easy to spot. They are big and the leave a trail of black pellets on the ground where they have been. You will also see bare stems with no leaves. They blend in well but if you just look you can find them. I hear you can easily see them in the dark with a black light but I haven't tried that and I really didn't need to as they were easy enough to spot. Fortunately there are some natural way of controlling them. Here are some of the preferred methods.
1. Physically remove them - When I first noticed the Hornworms on my plants my first inclination was to pull them off....not the best idea. These big boys don't like to be ripped their food source. When you do pull them off they often take part of the plant with them. What I ended up doing is, (Stop reading if you are squeamish cause it's about to get nasty) cut them in half with a pair of scissors. This preserves the plant and it really does remove the pest.
2. Spray Bacillus thuringiensis - This naturally occuring bacteria attacks only chewing caterpillars and leaves beneficial insects, wildlife and humans unharmed.
3. Beneficial Insects - Ladybugs and lacewings will eat the young eggs so release them in your garden early in the spring and let them go to work.
Using a combination of these methods will ensure that your tomatoes will make it to your dinner table.
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