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Tomato plant pest
PaulN/KS:
Had a friend tell me about this trick last year. It sure does seem to work.
Eric Krewson:
I hadn't seen any worm damage but decided to check my 9 tomato plants last night with my black light, I found 18 horn worms, all sizes. I found a couple of small stems that had worm damage on one plant, most of the worms were eating leaves lower on the plants when I found them.
I found 15 worms initially, when I got back into the house, I realized I had overlooked a plant in the back corner of the garden that was a leftover I stuck in the ground rather than throw it away. I didn't find any worms on this lone plant but found 3 more worms when I walked through my main tomato patch.
Imagine the damage that 18 horn worms could have done to my plants, I will check the plants again in a couple of days, I am sure I must have missed some worms in the dense foliage.
Buckskinner:
Those buggers are a PITA, my kids used to have a bearded dragon that loved them though. As much as I hate them because of the damage they do, it's kinda fun hunting them. I need to try the black light trick... Since we don't have a lizard anymore now I bury them at the base of my pepper plants for fertilizer.
Eric Krewson:
I should have gone back the night following my first search with the black light. I skipped one day of checking and found 3 more worms in the daylight that had done some damage to the tops of a couple of my tomato plants. I checked my plants last night with my black light and didn't find any worms.
Hawkdancer:
Neat idea! Off to HF next rip to civilization!
Hawkdacer
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