Any one having problems with green horned tomato worms? A great way to find and kill them.

[OKTexas]

I've killed 29 in the last week on 7 tomato plants. Those suckers can be hard to find in daylight, so I tried something new last night. I got a UV light from my gemology kit and those little suckers glow under a UV light source. They are easy to spot and do away with. I was using an LED light that emits 395nm wave length. The blooms and degrading plant material will also have a distinctive glow as will the cast off from the worms. Good hunting.

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[danielpalos]

Ducks may be funner. Or, maybe chickens. They can get slugs and snails as well.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

 

[Rambunctious]

I've killed 29 in the last week on 7 tomato plants. Those suckers can be hard to find in daylight, so I tried something new last night. I got a UV light from my gemology kit and those little suckers glow under a UV light source. They are easy to spot and do away with. I was using an LED light that emits 395nm wave length. The blooms and degrading plant material will also have a distinctive glow as will the cast off from the worms. Good hunting.

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A drop of dish soap in spray bottle full of water.....

 

[MarathonMike]

I've killed 29 in the last week on 7 tomato plants. Those suckers can be hard to find in daylight, so I tried something new last night. I got a UV light from my gemology kit and those little suckers glow under a UV light source. They are easy to spot and do away with. I was using an LED light that emits 395nm wave length. The blooms and degrading plant material will also have a distinctive glow as will the cast off from the worms. Good hunting.

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Thank you! My wife will be delighted they have been munching on her plants for weeks now and they are SO HARD to see!

 

[BasicHumanUnit]

Been wanting to grow some tomatoes in the garden. Very timely thread.

 

[OKTexas]

I've killed 29 in the last week on 7 tomato plants. Those suckers can be hard to find in daylight, so I tried something new last night. I got a UV light from my gemology kit and those little suckers glow under a UV light source. They are easy to spot and do away with. I was using an LED light that emits 395nm wave length. The blooms and degrading plant material will also have a distinctive glow as will the cast off from the worms. Good hunting.

.

Thank you! My wife will be delighted they have been munching on her plants for weeks now and they are SO HARD to see!

Well I thought I stumbled onto something new. But tonight I did a search and found this article.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/shining-light-on-the-tomato-hornworm/2013/08/06/de1168d8-f7e8-11e2-a954-358d90d5d72d_story.html

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[OKTexas]

I've killed 29 in the last week on 7 tomato plants. Those suckers can be hard to find in daylight, so I tried something new last night. I got a UV light from my gemology kit and those little suckers glow under a UV light source. They are easy to spot and do away with. I was using an LED light that emits 395nm wave length. The blooms and degrading plant material will also have a distinctive glow as will the cast off from the worms. Good hunting.

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A drop of dish soap in spray bottle full of water.....

I didn't want to give them a bath. LOL

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[Rambunctious]

I've killed 29 in the last week on 7 tomato plants. Those suckers can be hard to find in daylight, so I tried something new last night. I got a UV light from my gemology kit and those little suckers glow under a UV light source. They are easy to spot and do away with. I was using an LED light that emits 395nm wave length. The blooms and degrading plant material will also have a distinctive glow as will the cast off from the worms. Good hunting.

.

A drop of dish soap in spray bottle full of water.....

I didn't want to give them a bath. LOL

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LOL good one....but the worms don't like the taste of the soap and will move on and it won't poison you...it washes right off your fruit and veggies.....

 

[OKTexas]

I've killed 29 in the last week on 7 tomato plants. Those suckers can be hard to find in daylight, so I tried something new last night. I got a UV light from my gemology kit and those little suckers glow under a UV light source. They are easy to spot and do away with. I was using an LED light that emits 395nm wave length. The blooms and degrading plant material will also have a distinctive glow as will the cast off from the worms. Good hunting.

.

A drop of dish soap in spray bottle full of water.....

I didn't want to give them a bath. LOL

.

LOL good one....but the worms don't like the taste of the soap and will move on and it won't poison you...it washes right off your fruit and veggies.....

I also read that there is a bacterial spray that will kill them, it's called Bt, it won't harm their natural predators either.

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[Compost]

Sprinkling wood ash on the plants seems to help. I've been doing it regularly this year and there have far fewer of them.

As OK says, they are hard to see. I'd like to try the light trick and see one glow before I pull it off and stomp on it. LOL