On 12 Aug 2006 18:44:45 -0700, "cathych"
wrote:

Every year I am beseiged by tomato hornworms. This year I faithfully
used diamotateous earth, thinking that of course, this would eradicate
the problem. Well, several days ago, my cherry tomatoes, my peppers,
(all different kinds), as well as my larger tomatoes were full of
blooms, really loving the hot rainy weather. Today I went out & checked
for any developing cucumbers, & guess what? All of the blooms had been
EATEN entirely, there is not a single one of them left. How can I get
rid of these things once & for all? I have been changing out my potting
soil entirely each growing season, thinking that this might have been
the problem, but apparently they are living somewhere.


We get them every year, although not that many. Because of their
size it is easy to spot them and pick them off. They are larvae from
a moth or butterfly which lays eggs on the plant.

I built 5 birdhouses last winter. In addition to the three we have
in the yard, all were occupied with wrens, some houses were
re-occupied. As a result there were fewer insect problems this year.