The first time I saw one, I heard it first. The munching sounds were clearly
audible from 5 feet away. I was astounded that such a small creature could
make that much noise. This is before playing in a band wrecked my ears,
though.


"jbclem" wrote in message
...
Tomato hornworms are large and thick, 3 inches long, and more, but their
green color blends so well that they are hard
to spot (they have spots also!). Find the droppings and look up...stare
at the tomato plant, every branch, and keep
staring until you spot it. They eat a lot and leave lots of droppings.
Look at the area with the most damage, and the
most recent damage. When you find one, it won't want to go and you won't
want to grab it. It'll be a tug of war, but
you will win.

jc


"Brandon Riffel" wrote in message
ups.com...
Can anybody help me figure out what is eating on my veggies? I have
Early Girl and Goliath tomatoes growing in a half barrel that have
complete limbs that are missing foliage. There are small black
dropping on the bare branches. I also noticed some bird dropping in
the soil as well. I have cages around them which would give a bird a
wonderful perch while pecking my plants.

I also have some green beans that are being nibbled on. They are in
the garden which is not protected from wildlife. I've noticed a pair
of doves haning out on the shed next to the garden and sometimes I
seen the female in the garden. We also have a martin house that
attracts lots of sparrows whcih I see near the garden. Is it the
birds that are nibbling holes in the leaves of the beans, or some sort
of insect. Here are some pictures.

Tomatoes
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/7...01largedr0.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/5...02largelu4.jpg
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7...03largepn5.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/9...04largeef8.jpg

Beans
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7...05largewa9.jpg
http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/4...06largemh2.jpg
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/8...07largeac2.jpg

Thank you,
Brandon Riffel