Snag wrote:
....
I plucked two more this morning . This time from a couple of tomato plants
. I have cantalopes running under the tomatoes , the poo piles on the leaves
led me right to the little horned buggers .
I'm puzzled , why have I never had a problem with these before ? This is
only the second year for 'maters in this location , and I didn't have any
last year . And I've never seen a moth that fits the description given in
the several articles I've read .

they can fly some distance to lay eggs, so
it really doesn't matter if you had them
before or not. we are a fair distance from
any neighbors who garden so there is no
reason to expect them here, but they do
arrive...

last year we had a few, the year before
we had over twenty, this year we've seen
none so far (checked again this morning).

if you turn the soil under an established
tomato patch and have missed some of the worms
you will see large brown/red/purplish pupa in
the soil. very impressive critters.

crop rotation will help some, but is not
likely to ever keep them away completely.

hand picking them off is an easy non-
chemical means of control, and if you don't
like cutting them in half or squishing them
they will probably drown in slightly soapy
water. then you can compost them or bury
them or throw them away.


songbird