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#1
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Tobacco hornworms
I just found two of these munching on my porch jalapeno plants (one on each
plant). I've never seen these monsters before, and would like to know what the best options are for preventing them from nawing on my plants in the future - especially out in the garden, where I really don't want to patrol fifty pepper plants for giant caterpillars. |
#2
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Tobacco hornworms
Mike Ruskai wrote in
: I just found two of these munching on my porch jalapeno plants (one on each plant). I've never seen these monsters before, and would like to know what the best options are for preventing them from nawing on my plants in the future - especially out in the garden, where I really don't want to patrol fifty pepper plants for giant caterpillars. If you don't want to manually pick them off, then any spray or dust containing Bt, or Bacillus thuringensis will help control them. Bt is a bacteria that quickly kills any sort of caterpillar. Sean ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com ** |
#3
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Tobacco hornworms
In article ,
Mike Ruskai wrote: I just found two of these munching on my porch jalapeno plants (one on each plant). I've never seen these monsters before, and would like to know what the best options are for preventing them from nawing on my plants in the future - especially out in the garden, where I really don't want to patrol fifty pepper plants for giant caterpillars. If you've just *gotta* buy something and spray it, Bt is the best idea. But these huge caterpillars (better to spot them when they are smaller) aren't that hard to handpick, altho a bit icky -- it's that muscular way they squirm... ;-) The moths have the "sense" not to lay too many eggs too close together, so there's seldom more than one per plant and usually less. Unless you're in a tobacco growing area, they are most likely the closely related tomato hornworm, so check your tomato plants, and while you're at it, might as well check the potato plants too. These guys are amazingly well camouflaged on tomato plants. You can be looking right at a 9cm worm and not see it. Look for defoliation and droppings. Sometimes shaking the plant will help zero in on them since they are quite heavy and whatever they are clinging to won't move the same way as unencumbered sems and leaves. These caterpillars turn into hawkmoths, brown moths about the size of hummingbirds. They hum like them as well, but they are nocturnal, unlike the birds. Very interesting and impressive critters, when they aren't defoliating your crop! |
#4
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Tobacco hornworms
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