User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:34:44 PM EDT
My Habaneros were starting to ripen yesterday, and this dick came and ate seven of them!
Obviously, I just picked him off, but what is he and are there good gardening methods to prevent his kind from coming back? As you can see, I live in a condo (that's my deck) so I'm not exactly an experienced gardener.  Attached File |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:36:26 PM EDT
[#1]
Rephrasing as: Was it a tomato hornworm? They seem to be completely immune to spicy peppers.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:37:11 PM EDT
[#2]
That looks like a tomato horn worm
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:38:01 PM EDT
[#3]
One that will be shitting fire.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:38:22 PM EDT
[#4]
It'll be the little critter with large testicles and fire shooting out of it's ass.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:39:43 PM EDT
[#5]
I dare you to eat the worm...I bet that bitch is hot.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:40:17 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Rephrasing as: Was it a tomato hornworm? They seem to be completely immune to spicy peppers. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:40:58 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That looks like a tomato horn worm 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:46:16 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I think you were right with Tobacco Hornworm. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Tobacco_Hornworm_1.jpg/220px-Tobacco_Hornworm_1.jpg |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:48:04 PM EDT
[#9]
Tomato Hornworm is pretty close to looks as well.
Found another on my Scotch Bonnets. No fruit (to speak of) so that a-hole ate all the flowers. Damn I hate these things now! Checked my Habaneros again... yep, he got the flowers too. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:48:06 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I think you were right with Tobacco Hornworm. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Tobacco_Hornworm_1.jpg/220px-Tobacco_Hornworm_1.jpg |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:49:54 PM EDT
[#11]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They are very closely related but I'm not sure if they eat tomatoes and peppers also. The best method of control is just picking them off of plants and squishing the little bastards. They will eat the hell out of tomato plants with a quickness. I eat the peppers, so I don't want to use poison. That being said, I was inspecting my plants yesterday to see how they were coming along ripeness wise. This sucker was big, no way I would have missed him. They work quick! |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:50:39 PM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
They are very closely related but I'm not sure if they eat tomatoes and peppers also. The best method of control is just picking them off of plants and squishing the little bastards. They will eat the hell out of tomato plants with a quickness. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
I think you were right with Tobacco Hornworm. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Tobacco_Hornworm_1.jpg/220px-Tobacco_Hornworm_1.jpg |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:51:50 PM EDT
[#13]
The tomato hornworm is a voracious eater.
Pro tip: Never kill them if they have white eggs laid on their backs. Those are trichogramma wasps eggs - the hornworm's chief predator. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:51:59 PM EDT
[#14]
Caterpillar type of thing. Hornets devour them.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:52:23 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That sucks. I eat the peppers, so I don't want to use poison. That being said, I was inspecting my plants yesterday to see how they were coming along ripeness wise. This sucker was big, no way I would have missed him. They work quick! |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:52:48 PM EDT
[#16]
There's a biological control you sprinkle on the plants as a dust. Makes the sick/die. Safe and 'organic', I think.
This https://www.amazon.com/Safer-5162-Garden-Caterpillar-Killer/dp/B001A7RNB6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1503528893&sr=8-4&keywords=safer+bt+caterpillar+killer |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 6:54:09 PM EDT
[#17]
I've had problems with ants on mine.
A good dose of Sevin took care of them. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:03:51 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That sucks. I eat the peppers, so I don't want to use poison. That being said, I was inspecting my plants yesterday to see how they were coming along ripeness wise. This sucker was big, no way I would have missed him. They work quick! I had ants on my tomatoes and bell peppers it kept them away after using it. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:04:07 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The tomato hornworm is a voracious eater. Pro tip: Never kill them if they have white eggs laid on their backs. Those are trichogramma wasps eggs - the hornworm's chief predator. Ignorantly assumed it was caterpillar larve, so picked him off and killed him. Wish I started this thread earlier. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:07:55 PM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Try using some neem oil on the plants it is organic. I had ants on my tomatoes and bell peppers it kept them away after using it. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:08:13 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Damn. Went to pick up my dog from my dad's house and found one on his Serrano plant. Ignorantly assumed it was caterpillar larve, so picked him off and killed him. Wish I started this thread earlier. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
The tomato hornworm is a voracious eater. Pro tip: Never kill them if they have white eggs laid on their backs. Those are trichogramma wasps eggs - the hornworm's chief predator. Ignorantly assumed it was caterpillar larve, so picked him off and killed him. Wish I started this thread earlier. Anyway - those eggs ensure next year's generation of trichogramma wasps - keeping the hornworm population in check. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:11:15 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There's a biological control you sprinkle on the plants as a dust. Makes the sick/die. Safe and 'organic', I think. This https://www.amazon.com/Safer-5162-Garden-Caterpillar-Killer/dp/B001A7RNB6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1503528893&sr=8-4&keywords=safer+bt+caterpillar+killer |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:14:55 PM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
The trichogramma wasp eggs hatch to larvae - that enter the hornworm's body through the attachment point and eat it from the inside-out. Kind of Alien-esque. Anyway - those eggs ensure next year's generation of trichogramma wasps - keeping the hornworm population in check. They are commercially produced they are so effective. "Although there are several groups of egg parasitoids commonly employed forbiological control throughout the world,Trichogramma have been the most extensively studied.[5] There have been more than a thousand papers published on Trichogrammaand they are the most used biological control agents in the world.[6] Trichogramma are unique in approaching the size limit of how small an insect can be, which would be determined by how few neurons they can fit in their central nervous system, yet exhibiting a complex behavior to sustain their life. Trichogramma have less than 10,000 neurons, which is a hundred times fewer than the next smallest insect.[7]" |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:15:10 PM EDT
[#24]
I've never had them eat our peppers, but they love our tomatoes.
Went down to the garden a couple months ago, and you could actually see worm poop on the ground around a couple of our plants. They are very camouflaged. I alternate between stomping them and feeding them to the chickens. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:17:10 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
That looks like a tomato horn worm |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:17:54 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I dare you to eat the worm...I bet that bitch is hot. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:19:11 PM EDT
[#27]
Mark your territory. Piss on them.
Seriously though a bit of ammonia around the stalks of the pepper plant itself keeps some bugs away. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:22:30 PM EDT
[#28]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
I've never had them eat our peppers, but they love our tomatoes. Went down to the garden a couple months ago, and you could actually see worm poop on the ground around a couple of our plants. They are very camouflaged. I alternate between stomping them and feeding them to the chickens.  Attached File |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:25:01 PM EDT
[#29]
I'm also pissed off they ate all the buds and flowers.
Will be awhile for the plant to recover, grow, bloom flowers, and produce peppers. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:25:03 PM EDT
[#30]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Just mix with water and spray? You can mix your own if you want to do so with soap and water. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:27:49 PM EDT
[#31]
The kind you kill with RAID
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:39:23 PM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
yup those are dicks... peeled one off of one of my stripped plants a couple weeks ago... took solace in seeing all the wasp eggs suck to his back... Karma is a bitch |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:43:54 PM EDT
[#33]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yep they are major little assholes. When I see the larve on their backs, I just leave them be. Otherwise, I just squash the assholes. If I was out of town, I bet I would have come home to the stalk and a few stems. When I see another with larvae, I'm leaving it be, for sure. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 7:45:08 PM EDT
[#34]
You better not let him hear you calling him a jerk OP.
He'll get Jal-a-peno yo face! |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:10:54 PM EDT
[#35]
If you get enough of them try roasting or deep frying them.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:15:16 PM EDT
[#36]
As a young'en, I used to shoot those bastards with my pellet rifle.
Mom's garden. She'd get pissed when I shot the tomatoes 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:15:58 PM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
If you get enough of them try roasting or deep frying them. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:19:19 PM EDT
[#38]
When I see another with larvae, I'm leaving it be, for sure. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:23:10 PM EDT
[#39]
As others have said a product called "BT" because we have trouble saying "bacillus thuringiensis" is made for all types of caterpillars and safe for humans.
From most any garden store (not Walmart or Home Depot) that sells seeds and plants. It is sold under trade names such as DiPel and Thuricide. LINK |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:24:17 PM EDT
[#40]
A mean mofo. That's who.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:28:21 PM EDT
[#41]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
As a young'en, I used to shoot those bastards with my pellet rifle. Mom's garden. She'd get pissed when I shot the tomatoes 
We had a crow problem when I lived in MN. Tried air horns, some other stuff, no luck. One day, they started being really aggressive and more or less dive bombing my mom's GSD. (GSD owners know they pick a person.) My mom told me to take care of it. I did with my dad's AR7. No further problems. Actually read an article this year that said crows grieve, which reminded me of that story. They were making all sorts of noise when I shot him and buried him. (I was 13) After that though, they moved on. No further issues. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:42:13 PM EDT
[#42]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
There's a biological control you sprinkle on the plants as a dust. Makes the sick/die. Safe and 'organic', I think. This https://www.amazon.com/Safer-5162-Garden-Caterpillar-Killer/dp/B001A7RNB6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1503528893&sr=8-4&keywords=safer+bt+caterpillar+killer |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 9:48:37 PM EDT
[#43]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Yep, this stuff works. They sell it in liquid form as thuracide BT which is diluted for use in a sprayer I'll try this year and carry forward to next. Man, I'm just growing peppers in pots. These things have to be a major problem in actual gardens. (I'd assume commercial farming operations would have steps in place to prevent them) Damn, they are destructive. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 10:04:19 PM EDT
[#44]
Look loke a horny tomato worm.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 10:07:25 PM EDT
[#45]
Where do those bastards come from anyway? Are they offspring that hatch to caterpillars from mm and dad that flew in as moths? I hate researching things I despise. It has been awhile since bology class. Maybe I do need to research this. Damn.
I might need to look at my tomatoes, but my main problem is bottom/blossom end rot. Edited for partial clarity. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 10:18:54 PM EDT
[#46]
I feel for ya...Bambi murdered my last two plants a couple of nights back.
I've tried a lot of different things on the cheap to try to keep the deer away...this was the final straw. Next spring I'm going to put up an electric fence, one that hopefully has enough charge to make Bambi glow in the dark for a week if he touches it. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 10:24:07 PM EDT
[#47]
7-Dust those fuckers.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 10:50:49 PM EDT
[#48]
Looks like there are two of those bastids dining out.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 10:57:06 PM EDT
[#49]
I had them on my tomatoes last year, leaving the ones with the white eggs live just meant more time to eat plants, kill every fucking one. I sprayed with thuricide this year and havent seen a single one or any indication of damage at all.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/23/2017 11:02:00 PM EDT
[#50]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Where do those bastards come from anyway? Are they offspring that hatch to caterpillars from mm and dad that flew in as moths? I hate researching things I despise. It has been awhile since bology class. Maybe I do need to research this. Damn. I might need to look at my tomatoes, but my main problem is bottom/blossom end rot. Edited for partial clarity. Local species in VA 
|
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
