Tomato Horn Worms

[Tonia Fischer]

Besides pulling them off when you see them. what's a good way to keep them from cominig back? I don't really want to use any manufactured insecticides. Is there something else I can do?

TIA Tonia

[Tom J]

Put a few in a jar of water and let set for a day, then shake like crazy to break them down into a liquid mix. Strain and spay on the tomato vines. Works for me.

Tom J

[Omelet]

BT spray. It's organic.

[Charlie]

So are Cardinals. Funny thing, two years ago I noticed a pair of cardinals working through the tomatoes like crazy. They repeated this last year. Upon investigation, they were killing young hornworms like there was no tomorrow. Some they were eating, it appeared, but most they were shaking, pecking and crushing and leaving. I've no idea about any of this. It was a Good Thing at any rate.

Charlie

[Omelet]

Cardinals can be killers. We did wildlife rehabbing (mostly birds) for about 15 years. I learned the hard way to never house fledgeling cardinals with other birds in a flight cage.

The killed and half-ate two fledgeling doves before I learned.

[Marie Dodge]

Aren't there different kinds for different worms?

[Tonia Fischer]

I'm just looking to get rid of these. Pulled three from my tomato plant (only have one and its on the patio planted in a container), But, it is about 4 foot tall and round. Well, I picked off three more tonight. When I lived in CA, I had 6 tomato plants; I remember picking off the worms then feeding them to the birds. The only birds I have here in Las Vegas are doves and pigeons. Plus I had to move my plants up onto the patio because the sun was literally frying them. I never knew that tomato, or hook worms, would eat green pepper plants. Well, I came out one morning and my pepper plant was damn near gone. I picked a worm off of that was as big around as my pinky finger, but was like 4 inches long. BTW he ate a whole green pepper I was growing and waiting until it got a little bigger,

I hear ppl always talk about home insecticides that are made from soap. Would this help, and what do you use? Also, what is BT spray?

TIA Tonia

[Omelet]

Not from what I've read about it. BT is supposed to kill ALL larval insect forms. There are water dunks to control baby mosquitos even.

[Omelet]

[Glenna Rose]

Better than control them, they die! The mosquito dunks (with a bacteria in them that is way too long for me to want to type here) are eaten by the mosquito larvae which kills them. I use them in my fish pond; they work beautifully. The water is supposed to be safe for all other life, insects, animals and plants. I have an abundance of young dragonflies (but no mosquitos) so it must be true. (Also lots of lilies and various other pond "greenery" some of which isn't welcome.)

Once a month and no new skeeters here though I welcome all existing mosquitos to my pond to do their thing. My little bit in "the buck stops here."

If the dunks are put in water and the water dries up before the 30-day life is up, apparently, they reactivate when there is water again. I cannot address that since there is always water in the pond. I do wonder, however, why they are not being used in all those swimming pools in abandoned foreclosed homes they talk about being such a problem on the news. I'd sure invest in a package and toss them in the pool next door if there were one there. I drop a quarter of one in each of our bubble basins on the street, wonderful mosquito brooding pools which are courtesy of our city fathers of yesteryear.

Glenna

[Omelet]

Nice. :-) Thanks!

[JC]

I have Thuricide Concentrate. The label say it is .8% bt and 99.2% inert ingredients. It has a warning "Hazards to humans and domestic animals". So, how is that "organic"?

[Rick]

Lots of "organic" products are very toxic so surely this does not come as a surprise. Label instructions should be followed whenever using chemicals (whether synthetic or "organic)

BT itself should not be inhaled due to very slight risk factors (allergy etc.), but the bacteria are not harmful under most circumstances. The hazard warning is probably because petroleum distillates are in the inert ingredients.

[JC]

So, is it permissable for use in Certified Organic produce?

[Rick]

BT certainly is. It can be used as a dust, or mixed with water and sprayed. I don't know about mixes that contain petroleum distillates, but I would think probably not.

[JC]

Thanks, I guess I need to get some other form of BT. I've never opened this bottle because I didn't think it would pass muster.

[B. Server]

Given that the bacillus delivery consists of living spores, I very much doubt that the "inert ingredients" are a petroleum distillate. I would bet on water+spreader/sticker (i.e. soap) The warnings are likely the result of legal expeience with folks who are too careless to keep the material away from children or simply the best way to tell forlks not to drink/eat it.

In the case of the dry forms, the mixture often contain fuller's or diatomaceious earth, both of which are irritating to the lungs if inhaled.

And yes, things like nicotine, strychnine, atropine and digitalis are quite "organic" in both the chemical and the agricultural senses, and also quite toxic.