Sharing the Bounty…Not.

As summer wears on, the bright green Tomato Hornworm once again made its appearance on the tomato plants.  They are little demons.  I wouldn’t mind if they munched a tomato or two, but they get carried away and go after the tomato flowers and so one comes out in the a.m. only to find stubs where there should have been a spray of tomato blossoms!

If you ignore this, they eventually will eat most of the tomato plant.The worms are very hard to find because they are the exact color of green as the tomato plant!  Because of this, you usually don’t spot them until they’ve gotten huge and gross.  Thus, squashing them once found is not a solution for the squeamish of which I am one.  I arm myself with garden gloves, plastic bag with handles that can be tied, tongs and shears.  I then pick up the free end of the branch where the beast is hiding and cut that branch, bug and all from the plant dropping it into the bag.  I tie it securely and toss it in the garbage can.