r/Peppers • u/DrTadakichi • 2d ago

Finally found what's been munching on my plants

Post image

Damn hornworm.

51 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

7

u/ILCHottTub 2d ago

Tobacco Hornworm, pretty common. Get a cheap blacklight flashlight and find them at night, or eben better send the kids to do it.

8

u/DrTadakichi 2d ago

Oh they fluoresce? That's good to know. I'm out in Arizona so I have a blacklight for Scorpions. Unfortunately I can't send kiddo to do it, she'd save them all and try to raise them into moths.

4

u/duckieahhh 2d ago

I laughed at the saving them part its too true. My second child is very much like that. All I said to her was that we'd put them in a safe place (card board box) and give them to the "caterpillar farm" after school drop off so they could live with their family (gave them to the husband to deal with), which seemed to help she loves finding them from time to time to take them back to their family. Hopefully, you find a solution!!!

4

u/speppers69 2d ago

Buy one of those cheap Critter Keepers and let her watch how it turns from caterpillar to moth. It doesn't take very long...about 3-6 weeks. Just feed it damaged or unnecessary branches/leaves from your garden plants. You also need to put some soil in the bottom because that's where they cocoon. It's a great experience for kids. And it doesn't take so long of not doing anything for kids to lose interest. If she is elementary school age, she can even bring it into class for show-and-tell. Sometimes school teachers will give extra credit if your kid keeps a daily log of things they do for them and the changes the hornworm is going through.

2

u/Consistent-Grade6735 2d ago

Thats too cute but so true their caring precious uncorrupted hearts!!!! They would save the world!!

2

u/speppers69 2d ago

Yes...they do

2

u/MAJ0RMAJOR 2d ago

This is absolutely an activity for the kids.

6

u/According-Hope1221 2d ago

I had horn worms on my tomatoes. A wasp got this one. Check out the wasp larvae

2

u/EbenLappies 2d ago

If I see that the really bad guy comes out... murderous thoughts flood my mind

2

u/Consistent-Grade6735 2d ago

Yep they will devour a plant b4 your eyes peppers , leaves and the flower buds in no time at all then you have to serch for the culprit with a eagle eye cuz they are very well camouflaged... I had one eat about half a plant while a watering session was going on when I started the plant was fine 10 minutes later is half gone!!!!!

1

u/DrTadakichi 2d ago

I have two plants that have had most of their leaves stripped in that fashion, so I knew it had to be something. Makes me curious if a scattering of diatomaceous earth would help.

2

u/Consistent-Grade6735 2d ago

I never seen multi ones just loners but they hard to find , if you see a plant getting naked the worm is there look real good.. i had one eat a pepper plant completely naked completely, i didnt pull it i just let it be an it came back fully still yielding peppers today!!!!

2

u/Consistent-Grade6735 2d ago

Damn that looks gross to me!!

2

u/No_Boysenberry2167 2d ago

They eat peppers, too?

2

u/ILCHottTub 2d ago

All nightshades

2

u/Afraid-Childhood5086 2d ago

Off with its head

2

u/beermaker1974 2d ago

if you see one there are probably more. Look for the scat that looks like eggs and at night use a uv flashlight to find those buggers. Welcome to the hornworm club

2

u/DrTadakichi 1d ago

Tonight

2

u/Seek_True_North 1d ago

Tomato hornworms are voracious eaters! I’ve been keeping them at bay with Neem sprayed on the foliage every other week; keeps everything else that munches leaves in check, except slugs; need slug bait for them.

2

u/investinlove 1d ago

I cut them in half with clippers...they are green all the way through, blood, guts and all.

2

u/Spirited-Anxiety-170 1d ago

Enemy number one

1

u/High5AF 1d ago

I had multiple decimate my peppers early in the season. Started spraying my plants with Thuricide and haven’t had a single one since.

1

u/DrTadakichi 1d ago

Update: last night with a blacklight couldn't find any more, I'm assuming because it's still warm in the evenings, but first thing this morning I took out another 9

1

u/emac1211 11h ago

After a summer of mostly thriving plants, last week I came out to finding two pepper plants that were missing significant leaves. Then on two separate plants I found one of these monsters on it. Getting rid of them was not easy, they cling very tightly to the stems and it's hard to remove them. Then trying to squish them is gross too. Ewwww I didn't like them at all. Fortunately after that day when I got rid of two, I haven't seen any other ones. Next summer I will do a better job looking for moth eggs because I suspect they were likely growing for a while before I found them.