tomato eating caterpillar

Discussion in 'Breeding, Raising, Feeding and Caring for Animals' started by abdullah, Nov 30, 2009.

  1. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

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    well i noticed the leaves of my cherry tomato getting a bit, well eaten, anyway i eventually found these little monsters, i found one so fat it tried to cocoon itself in a rolled up leaf and mutate into The God knows what.

    i didnt mind so much before when they were just eating leaves, but now they have found the flowers that are forming to fruit very delicious and are specifically targeting them.

    what is it? and what can i feed them to?

    i did search older threads possibly about the same creature but they were not conclusive and one had a dead link to .gov ag. dept.

    right click and open for full view:
    [​IMG]
     
  2. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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    Re: tomato eating caterpillar

    It's a looper - quite common on tomatoes and will eat holes in your tomatoes too if left uncontrolled. If the problem is not rectified by preditors such as little birds then one effective control is molassas which will dehydrate the begger if he eats too much of it. Traditionally derris dust is used to kill or you can try a knock down like rhubarb, tobacco or pyrethrum after a thought for other insects in your garden.
    hope this helps
     
  3. abdullah

    abdullah Junior Member

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    Re: tomato eating caterpillar

    appreciate the info PP, unfortunately no small birds around.

    what is derris dust?

    and how do i apply rhubarb and tobacco?

    thanks in advance
     
  4. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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    Re: tomato eating caterpillar

    Work on getting some by planting nectar and grass for seed, also water but it may be too slow for this time.

    It may be available in the nursery - not sure but it was an allowable input for organic as long as ypu don't get one with poisons added such as "tomato dust".

    If you take the leaves of the rhubarb or a tobacoo plant and cover them with water in a pot and boil it and let it stand overnight then spray the pest with it the pest will turn up it's toes but so will any other insects you contact so be careful as there are plenty of great ones out there

    you are welcome.
     
  5. pebble

    pebble Junior Member

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    Re: tomato eating caterpillar

    When I just opened that photo there was a header with a pic of Bill Gates looking scared and a title saying 'what Bill Gates is afraid of', and then the large photo of the tomato eating caterpillar :mrgreen: Now you know where to send them ;-)

    If you don't have too many plants, you can pick the caterpillars off and kill them.
     

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