Tomato Horn Worms
Tomato Hornworms are the larva of a huge moth called five-spotted hawkmoth. Approximate size of the moth is around the size of a hummingbird so you can’t miss them. The hawkmoth is gray-brown with yellow spots on the sides of their body.
Tomato Hornworm-(left) Colorado State University, Five-spotted hawkmoth (right)-Floridagardening.com
The hornworm caterpillars are pretty small at first and hard to see because of their pale green color, but they become huge – 3 1/2 to 4 inches (7-10cm) in 3-4 weeks. You can’t miss them then! They are green-brown colour with v-shaped markings on the body and unmistakable ‘horns’. Hornworm eggs are green and are laid on the underside of leaves.
Hornworm Pupa (cocoon), Hornworm Egg (right)-Colorado State University
Hornworm Lifecycle
The five-spotted hawkmoths lay their eggs as soon as they mate after hatching. They appear in late June to August. Full grown larva (3-4 weeks feeding) wander around the garden digging themselves in where they form a pupa (brown and about 3cm long) that overwinters and hatches in the spring.
Hornworm Damage-Floridagardening.com
Hornworm Damage
Tomato Hornworms feed on leaves and stems of tomato plants. Ocassionally they will also eat the fruits later in the summer months. They also feed on peppers, eggplant and potatoes. They can defoliate a plant in just a few days. There can be two generations of tomato hornworms every year. A bunch of them can spell disaster in your garden!
How To Control Tomato Hornworms
- Use a liquid Bt spray like Green Step™ Caterpillar Control
Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) does not harm animals, people or the environment. It paralyzes the horn worms and they die from starvation. Spray the top and bottom of the tomato plant leaves. Repeat every 5 to 7 days until you don’t see anymore worms. Bt is safe to use right up to the time of picking your tomatoes. - Another all-natural environmentally friendly pesticide that is safe for use around kids and pets is Plant Guardian™ Houseplant Insecticidal Soap
Spraying the undersides of the leaves with an insecticidal soap mixture kills the eggs at the first sign of seeing the moths. A hard spray of water will also help if your plants are strong enough. Wiping the eggs off with alcohol on a q-tip is also effective. - Introduce Parasitic Wasps into your garden
Parasitc Wasps (Braconid and Trichogramma) lay their eggs on the larva. If you see little white things on the worm don’t kill the worm, place it in a jar with a fresh leaf and keep feeding it until the wasps do their job. These are the cocoons of the wasp and their larva feed inside the host and will kill it. This guy below has just met his maker!
Hornworm with parasite eggs (left)-Joe Boggs, Braconid Wasp (right)-Perdue University - Hand Pick
Tomato Hornworms are so big you cannot miss these guys. If you don’t want to touch them I recommend cutting them in half with the kitchen scissors. In the fall when you turn your garden pick out any pupae (cocoons) you might find and destroy them. - Companion Planting
Plant marigolds as a deterrent around or between your tomatoes. Marigolds stink to a lot of different bugs and they avoid them.
November 5th, 2010 at 10:33 am
I simply have to comment once again. Here in Phoenix, I am STILL finding those critters on my bell pepper plants. Then again, it is still in the 90′s here. As far as the chili pepper plants, if those little beasties will eat zinnia leaves, which are course and gross, I swear they will eat anything!!! I also must admit I got a kick out of some of the “remedies” posted. However, I would NEVER eat one, but after re-reading throwing them into the barbeque and toasting them, I am here to admit I chuckled. So I apologize for my harsh words before. Heck, any remedy is fine with me.
November 2nd, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Just found this critter on my chile plants iam confused I thought they were only on tomatoe plants
October 11th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
So the next day i out dirt in the jar, i guess they sleep during the fall because the lil guy dug down into the dirt and has made a neat cocoon, i’m glad my parents did kill this lil horn worm now i’m excited too see what it becomes in the spring, just thought i’d let anyone who cares know how my tomato horn worm is doing
October 10th, 2010 at 7:52 am
how rare are “black” tomato hornworms. Ive seen tomato hornworms that are black in color, not green. A dull smooth charcoal grey black with the general “v” markings of the tomato hornworm. Of course most tomato hornworms are green, but how rare are the black ones. Are they the “albino” of the species?
October 7th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
I collected about ten of those worms from my plants the other day. Wasn’t sure what to do with them, but I had been watching Man vs. Wild earlier and that guy eats worms and bugs like these things all the time. I got to thinking that these worms only eat tomatoe plants so they must taste like a vegetable. So I give it a try. I wrapped them in foil and threw them on the grill for about 30 minutes. I was reluctant at first but they tasted like crispy fried green tomatoes. I ended up eating them all. Everyone should give it a try. They were very good.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:42 am
Kathy,
Thank you for your support. I simply could not let your comment go unanswered.
October 1st, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Wow. Look. If you grow a garden then you are going to get other creatures that like to feast on your vegetables as much as you do. Did you really think that your little plot of earth soley revolves around you and you alone? If you don’t like these other creatures, such as this tomato worm, then don’t grow a garden or take better measures to deter them. This message is meant for you folks who find such immense pleasure in performing the act of torture (burning, etc) on these worms. When I read that you find it so entertaining to watch them being tortured, what I saw in you is that you are brimming with anger and pain and this is one of the methods of how you release it. It’s a 4 to 6 -inch worm! Geeze! I wonder what else you do to release your anger and pain…?
September 30th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Thank you Patti. I agree.
September 30th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
To Lcam, I did not plan to use this as anything more than sharing info, but your comment about letting dogs eat hormworms as they are “good entertainment” indicates to me you are a very sadistic person with little regard for the many of us who loves our pets. I feel sorry for your lack of compassion. And I feel sorry for you!
September 30th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
We feed ours to the chickens. Like it’s been said, everyone has to eat.
September 29th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Give them to the dogs. They foam and puff up and the dogs toss them around – it’s good entertainment.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Wow, for all you bleeding hearts out there do you not know that if you let them live, the more you will have the next year? So keep on breeding them and I will keep squashing mine!
September 28th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
We have those. Since we’ve had too many tomatoes to eat, we’re going to let them have the rest. Weird looking or not, everybody’s gotta eat..
September 26th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
I went to my grandmas yesterday and saw some tomato worms on there tomato’s so i took one home and put it in a jar and i just noticed how long it can stretch! I call him Mr. caterpillar.he’s cool and interesting i can’t believe would want to squash these interesting creatures
September 26th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Matt, I don’t blame you. We have been killing them for years. My daughters favorite way is to put them under a board then stomp on it. They make a big mess of green slim when she’s done. THEIR IS NOTHING PRETTY ABOUT THEM!!!
September 25th, 2010 at 11:58 am
These worms are very interesting as well as destructive.I dont mind its only plants and my tomatos never grow well anyway!! If you do watch one of them grow and get huge, they eventually drop down and dig into the dirt so make sure you have 3-4 inces of dirt in the container you use.They will go into pupa stage,no coocoon. BUT remember they are supposed to sleep all winter and wake when it gets warmer,so keep your container someplace cool or they as a moth now will hatch out mid winter and starve because the are no plants to drink nectar from. Dont forget to start checking on it in the spring to see if its hatched.. My kids are really learning alot about insects with this one..
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Cardinals love these guys. Attract them to your yard with a bird feeder and they will keep your plants worm free.
September 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 pm
I used to go out in the morning and harvest the tomato worms off of my tomato plants, throw them in a jar and then take them over and throw them in the chicken pen!! The chickens LOVED to eat them. This seemed to reduce the number of tomato worms over the years. I still get a few, but certainly not as many as I got the first year of the garden. Besides you eat my tomato plants, you deserve to be eaten!! Payback!!
September 16th, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Lol I barely ever see them and I have like 8 tomato plants so when I see them I catch them and I keep them for a week or 2. I love them, they’re so fun
September 16th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
These things are disgusting.They will defoliate plants in a hurry, go along and eat chunks out of tomatoes, on and on, I picked about 30 this year off my plants, next year will be prevention before they hatch. I droppped them in a coffee can 1/2 full of water with a 1/4 cup of bleach and a little dishsoap. Works great, kinda gross picking them off the plants tho. I also just drop em on the ground and give em a “boot” massage!
September 14th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
i love these guys they are AWESOME! i found three in my garden and i put them in a cage, but now i only have one because these guys are carnivorous!!!! the smaller ones are dead now
i don’t understand why people want to kill them… there fun to play with 
September 14th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
I picked about eight of them off the other day and wrapped them in foil and put them on the grill. I let them cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. They tasted like crispy green beens. Very good if anyone has the stomach to try it.
September 12th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
I have had a horrendous problem with hornworms. Living in Phoenix, AZ, our growing season is long. They literally ate my heirloom tomato plants in front of my eyes. Now they are attacking my bell pepper plants. Every morning I am outside finding at least a dozen eggs and at least 8 HUGE adults. They totally gross me out. Yesterday my dog found one in the garden and as I watched in horror, she ate it! I have also found them on my zinnias and cantaloupe plants. Every product I have tried straying on the leaves as killed them. I am ready to give up gardening all together. Everytime I see a butterfly or moth my stomach churns. Yes, nature is wonderful but these things are destructive and disqusting. The fact they burrow into the ground, which I did not know, is even worse. Sorry to be so narrative but I also found out I am allergic to them and everytime I deal with one, I develop nasty rashes on my arms. Yuck!!!!!
September 11th, 2010 at 5:45 am
@Cathy- yes, they did destroy all of my tomatoes within a week’s span. I was reluctant to spray anything on my plants. Now I have no tomatoes, and they have started on my peppers. They are voracious eaters and I am sure that next year I will have to take drastic steps to keep them from eating my tomatoes. I am first going to see if I can find out what kind of birds eat them and try to attract those.
September 9th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
I have had gardens in the past 5 years and the hornworms always attack my tomato plants. This year they attacked my pepper plants and I decided it was best to just cut the branch and throw them over the fence far away from my garden. It seems to have worked. The ones I have seen since have had wasp eggs attached and they just die. Question. Are they affected by cool temperatures?
September 9th, 2010 at 1:46 am
well today my mom and dad have found a big horn worm on our tomato’s. We use to get them all the time when we were out in a diffrent area, my parents would take them and step on them, i thought that was a awful thing, and to hear what some of you people are doing to the worms is disgusting and horrifing, i mean yes they may be a pain in the ass sometimes, but i bet bugs like this were some where in the world before any of us were so really they have the right over us, i think they are awsome, my mom and dad let me keep the one they found and i plan to take care of it. I was going to let it go back in the garden but i’m sure my parents would kill it so now it is in a jar with some tomato leave and tomorrow i am going to clean the jar out put some nice dirt in and a nice big green tomato for a treat for the lil guy, it is a amazing creature i just wish that people like jillB would keep there awful stories to them selves i mean i personally don’t want to hear about u throwing them in gas and burning them, how would you like it if it was the other way around, say you were the worm drownding in gas and then getting burned, it’s just wrong, crule, and not humain at all, they are living things to, you have to remember that, everything is living in one way or another and i bet something would go wrong if all the horned worms were to disapear one day, i’m just letting you know that i love them i think they are cool lil creatures, and i hope someone else out there agree’s with me.
I will keep you updated on how my lil guy is doing XD, just incase anyone cares XD
September 8th, 2010 at 11:37 am
I just found one and am wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to create a habitat for encouraging the crystalis stage. We would love to see this take place…Thanks
September 7th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I light them on fire and watch them squirm and burn to death. They ruined my plants. Worthless flaming catepillars
September 3rd, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Well bug lovers, I was trying to be nice when I offered another one of these “as you call them, beauties in the making” a nice relaxing bath in their own coffee can 1/2 full of warm, not cold or to hot, water.
Well, smear poopoo on my face!. I did not know they could not swim!
I have got 10 plants that have been all but defoliated by these “uninvited guests” and when I eat a nice big fat, juicy tomato, I will remember what they have done for me.
The critters ate my plants!
September 3rd, 2010 at 2:47 pm
My mother found one on the plant and that little guy can eat a lot of leave in no time!! My son loves the thing so we put it in a jar and put some leaves in there with it and the next day no more leaves in the jar just the hornworm! So were gonna see if it will make a cacoon and turn into s big moth.my son is three and is obsessed with it so I think that they are pretty cool but crap a lot, it’s weird but interesting too!
August 31st, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I’ve been harvesting my tomatoes which are heirloom and noticed that they do not last very long. They will start to rot with in a day or 2.
Any idea why so quick?
August 30th, 2010 at 2:03 pm
I found one of these , then another, on my tomatoe plants as well. Don’t remeber seeing them since I was a kid either… My 5yr old son and I put them in a huge jar w/ grass and we feed them tomatoe leaves every day. Not Sure what I will do with them after awhile..I agree that I will not just destroy them as someone posted “they are neat little creatures”. But I do not want to have them multiply nest year. There are still a coupe out there as evident by the eaten leaves and droppings…wondering if any birds or frog may eat them?
August 30th, 2010 at 8:55 am
So if you keep the wasp eggs and harvest wasps. Now you have a wasp problem!
August 29th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Today we discovered 3 of these hornworms on my 2 tomato plants that are growing in planters. Humph! So much for that expensive “Neem Oil” organic pesticide.
They were all completely covered with the wasp larvae and my grandson wanted to take them to school tomorrow for show and tell. But his mom has a heart for insects, animals, etc. so went and took a stick and scraped off all the larvae to save the hornworm after I told her about what I read on the internet about how the wasps will eat the worm from the inside out. She couldn’t bear the thought of it! LOL
August 29th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
thanks to all of you (dawne, Jojo, Alley, Vincent & brie) who are willing to co-exist with nature. to the rest of you: Surely they won’t ruin ALL of your tomatoes. The moth is a beautiful sight when feeding at dusk on my flowering tobacco plants. Ppl please stop killing things just because you think they are “bad”. They (the worms) turn into beautiful moths. And yes, I grow about 40 tomato plants per year, and they have yet to totally destroy a plant. I have 3 on one plant right now, and the plant is still producing.Live & let LIVE!
August 27th, 2010 at 11:14 am
I saw one when I was a kid and just found another today. I couldn’t have been more excited
They are neat little creatures and I was shocked to see all the ways ppl try to kill them. I just released him under my eggplant plant in the shade. Coincide with nature guys-
August 25th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Those tomato worms are so cute! Do kill them. just let the eat the tomato plant. me and my friend kelly collect them because they are so cool.
August 22nd, 2010 at 2:49 pm
one way to track down tomatoe worms is look at the ground around the plant for small black pellets. this is tomatoe worm poop. if you see any get down low and look up at the bottom of the leaves and stems above the pellets.
August 21st, 2010 at 6:45 pm
We have found 6 fairly large hornworms so far in our tomatoes. We have had tomates for 8 years and have never had any trouble with hornworms. Once we find them, we snip offthe branch and worm and then we snip back the branches that have been eaten up by the hornworms. That way we know if we have more to look for if we see more leaves chewed off. It didn’t take long for them to do quite a bit of damage to my 6′ tall tomato plants
August 21st, 2010 at 12:33 am
my mom and i were picking some tomatoes in our backrard and right about when my mom was about to grab a tomatoe BOOM! i see this huge fat green thing!!! i thought it was a giant caterpillar bt i found out it was a tomatoe hornworm! now me and my mom are keeping it as a weird pet bt were going to try to get rid of thoes fat things!!!
August 20th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
It’s funny, when me and my mom see pest, it might as well say pet. We have one of these guys and think he’s just adorable. We hope to see him create a caccoon and turn into a moth.
August 19th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
My mother used to have a problem with these pests years ago. Eventually we gave up on haveing a garden because they would destroy everything. Now I have my own garden in our yard and we just found them today. This was all before the internet was widely available.
Now I understand my enemy.
Thank you
P.S. To add some of my own information to the article. Not only are the eggs laid on the underside of the leaves but the worms prefer to hang out under the leaves more than any other location so when looking for them look there first.
August 19th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Just found a big green caterpillar worm on my tomato plant. Never had this problem ever before. It has eaten some of my tomatoes and left it’s feces. Thank you for all the information on how to get rid of these pests. This one was 6 inches long inch in diameter. I am going to look closer now at the rest of my plants. Off to get something to get rid of these things at the garden store.
August 16th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
I just plucked 2 of these beauties off my once healthy and full plants. These suckers must have weighed 1/2 pound each, were over 5 inch long and full of MY tomatoes.
One of them suckers actually ate 1/2 of a green tomatoe. HOPE that sucker blows his gut tonight!
The 2 I caught are taking a nice gentile gasoline bath, (room temperature for all you bug lovers) And later, I plan on warming their little bug butts in a nice warm burn barrel.
August 16th, 2010 at 7:17 am
How in the world do they get into a large container? The containers are 4 feet high off of the ground and these worms have just come in abundance…I mean infested. No more peppers, everything stripped. I can NOT figure out how they got in there. Any suggestions?
August 16th, 2010 at 12:49 am
I just found one of these munching on my tomatoes. It took me forever to identify it as I’ve never seen one out of the zoo! My sons and I put it in a jar and are going to try and raise it into a hummingbird moth. We’re taking it into school to show the class! Need to check rest of my plants. I usually spray my garden with a veggie 3 in 1 product from Bayer(insecticide, miticide, and fugicide) as we have powdery mildew issues in our area so I don’t usually have problems with bugs!
August 15th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Hi, I don’t really care if they eat the leaves and leave the tomatoes. I think nature is remarkable and I don’t want to
upset the apple cart; so I just let them eat and enjoy the
wonder of it all. jojo
August 15th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
IS THERE A WEB SIGHT OR BOOK.THAT SHOWS BOTH THE WORM AND THE MOTHS MY BOOK SAYS THERE ARE 120 DIFFERNT SPECIES.I FOUND A GREY HORN WORM.TRYING TO IDENTIFY. MY BOOK ONLY SHOWS 2.I SAY LET THEM EAT..THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL.I HAVE CONVENCED A LOT OF PEOPLE NOT TO KILL THE WORMS,JUST BY THELLING THEM WHAT THEY TURN INTO.DAWNA
August 15th, 2010 at 11:47 am
Dishwashing liquid shriveled up the leaves of my plants. An helpful associate at one of the home improvement stores recommended Green Light (brand name) in place of home solutions, I have no more tomato worms or other plant eating caterpillars. It is safe because it is orange oil based.
August 15th, 2010 at 9:53 am
A couple of weeks ago my husband found a large cocoon that was vibrating like all get-out, he put it in a jar and a couple of hours later it hatched into a good-size moth. Really Neat, we thought! I just found out that it was a tomato worm.
We have been raising tomatoes for several years and have never had a problem with the worms, however, my husband went out to the garden yesterday and picked off about 9 of them. We are going to try a lemon-vinegar-dishwashing liquid spray and see if that helps.