Thursday, July 17, 2008

Uninvited Guests


Usually I love to have a house full of guests. It makes me happy. However, these disgusting things are most unwelcome and uninvited (thankfully they are not inside or I would have to move)! They are hornworms and they have taken up residence in my tomato plants and are doing their best to eat my sweet innocent plants. I have picked 9 off already. They are very hard to see as they blend in perfectly with the plant stems and leaves. Uggghhh! I hate bugs and these are the most disgusting plus destructive, the worst kind! Does anybody know of a nontoxic remedy to them (I don't want to spray my plants)? Or am I stuck just looking for more of these nasty things daily to try and save my plants? They haven't done to much damage so far and I hope I have gotten them all but we thought we did last night when we pulled 4 off but this morning when I checked I found 5 more.
Sorry for this most disgusting post and picture but this is me trying to keep it real!

4 comments:

Joy said...

Wow! Those are disgusting!!! I am so sorry that they have taken up residence in your tomato plants! Yucko! Jennifer gave me this little recipe and it takes care of a lot of bugs! I am not sure if it would work for those but it is worth a try!!!

"Mix two tablespoons of hot pepper sauce or cayenne pepper with a few drops of Ivory soap into a quart of water. Let stand overnight, then stir and pour into a spray bottle and apply as above. Shake container frequently during application."

It has worked wonders for me so hopefully it will bring you some help as well! Good luck!

Aimee D said...

this is why i don't garden :)

Jennifer said...

Those really aren't disgusting. try the rememdy from Joy. And have you tried keeping some in a jar with some leaves to see if they turn into something else. That would be a neat experiment for the kids.

Nashvillians Now said...

I know they will turn into a moth but I really for some reason want to hurl every time I see one. They really disgust me more than most bugs. I don't know why maybe because they are so fat and are eating my plants I don't know but I could not stomach looking at them everyday as I know the kids would want to do 20 times a day. It would be a great experiment for them but I don't think my stomach could take it.
I will be trying your spray recipe in the morning after it sits for the night!