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The weather is cooling off as the monsoons die down and residents of Phoenix are spending more time outside and more time in their gardens. Pests can destroy a garden, especially a vegetable garden, in as little as a few weeks. The main two culprits causing damage are the caterpillar and the tomato hornworm. In order to determine if your garden has become victim, there are a few tell-tale signs to look for, and a few solutions for exterminating the pest without destroying or causing additional damage to the garden. What to Look For in the Garden There are a variety of caterpillars and depending on the species, they can be found in a number of locations. Most caterpillars gravitate to fruit and vegetable gardens, or find a home in ornamentals or shade trees. Clues that they are present include chew marks along leaves or margins, droppings on produce and tunneling in fruits. Tomato Hornworms, as their name indicates, are found mostly on tomato plants. They have also been known to feed on eggplants, peppers, and potatoes. They will nest on the underside of leaves, and are most destructive during their larvae stage. The Tomato Hornworm can be as long as five inches, but will blend in quite well with the green foliage, because of their pale green color with white and black markings. A horn-like protrusion at the top of its head looks like a stinger, but they are incapable of stinging. How to Control Garden Pests The first step is to conduct a good visual inspection and remove any caterpillars. . Tomato hornworms may only have one or two larvae on the plants, although even those few larvae can quickly strip all the leaves off a single plant. To combat hornworms the best course of action is to watch for the first large fecal pellets, which allows the gardener to target where they should apply insecticide. General insecticide shouldn’t be applied to edible plants close to harvest, so it is best for the gardener to carefully time the application around the growth cycle. . Knowing where tomato hornworms are located in the garden will also allow for a “spot-treatment.” Extraneous treatments around the beds protect against other pests, but will not do much to prevent caterpillars on food plants. Joe LaBrie is operations manager for Bug & Weed Mart, a do-it-yourself retail chain that specializes in different bug and weed prevention. To learn more about pest prevention and protection you can visit www.bugweedmart.com or on Facebook www.facebook.com/bugandweedmart.
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caterpillars, hornworm, garden, gardening, pests, ,
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