Seen these on my tomato plant today and wondering what they are. Friend or Foe? They are not currently moving. Any help greatly appreciated
by MedicMutation
16 Comments
catmamameows
Caterpillar poop? The ones that show up on my tomato’s eat the leaves, stems and tomatoes!
Hawaii_gal71LA4869
They are gross bastards camouflaged the same color as the foliage. Get dust from the nursery
lacroixlvr92
It’s caterpillar poop. Find them now/treat with dust before it’s too late. Hornworms are especially bad in late summer where I live but their poop is a little bigger than that. Could be baby hornworms/fruit worms or army worms.
Dazeyy619
These look like black beetle frass. Check out flea beetles. They decimated my garden when I was out of town. Dales dead bug cleaned it up though no issue.
Tomato hornworms (caterpillars). Fat green things that blend in with the leaves. Search and destroy! I smash ’em with a rock.
beans3710
Apparently they glow in black light if you have one handy.
Gaston3344
Those are poop from a worm. Look on the leaves directly above the poop. You will find your tomato enemy. I don’t like to use chemicals- just pick them off & step on them!! I play search & destroy on my tomato plants every morning while drinking my coffee.
MedicMutation
Im going on a hunt. Will keep you updated
Exciting_Ad_9933
Poop from caterpillars and also I see leafminer flies (Liriomyza sp. I suspect) leaving pale feeding spots on the leaves.
Rough-Brick-7137
A Caterpillar’s frass
WeekendNew1182
Tomato horn worm 🐛they can obliterate a plant in record time!
Background-Ad5802
Thats frass
EliseNoelle
Unfortunately, as someone who has recently had their tomato plant decimated, it’s caterpillar poop.
I chose to forgo spraying and instead committed to a daily inspection during my morning coffee. Each day, I’d do a search, pick the caterpillars off while quietly threatening them (“oh you little motherfuckers! thought you could hide, did you?!”). It took me several weeks but I believe I finally won the war. Tomatoes are still going strong, although they ate most of the leaves and my plant looks like shit. Search under leaves and look carefully, as they can be very hard to spot.
When you find it, put on a glove, remove it then place it on a sidewalk or driveway and a bird will likely come and get it within 5 minutes.
If you see a lot of these poops all over and you have an infestation, buy some BTk organic pesticide (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies kurstaki) and spray the plants thoroughly with it. When the caterpillars eat the leaves/stems sprayed with it, it will make them not want to eat and they eventually die. Follow instructions on frequency of application until infestation is gone. It’s not a contact killer and therefore will take a little while to get rid of them.
anetworkproblem
Looks like poop
thetangible
Hunt at night with a UV light. They glow and are easier to find.
16 Comments
Caterpillar poop? The ones that show up on my tomato’s eat the leaves, stems and tomatoes!
They are gross bastards camouflaged the same color as the foliage. Get dust from the nursery
It’s caterpillar poop. Find them now/treat with dust before it’s too late. Hornworms are especially bad in late summer where I live but their poop is a little bigger than that. Could be baby hornworms/fruit worms or army worms.
These look like black beetle frass. Check out flea beetles. They decimated my garden when I was out of town. Dales dead bug cleaned it up though no issue.
https://preview.redd.it/8e904ls2tmhd1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4862a2d5e5b7be57a43d39bf2daa8163f14993a
Tomato hornworms (caterpillars). Fat green things that blend in with the leaves. Search and destroy! I smash ’em with a rock.
Apparently they glow in black light if you have one handy.
Those are poop from a worm. Look on the leaves directly above the poop. You will find your tomato enemy. I don’t like to use chemicals- just pick them off & step on them!!
I play search & destroy on my tomato plants every morning while drinking my coffee.
Im going on a hunt. Will keep you updated
Poop from caterpillars and also I see leafminer flies (Liriomyza sp. I suspect) leaving pale feeding spots on the leaves.
A Caterpillar’s frass
Tomato horn worm 🐛they can obliterate a plant in record time!
Thats frass
Unfortunately, as someone who has recently had their tomato plant decimated, it’s caterpillar poop.
I chose to forgo spraying and instead committed to a daily inspection during my morning coffee. Each day, I’d do a search, pick the caterpillars off while quietly threatening them (“oh you little motherfuckers! thought you could hide, did you?!”). It took me several weeks but I believe I finally won the war. Tomatoes are still going strong, although they ate most of the leaves and my plant looks like shit. Search under leaves and look carefully, as they can be very hard to spot.
[Tobacco Hornworm or Tomato Hornworm](https://thegardeningcook.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/tobaccco-vs-tomato-hornworm-735×827.jpg) poop. Crouch down and then look up from the poop. Look carefully and you will see the fleshy green hornworm. Poop that size, the caterpillar will be anywhere from half the size of your pinky to the size of your middle finger.
When you find it, put on a glove, remove it then place it on a sidewalk or driveway and a bird will likely come and get it within 5 minutes.
If you see a lot of these poops all over and you have an infestation, buy some BTk organic pesticide (Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies kurstaki) and spray the plants thoroughly with it. When the caterpillars eat the leaves/stems sprayed with it, it will make them not want to eat and they eventually die. Follow instructions on frequency of application until infestation is gone. It’s not a contact killer and therefore will take a little while to get rid of them.
Looks like poop
Hunt at night with a UV light. They glow and are easier to find.