Black worms on your tomato plant? Oh, no! These pests are not only unsightly and gross, but they can also cause significant damage to the leaves of the plant. If you’re wondering how to prevent black worms on tomato plants in the future, read this blog post for some helpful tips that will let you save your tomatoes.
How to Deal With Black Worms On Tomato Plant?
So, you’ve got black worms on your tomatoes, and you’re now wondering how-on-earth you will get rid of them…
Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT)
This is a microbial product that helps to control fruit worms by attacking them from the inside. I apply it during the evening to prevent the UV rays from affecting the performance of the product.
Neem oil
If you’ve read any of my other articles, you will know how much I love using neem oil for pests and fungal problems. It’s safe to say the efficiency of neem oil has been proven. It can kill worms in less than a day and will work as an effective pesticide against all kinds of pests on tomato plants. The oil is also a natural solution, as it comes from the seeds of neem trees.
Garden dust
Garden dust is a powdered pesticide that can be used to get rid of worms on tomatoes, roses, eggplants, and other vegetables.
Insecticidal soap
This is a product that kills by contact and ingestion, which means it’s both efficient and safe. It mainly targets the soft body parts of pests like caterpillars, grubs, or worms.
Cultural control
This is a method of dealing with pests through changing and modifying the growing environment. This could involve spacing plants farther apart, rotating crops, or putting up screens to keep away bugs
The best way you can prevent black worms on tomato plants is by being proactive- start applying these methods early before it’s too late!
Beneficial predators
It is also important to make your garden more desirable for beneficial insects that will help you out. These are the friends we want, and they will keep our tomato plants worm-free!
Birds
If it’s not too cold in your region, birds should be an excellent solution for getting rid of pests on tomatoes. They love eating insects and worms, as they’re a valuable source of protein. You can attract birds to your garden by placing a bird feeder near your plants.
How to Prevent Worms on Tomato Plants?
Once you’ve dealt with your current worm problem, you will want to protect your tomatoes from future issues. Here’s how to do that:
1) You should always be on the lookout for eggs. If you see any, destroy them as soon as possible before they hatch and ruin your garden!
2) Don’t plant the tomatoes next to other plants that attract worms, like corn
3) Worms are often ignored until they get in the way of our harvesting. But, we should always take care to till the soil after a harvest, which will demolish their pupae and larvae before it is too late
4) Add insecticide to your tomatoes every few weeks
5) Promote predators that will eat any worms that appear on your tomatoes
What Type of Worm Is On My Tomato Plant?
There are many different types of worms that will attack your tomatoes, but it can be difficult to identify them. If you’re wondering what type of worm is on your tomato plants, here’s a list:
Fruitworm
Helicoverpa zea is the most common worm found on tomato plants in North America. They can be identified by their yellow and black stripes, loops at the end of their body, and hairy legs. They tend to be one to two inches long.
The eggs are about the size of a pinhead when they first emerge. They’re white or cream-colored at this stage and it’s easy to see their delicate, paper-thin shells from afar. These pests are the bane of many fruit lovers because they will lay eggs into your favorite fruits during the nighttime.
Pinworms
The keiferia lycopersicella loves spending time in warm environments. At the eggs phase, this worm is extremely small and oval-shaped. Their color ranges from light yellow to orange, so you’ll know if you’re about to have a pinworm problem!
Once they become larva, they change to a yellowish-grey color, although the had is brown. This is an important time for them as they see a big growth of roughly 1/3 inches in length. The larvae of the pinworm drive into leaves by making blotch-type holes, where it then eats the leaf flesh.
Once they reach the pupa phase, they grow a bit more and turn even browner in color. A pinworm can lay eggs four or five times a year which means that an individual could produce close to 100 new worms within the span of 12 months – uh oh!
Armyworms
These pests are called armyworms because of their tendency to travel in small but powerful insect armies.
The armyworm may be small, but its appetite is big. This little creature can destroy an entire tomato plant in just a few days and they are not picky about what plants to feast on either. This makes them a very real threat to farmers all over the world who rely heavily on their crops.
The larvae sit on the soil and then crawl up the plant and eat both the leaves and the fruit itself. Basically, you can say goodbye to your precious tomato plant!
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are lots of ways to remove worms from tomato plants. You can choose to use BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis), neem oil, garden dust, insecticidal soap, and more! Personally, I prefer to use neem oil as I always have a bottle of it in my garden shed.
When it comes to protection for the future, be sure to keep following the advice listed just above this conclusion. The most important thing to remember is that it really pays to keep a close eye on your tomato plant.
Tim is an avid gardener from the UK. He was the founder of PlantCarer.com from 2021 to Sep 2023. He sold PlantCarer.com to Aaron. He has since started his own business called Seed To Supper, which provides new gardeners all the materials you need in a box (pots, seeds, compost and instructions) to grow your own delicious and nutritious vegetables and herbs from start to finish – no garden required.
0 Comments