About 3 growing seasons ago I found one that had been parasitized by a braconid wasp. Didn't kill it but I did move it out of the garden to a safe spot to allow the wasps time to develop.
Braconid Wasp
Posted on 05/08/2021 6:21:48 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I just cut Tomato Horn Worms in half with a scissors when I see them. VERY satisfying. They are total eating machines and can destroy a plant overnight!
Those plants are my babies. No one messes with Mama Bear’s tomatoes! ;)
About 3 growing seasons ago I found one that had been parasitized by a braconid wasp. Didn't kill it but I did move it out of the garden to a safe spot to allow the wasps time to develop.
Braconid Wasp
I just take the pruning shears and snip them in half.
Yes, it would be nice to look out the conservatory door to see a rose planting like that in my collection of formal garden groupings! (And of course have a staff of gardeners to care for it!)
But, reality!
I like to cut the branch they are on and let it fall into a coffee can. Don’t want to get any closer than that Add some lighter fluid and torch.
If you keep the braconid infected hornworms at a distance the hidden and unseen hornworms lurking among your tomato plants become a quiet living offering to Braconid Wasp Angels!
(They also like gypsy moths apparently! )
I see a Pit Bull covered in lighting in the upper part of the cloud. He is looking at us. (Humm. Paranoia brought on by the Biden regime??_
In my garden, corn earworms. They’ve wiped out more than half of my crop most seasons. I keep testing different ways to control them, but haven’t hit on a winner yet.
This year I plan to use a combination of beneficial nematodes, and interplanting with marigolds. The nematodes I bought because they’ll supposedly eat ticks, but the fact that they’ll eat a ton of other pests is a bonus! And I saw pictures of a cabbage farm that used marigolds to deter cabbage beetles, so I’m hoping it works the same for corn earworms.
It has NOT been a good weekend for wildlife around here - the animals have been behaving badly. There was a chicken massacre Saturday night - something, we think a fox, got 3 out of 5 hens. I literally had a stomach ache all day Saturday because they were not my chickens - I was 'animal sitting' so it was on my watch.
Then there was this scene this morning. Likely a heavy old raccoon. Surprisingly, the feeders themselves are ok - the pole, not so much. I think I can straighten it enough to get it in a piece of metal pipe (to keep it from bending again) & get it reset somehow.
I have had hornworms in my tomatoes on occasion - I love finding them already ‘parasitized’ and I leave them where they are - won’t be eating any more tomato plant & the wasps, when they hatch, can patrol my tomato patch.
When I see signs of hornworms, the biggest challenge is finding the darn things! They are so good at being almost invisible. I thought I had read somewhere that you could use “black light” to find them - not something I’ve ever done, but I would certainly consider it for the future.
How to Use a Blacklight to Find Tomato Hornworms
https://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-blacklight-tomato-hornworms-97836.html
From the (short) article:
Tomato hornworms have natural camouflage that allows them to feed on tomato (Lycopersicum solanum) and other plant foliage without being disturbed by predators. The larvae are nearly invisible against the backdrop of tomato stems and foliage, despite their bright-green color, horn-like protrusion and 4-inch body length. Tomato hornworms glow green under a blacklight, so you can spot and eliminate them from your tomato plants before they devour the foliage. One sign that your plants have an infestation of hornworms is the small black droppings they leave behind on lower plant leaves.
Oh, that’s so irritating! I’ve been getting cleaned out on a regular basis, too!
I re-arrange things every week to see what works best, and that seems to have slowed things down.
Luckily, I’m getting a new puppy this week, so when she’s a bit older, she can sleep on the porch and that should deter a few of the JERKS from wrecking the feeders.
Post 51. Black light. (Hive mind!)
Another biological control, Trichogramma wasps
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/corn-earworm-control.htm
https://pestadvisories.usu.edu/2020/08/19/corn-earworm-hornworms/
Trichogramma wasps are parasitic toward CEW eggs. Wasps can be purchased and released into corn fields.
spinosad (Bonide Captain Jack’s Deadbug, Monterey Garden Insect Spray, Natural Guard Spinosad Spray)
Search Amazon for one source for them.
"Bug Sales Trichogramma 3 Squares/ 12,000 Eggs Brand: Bug Sales"
About $12 and $2 shipping.
Good luck!
Good luck!
LOL! Obviously, I did not read all the comments! :-)
I think we had a raccoon visit earlier this year - bent up some of the feeder hangers. Two years ago, I had to put the feeders away every night - a couple of the perches were getting bent down to the point they were unusable - I did manage to bend them back up without breaking them off.
Anyway, we live next to a real junk hole - old sheds, junked cars, etc. There was an explosion/fire in one of the sheds 2-3 years ago & last year, the house caught on fire & is unlivable - windows are all open, nothing boarded up. It’s been reported to the county umpteen times & they don’t seem to have the will to enforce their own codes.
So, lots of skunks, possums, ‘coons living next door. We’ve caught ‘coons on a game camera & a couple of years ago, a mama ‘coon with 3 juveniles in tow, walked across the front sidewalk & set off the motion light on the porch so I was alerted, looked out & saw them. The youngsters are cute ... and then they grow up. A friend of ours is a wildlife rehabber & his specialty is baby raccoons - he visited our lake cabin one year & had a baby (”Sally”) that he was feeding every couple of hours - she was precious. Sally was released into the wild - she brought a baby back to “visit” which was kind of special.
All that being said, I am going to set a live trap with a can of sardines (I think cat food works, too) wired down - the rascals reach in the side of the trap & pull the can over ‘til they can get to the sardines, so wiring should fix that. My dad says an adult raccoon will not fit in the trap, but if they want the sardines bad enough, I think an adult raccoon could get in there, unless it’s over maybe 30 lbs. We’ll see what happens. Did you know the record weight for one caught in the wild is 62 lbs? That’s virtually baby Sasquatch size! LOL
The adjacent yard/house.
You might want to check with the county and see if anyone is paying taxes. If not, and you can get the $ for it, make them an offer to buy it for back taxes. (I do not know the laws in your county.) If the county indicates a bank has a lien on it its probably non preforming and maybe they would accept an offer. If not let them know they need to resolve the issues with their property. (Who knows unless you ask!)
Note the double good luck to you!
“Hornworms eat fast”
Looks like closing time at an “all you can eat” buffet!
Sliding from canids to unusual apples!
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/unusual-apples
Pomme Api etoile! (Api star apple)
More pictures of other apples at link!
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