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TB '09.

Those plants look good. Mayby some type of surprise popper with the xalapenos, or mayby some type of mutant tribute. The army of assassins you have on hand is amazing. Nice to know you have somebody looking over your plants.
 
Been a while since the last update. The assassins much like Elvis have left the building. I see one now and again every few days but new sightings are becoming rare. Yesterday I 86'd the 3rd hornworm I have found. I got home from work and did my usual inspection to find that one of my hap/peno mutant plants had about a 3rd of it eaten. But by whom? A close inspection detected nothing. I came back and looked again about an hour later to find this bastard!

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I promptly liberated the worm, which btw was as long and thick as my index finger, and tossed him over the brick wall onto the hot asphalt of the street. It was only 110 degrees outside so he was cooked as soon as he hit the street. Bastard! There is a bonus though....a new kung fu sheriff was in town for a visit...he's on the left. Note the damage from the green bastard.

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I love this guy!!

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Some of the other habs are doing very well. I've picked about a dozen off of this plant already over the last two weeks.

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Stay tuned to this same bat channel for more updates ya'll..

Salute', TB.
 
Nice habs tb.

Those horn worms can be difficult to spot, but one made the mistake of munching on my Black Pearl about a week ago and stood out like a sore thumb. His pruning just made the plant start a lot of new growth. :)
 
SS....that's the 3rd green bastard in two weeks. I thought about calling in an A-10 with cluster bomb munitions but there were too many friendlies in the AO. I'm surprised that the hornworms are even around, given the heat here in Las Vegas and the local population of tarantula's and black widow's where my plants are. If another worm infiltrates the perimeter, jihad will be officially declared and the C4 and tripwires will have to be broken out.

Salute', TB.
 
My maters are where all of my horm worm attacks were a problem and haven't seen any after spraying with Spinosad. That one pearl incident is the only one I've seen on my chili plants and the only insect problem I've seen on the pearl.
 
Damn hornworms. Found another after I got home from work. That's 3 in less than 2 weeks!. In less than a day the bastards can eat and strip half of a 3-4 foot plant. i need a mini bouncing betty tripwired into the foliage!

Salute', TB.
 
I did a background check on these slimy perps. Seems they are legion here in Las Vegas and spread their evil widely. I have identified this particular species as the hellish offspring of the Hummingbird Hawk Moth. I have seen these moths flying around in the daytime and at dusk. Seems the female can lay up to 200 eggs and place a single egg on a plant at a time. Diabolical!

Check this out from a local Las Vegas blogger...

http://www.gardenmandy.com/green-hornworms-destroy-tomato-plants-chomp-chomp-pictures/

And this from Wiki....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macroglossum_stellatarum

While the moths are seemingly harmless, their satanic spawn are very aggressive. I am declaring holy war against these little green turds and may go "Chemical Ali" on them.


INCOMING!!!, TB.
 
Spray your plants with Spinosad. It's organic and kills most pests that eat leaves and will solve your worm problem. The first time I used it one evening the horn worms were already paralyzed and on deaths door the following morning.
 
Silver_Surfer said:
Spray your plants with Spinosad. It's organic and kills most pests that eat leaves and will solve your worm problem. The first time I used it one evening the horn worms were already paralyzed and on deaths door the following morning.
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Thanks for the tip SS. I was thinking of this other stuff called BT but I like the organic 'thang with the Spinosad. Did the worms turn into the green blob as they died? On another note but related, I have always wondered about the wasps flying and hovering around my plants....looking for hosts to turn into green zombies! For true!

Salute', TB.
 
texas blues said:
Thanks for the tip SS. I was thinking of this other stuff called BT but I like the organic 'thang with the Spinosad. Did the worms turn into the green blob as they died? On another note but related, I have always wondered about the wasps flying and hovering around my plants....looking for hosts to turn into green zombies! For true!

Salute', TB.
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The Spinosad paralyzes them and they starve. The ones I observed had already started shrinking and looked deflated. It works the same as BT, but lasts longer and kills a broader spectrum of pests.

Spinosad (pronounced spin OH sid) is a relatively new insect killer that quickly and safely controls a variety of caterpillar, beetle and thrips pests. Spinosad is derived from the fermentation juices of a lowly soil bacterium called Saccharopolyspora spinosa. To chemists, spinosad is a complex molecule known as a "glycosylated macrolactone;" but to gardeners with a hankering for safer products, it may be a godsend.

Spinosad is not particularly new, having been granted organic status by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP) in 2003. However few home gardeners are aware of its potential uses.

Spinosad is especially effective on caterpillars and thrips. If you're a flower gardener, your ears should prick up on this one. Thrips and caterpillars are the two most important pest groups on annual and perennial flowers. Perhaps the best thing about spinosad-containing products is their safety for people and beneficial insects. Spinosad is safe for adult butterflies and many insect predators and parasites. It falls into the safest human health category as well.

Bacillus thuringiensis, known for years to savvy gardeners as "Bt", has been a standard weapon for the war against caterpillars. As an insecticide, Bt is a safe, selective product for caterpillars. However, Bt lacks staying power. Instead of Bt's one or two days' residual, spinosad keeps killing for up to four weeks. In addition, spinosad kills thrips, which Bt doesn't faze.

Last year a new wettable powder version of spinosad, EntrustR, was labeled for use on a wide variety of insect pests on organic crops, fruits, and vegetables. For commercial applicators working around home landscapes, spinosad is sold as a fire ant bait (Justice), and as a liquid spray for turf and ornamentals (ConserveR SC).

Because spinosad is a relatively new compound, it's not yet found its way onto many garden store shelves. Look for spinosad under the following trade names: Monterey Garden Insect SprayR, Ferti-lomeR Borer, Bagworm, Leafminer & Tent Caterpillar Spray, and Bulls-EyeTM Bioinsecticide. Ask in your local garden center, or search for these online. Because commercial names change daily, ask your nurseryman for additional products containing the active ingredient spinosad. Or look carefully on the 'ingredients' statements of new products for spinosad. Your garden will appreciate it, though the caterpillars may not.
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Damn teh stinkin' hornworms. Earlier this week the onslaught began anew. I did pretty good at picking them off but then realized that I was only finding a small portion of them. After killing about 20 I went and got teh Freddy Mercury poison on them. At the Home Despot down the street they knew nada about the Spinosad and no longer carried the BT, so I got some bug swill called Sevin that I sprayed all the plants with. To be sure, I harvested all the habs as i didn't want to risk getting teh aids myself from the rain of destruction I was about to unleash. On one 'peno plant that was really tore down and 2/3 gone I sprayed and later found 5 of the green goblins falling off the plant. The sickness I gave them did the trick. I can't believe how many plumb evaded my eagle eye surveillance. Bastards!

Here's some pics pre-harvest...if you look close, you can see some of the carnage done to the foliage by the enemy. All is safe now. Special Forces tookem' down!!

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Habs are headed to the sauce pot.

Salute', TB.
 
Glad to see you getting some pods TB, can't wait to see what wicked culinary creation they're destined for.


And good job on the bugs. As always, you know my official policy on any pest:

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After last eve's spraying, the bodies are stacked up from the carnage. One 'peno plant that was hit the hardest had a total of 7 of the green goblins. That Sevin juice worky worky berry good!

Final BDA (Battle Damage Assessment) - 40 green terrorists KIA. 1 injured but he ain't gonna' make it. Resetting tripwires and perimeter security.

That is all.

Salute', TB.
 
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