The hornworm......

[spicy_echo]

In the past 2 days I've picked about 14 hornworms off my peppers.

I have Neem's oil, should I just spray in the evening for any I miss? I sit there for an hour staring at my 16 plants but I know I will miss one or two and it doesn't seem to take these little buggers long.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Spicy

 

[HotPeppas]

Copper wire around pots m8e

 

[spicy_echo]

Copper wire around pots m8e

what's copper now a days? 14$ a linear foot? haha

 

[spongey600]

find a place, buy this stuff and spray it every few nights
http://www.saferbrand.com/store/garden-care/5160
works GREAT

 

[AlabamaJack]

just look at your plants daily and pick them off...their eggs were laid by a moth and most probably right about the same time...I get them in spurts...won't have any for weeks then for 3 or 4 days, I get a few...and one worm can strip a plant in a day...they are pretty easy to spot....look for the little black shit balls they put out...you can see them on leaves that catch them, or on the ground...just look and you will know what I am talking about...

 

[JoynersHotPeppers]

Knock on wood but they only seem to ever get on my mater plants...

 

[Beaglestorm]

You can also use Spinosad. Search for the product on google. I used to pick them off like AJ when I had pots because it was easy to see the crap balls he mentioned.. now that all my plants are in the ground with heavy mulch.... I have a hard time finding the balls.

Here is a link that shows pictures of the crap balls:

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/19597-beaglestorm-vs-2011-my-chile-grow-log/page__st__200#entry475211

 

[Hot Pooper]

I've heard scissors and fire work...

 

[spicy_echo]

I've heard scissors and fire work...

Now we're talking!!
Thanks for all the replies. I'm sure just seeing them and picking them are the easy way, but I work 50-60 hours a week and most of the time only get to see my peppers early morning and late night. From what I've read and heard they can demolish a plant in that time period.

 

[Tex16]

If you can make time in the morning or at night , thats when they are more active and there for easier to spot do to their movment .

 

[HotPeppas]

I spotted one at 1pm. Not very active

Didnt munch and was just chillen on my habanero branches. Fire took care of him =]

 

[OROZCONLECHE]

I Cought a Couple Huge ones and the Scissors got em, but I keep finding them eating some Seedlings Just a Question if anyone knows, How Do They Get There? To Were they at? I mean I have some PLants hanging and they are There too

 

[HotPeppas]

Eggs must be in the soil... only thing i could think of

 

[AlabamaJack]

moths lay their eggs on the leaves...

https://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1536&bih=762&q=horn+worm+moth&oq=horn+worm+moth&gs_l=img.3..0i10i24j0i5i10i24.1110.3616.0.3807.14.14.0.0.0.0.82.969.14.14.0...0.0...1ac.YM2Lj_MQRDY#num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=h1wRUL3FIuTJ0QHt04D4CQ&ved=0CEgQBSgA&q=hornworm+moth&spell=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=6ecc4b06103287f1&biw=1536&bih=762

 

[OROZCONLECHE]

I Want to Stop the Source but if I Cant Do that I Want to kill The Eggs before the Worms Try and Eat My Peppers

 

[AlabamaJack]

get you some of those parasitic wasp...I love the way they attack the hornworms...see the white thingys attached to them...

https://www.google.com/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1536&bih=762&q=horn+worm+moth&oq=horn+worm+moth&gs_l=img.3..0i10i24j0i5i10i24.1110.3616.0.3807.14.14.0.0.0.0.82.969.14.14.0...0.0...1ac.YM2Lj_MQRDY#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=hornworm+eggs+moth&oq=hornworm+eggs+moth&gs_l=img.3...4999.6172.0.6391.5.5.0.0.0.0.96.397.5.5.0...0.0...1c.TGUVbGSIZwI&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=6ecc4b06103287f1&biw=1536&bih=783

 

[spicy_echo]

get you some of those parasitic wasp...I love the way they attack the hornworms...see the white thingys attached to them...

https://www.google.c...iw=1536&bih=783

I need these wasp to find my peppers! haha I found 4 more of these sons of *#$%#@ yesterday after I posted this. I just used a peat moss mix/cow manure (don't remember the brand but was in a yellow package) and perilite. I guess the larva could have been in one of the 2 of those bags. If it comes from moths, well, this year was one of the worst year for moths in west tx area. So, that makes sense.

I went ahead and doused everything with Neem's oil last night just for safe measure (I have whiteflies) and this morning when I got up it appeared to not affect those worms by much at all. I left 2 on 2 different plants just to see.

I would love to see these little bastards having some white larva sticking out of their backs!

 

[Dave2000]

A lot of the linked pictures had people labeling them as eggs but they aren't eggs, those are actually pupae, will emerge from those white cocoons as baby wasps.

 

[jsschrstrcks]

I saw the biggest hornworm I've ever seen the other day... If I had to guess, it was nearly 4 inches in length, and maybe an inch in girth.

Mean looking thing. I used a pair of sticks as chopsticks to pick him off, and you could feel his teeth vs one of the sticks I picked him up with... impessive strength for a 4 inch bug.

I squished him, and ran in to grab the camera, and as I was focusing on the thing, a bird snagged him... Would have made an awesome photo if I had been about 1-2 seconds faster =( as it was I got jack.

 

[spicy_echo]

I saw the biggest hornworm I've ever seen the other day... If I had to guess, it was nearly 4 inches in length, and maybe an inch in girth.

Mean looking thing. I used a pair of sticks as chopsticks to pick him off, and you could feel his teeth vs one of the sticks I picked him up with... impessive strength for a 4 inch bug.

I squished him, and ran in to grab the camera, and as I was focusing on the thing, a bird snagged him... Would have made an awesome photo if I had been about 1-2 seconds faster =( as it was I got jack.

That's funny because I watch some of these city birds just die from lack of water and food yet I have water and food in my backyard