Dill speaks with BDN about hornworms
Jim Dill, a pest management specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, spoke with the Bangor Daily News for the article, “Hungry, hungry hornworms are the bane of Maine gardeners.” “Things will be going along great,” Dill said. “Then all of a sudden it’s like, what happened to my tomato plants?” If the evidence presents as chewed or missing leaves, denuded stems or holes in the tomatoes, the culprit is likely the “tomato” or “tobacco” hornworm, the caterpillar stage of the sphinx moth, according to Dill. In the hornworm life cycle, it’s the final instar larval stage, according to Dill, and tomatoes are their food of choice. One way to get rid of the worms is to spray plants with soapy water, the BDN reported. Dill suggested either using the worms as fishing bait or plucking the worms and tossing them as far away from the plants as possible. “It’s sort of like catching a woodchuck and relocating it,” Dill said. “They won’t find their way back to the plants.”