Destructive buggers! They start out little, but don’t stay that way long. Fat and juicy with voracious appetites, these guys can put a hurting on your tomato plants in a short amount of time. The best way I have found to control them is to inspect your tomato plants regularly for damage. If you see holes in the leaves, or leaves missing altogether…start searching for a caterpillar in the area of damage. Or…start looking for fresh green poop pellets…the black ones are old, and the caterpillar will have moved out of that plant area. When you find fresh green ones, look directly above the poop. The caterpillars are hard to see, even the big ones. Their shade of green, spots, and white stripes make them blend in amazingly with the plant. Don’t give up! Keep looking until you find it. Then pull it off the plant…they won’t like that and will hang on…and then either step on the bugger, or carry it to the chicken coop. No guilt. The moth that they later turn into is ugly brown, and will be happy to lay many eggs on tomato plants…and sometimes potato plants as well.
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