![]() These wedge-shaped, pale green hopping insects feed on the sap and cause the leaves to curl, but that isn’t the real problem. Leafhoppers also like to munch on your tomatoes. Basil planted nearby is also said to repel them. Remove weeds around the plants where the beetles nest and spray the tomatoes with an insecticidal soap. These tiny, metallic, dark brown beetles eat holes in the leaves, which will eventually stunt or even kill young plants. Flea beetlesįlea beetles are yet another insect pest of tomato plants. Also, dig up the garden in the early spring to expose the rascals and kill them off by freezing or starving them. Blood meal scattered around the plant will also repel cutworms. Shallow tin cans, like tuna fish cans, with the bottoms removed will work the same way. This can keep the worms from gnawing at the tomato. Use a collar made of paper cups with the bottoms cut out or a 2 inch (5 cm.) portion of a toilet paper tube pushed down around the base and just under the soil surrounding the roots of the plant. The cutworm is a one inch (2.5 cm.) caterpillar that curls into a C-shape under the soil that can eviscerate young plants at the surface. CutwormsĪnother tomato plant pest is a smooth underground operator. Handpick these pests from the plant and drop them into a bucket of soapy water. These medium sized black, red, gray, or striped beetles eat grasshopper eggs, which can be a good thing, but their rampant appetite for the tomato foliage is less desirable. Blister beetlesīlister beetles also like to dine on your tomatoes and if there are many of them, can defoliate a plant. You can also spray with an insecticidal soap or garlic oil spray to reduce the population or encourage natural predators, such as lacewings or ladybugs, who will only gladly help reduce their numbers. The honeydew attracts other pesky insects.Ī strong stream of water can wash them off, but it might damage the tomato. They suck the nutrient-rich sap from the plant. Aphids populate new stems and the undersides of leaves leaving sticky honeydew in their wake. ![]() AphidsĬommon tomato pests, and pests of just about everything else (at least in my garden), are aphids. There are many pests of tomato plants – these are some of the most common. ![]() So, it is imperative that you recognize tomato insect damage and learn about treating pests on tomatoes. Even if tomato insect damage is nominal, the pests themselves often are vectors for disease. Any number of tomato plant insect pests lurk right around the corner ready to take down your prized heirlooms. Although there is perfection in nature, the fact is that our cultivated tomatoes rarely achieve this lofty goal. What is eating my tomatoes? Some gardeners practically swoon over a perfect tomato plant. ![]()
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