Monday, August 1, 2011
Tomato Help Needed
OK all you experienced gardeners, I need help! I found my first ripening tomato today, and also found these. Can I get rid of these guys? Any suggestions would be oh so helpful. In my arsenal already are insecticidal soap, diatomaceous earth and neem oil. Would any of these be helpful to me? I've been so careful of these tomatoes, and they've come through so much. I've got so many of them near ripening. I hope I don't loose them all now!
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Can't tell by the picture for sure but it looks like a yucky ol' garden variety (pun not intended!) slug to me. If you can identify it as such, we've had luck in the past sprinkling the area liberally with DE but even more effective is putting out shallow pans of beer at night. (A pie pan or aluminum pan like that does the trick. Any cheap beer is fine.) They crawl into the beer and drown. Or drink themselves to death, I'm not sure which.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to try is to lay flat boards (any length) on the ground under the tomatoes. The slugs like to gather there where it's cooler and damp. Flip the board over and kill the slugs gathered by whatever method you choose.
Hope some of this helps. Gotta save those tomatoes!!
I heard of the beer method but it didn't come to mind until momma pea said it .There you go little slug,have your self a brewski
ReplyDeleteDoes it have legs? It almost looks like a tomato fruitworm. The best bet would be to look for eggs and try to attract beneficial predators. Also a dousing with Bt would work. Of course, it may just be a slug in which case the beer method would work.
ReplyDeleteJudy
First, and naturally ick and dagnabit. :( Second, what interesting ways to deal with them! Beer and a board? Learn something new every day. Then again, that's MamaPea for us!
ReplyDeleteJudy@fullfreezer- It has legs and looks to be a worm or caterpillar to me, so you're probably right. What is Bt? I feel so ignorant sometimes. And, how does one attract beneficial predators?
ReplyDeleteSorry about my photo looking like a slug. I didn't see it that way until now. Yep, I can see that it does look slug like. :/
Any way, now that we all know it isn't a slug, any more info or suggestions would be ever so appreciated. THANK YOU FAITHFUL FRIENDS!
OK, I just found out what Bt is, and wow, it's expensive. But, I'm learning a lot, and so thankful for all of you to steer me in the right direction. I wonder how expensive my veggies are going to be once I'm finished with the garden this year? :) Thankfully I should have most of what I need for next year.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I don't have those here (YET)! I do have other caterpillar type things out there and this is the first year I did the Bt and yes, it is super spendy, but I only sprinkle it where I see them, not all over, and hand pick, hand pick. Try to find where the eggs are or where they congregate at night, if they go down to the soil line then go out there with a flashlight and sprinkle it all over the soil around the plant - that has a bonus of your fruit and blossoms remaining free of the stuff. Keep us updated, I love to learn about new crawlies and what was successful so I can be prepared!
ReplyDeletep.s. if you don't mind spending the extra time hunting for them, you can skip the pricey stuff and nail them with insecticidal soap spray, they are soft bodied so it you get 'em good it will kill them!
ReplyDeleteHave you tried praying? :) Love, Renee
ReplyDeleteErin- Thanks for the help, and I'll keep you updated. Actually, I was looking this AM and couldn't find anything, which brings me to...
ReplyDeleteRenee- Yep, I have, and no crawlies or new holes in tomatoes this AM. But what there were is a lot of little birds (little servants of God?) flitting about and taking things away. At first I was afraid they were doing more damage, but NOPE! :) Thanks for the reminder, which I'm always glad to have.
I also consider all of your knowledge and advice an answer to prayer. I have learned so much by reading your blogs and asking questions, so thanks to all of you!
I have had the best luck with hand picking. I had them one year in the greenhouse tomatoes very bad. No predators to eat them in there. I just hand picked daily and the numbers went down enough that I still got a good harvest. I have one in my garden tomatoes this year and have yet to find him. But I have not seen any damage in a while so I think a bird may have gotten him. Also go out in the evening with a flashlight. They are very easy to find then. Good luck.
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