The sight shocks hobby gardeners to the core: large caterpillars crawl over the tomatoes and eat the fruits and leaves. You can find out what pests these are and how to get rid of the brood here.
How do you fight caterpillars on tomatoes without chemicals?
To combat caterpillars on tomatoes, you can use natural methods such as collecting the caterpillars in the morning, biological repellent preparations based on neem oil, using the predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus or protection with close-meshed insect nets.
Vegetable owl responsible for caterpillar feeding on tomatoes
The vegetable owl is a moth whose prey range primarily includes tomatoes in the greenhouse. The females lay their green eggs on the tomato plants, from which the caterpillars hatch after just a week. These attack the fruits and leaves from summer to autumn.
With a length of 45 millimeters, the pests are easy to recognize. Nevertheless, the damage caused by feeding is first noticeable because the caterpillars hide during the day. If you don't take countermeasures at the first signs of an infestation, you risk an explosive increase in the number of voracious brood. While tomato cultivation had been exemplary up to that point, the harvest is still in danger so close to the end of the season.
Scent traps attack the butterflies
For responsible hobby gardeners, resorting to chemical preparations is out of the question. In biological pest control, a method has been developed that beats the vegetable owl with its own weapons. We're talking about pheromone traps that simulate a scent that attracts and captures butterflies willing to mate. In the hobby greenhouse, just one trap is enough to put an end to the ghost.
It is important to note that scent traps are only suitable for controlling caterpillars on tomatoes in the greenhouse. In the wild, the pheromones invite all the vegetable owls in the area to your garden.
Fight caterpillars on tomatoes in harmony with nature
Where the use of pheromone traps does not make sense, the following natural control methods are recommended:
- collect the caterpillars early in the morning
- Use biological repellent preparations based on neem oil
- the predatory bug Macrolophus pygmaeus takes on the caterpillars
- Protect beds with close-meshed insect nets
In addition, researchers found that Bacillus thuringiensis is a natural remedy against caterpillars. The bacterium has proven itself well in organic farming because it only affects pests.
Tips & Tricks
If the scent traps are equipped with UV light or a lamp, this measure significantly increases efficiency. In this way, the nocturnal butterflies are attacked from two sides: pheromones and light.