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ticodxb

Is there a way to find the culprit putting holes in the leaves?

ticodxb
4 years ago

So my tomato plants look like they are growing great and one of my Earl's Faux plants seems to have exploded in growth compared to the others. Last night I discovered holes in some of the leaves of this plant and also on a few leaves of a couple other plants (out of 9 plants).

Is there a way to catch the culprit or will the plants be fine even with something feeding on the leaves?

While I'm here one of the regular leaf plants has the top leaves all curling up. None of the others are doing this. Does this indicate a problem?

Comments (13)

  • LoneJack Zn 6a, KC
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Looks like some sort of caterpillar to me since the holes are in the middle of the leaves. It doesn't look like hornworm damage to me because they typically chew from the edge of the leaf and eat the whole leaf leaving only the stems.

    Check out the undersides of the leaves and you might see the culprits. BT works on all cats as long as they aren't too big already. It won't work on a 2" hornworm.

    I agree with Dan's diagnosis on the leaf curl.

  • ediej1209 AL Zn 7
    4 years ago

    Scissors work wonders on big hornworms, LOL, but if that was the culprit, all you'd have left would be bare sticks. Yeah I'd think smaller caterpillars or perhaps slugs?

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    4 years ago

    Not sure why Bt wouldn't work on a large hornworms, but if it works on smaller ones, you won't get any bigger ones.

  • ticodxb
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Daninthedirt - thank you. The leaf curling might be over-watering because I just used a garden hose and guessed how much to water. I am going to use a large water bottle from now so I know exactly how much water I'm giving.

    Lonejack- I didn't think to check the underside of the leaves.. I'll do that today.

    Ediej - it's the first time I'm planting at that location so I don't know yet what kind of pests are lurking around. I've only ever had the holes in the leaves issue late in the season before. I'm still in the same city but the new house has different trees and plants so there are probably new pests around.

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Well, measuring the water isn't going to help much. Just look at the soil. If it's soggy, that's too wet. Don't water until the surface is dry.

    That being said, for tomatoes, disease is usually a more serious threat than bugs, especially for heirlooms, though container plants are somewhat less threatened by that. You might want to think about preventative fungicide.

  • ticodxb
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Daninthedirt, I'll go check out the garden centers to see what fungicides are sold here.

    Well I found the culprit that was eating my leaves.. Well there might be more than one... I pulled it off and wiped away what looks like eggs and threw them all away in the dumpster.

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    4 years ago

    Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis) is the solution for ALL caterpillars. Most garden centers have it. Just spray the foliage every few weeks, and you'll be done with these guys.

  • ticodxb
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Just to give an update... Turns out I cannot buy BT over here and I would have to call an exterminator to spray it for me. So I carefully searched the two affected plants and removed two caterpillars of some kind. I have been checking every night and haven't had anymore problems since. I will keep checking.

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    4 years ago

    Where are you, and why can you not buy it? Not familiar with any bans on Bt in other countries. There ARE bans on GM-engineered crops that produce their own Bt as an insecticidal mechanism.

  • ticodxb
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    I am in the United Arab Emirates. I don't know if it's illegal but for some reason no one sells it.

    I asked a few extermination companies if they will just sell me the BT only but they all said no. Fortunately I haven't had any more problems with the caterpillars so far.

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    4 years ago

    That's interesting. I know that markets for Bt have been identified in UAE - date palm, tomatoes, eggplant, and squash. Curious that it isn't sold to general users.


  • ticodxb
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    I don't know why I can't get BT either but can get insecticides that are not recommended for edible plants.