Are caterpillars harmful to my tomatoes?

Answer by  champaign9497 (11977)

Any bug or worm that gets on your tomatos is harmful because they are on there to eat it and if not the tomato its self then it will eat the stem either way you will lose the tomatos.

Answer by  catman529 (809)

Cabbage loopers are not usually very harmful to tomatoes. Armyworms might cause more damage, but the tobacco hornworm (the most common) or tomato hornworm (less common) can cause severe damage to tomatoes. Hornworms get up to 4 inches long and have a characteristic horn on the rear.

Answer by  shawdowsmom (138)

YES Its called a horned tomato worm. This caterpillar is bright green with the appearance of a horn. It will eat through one plant at the time, eating leaves fruit and stalk than proceeding to the next plant. It takes a few hours before metaphorphasis sets in and it flies away as a bright yellow butterfly.

Answer by  gummie (738)

I have done enough gardening to notice what different pests can do to a vegetable garden. In this case, we are discussing caterpillars. They may look warm and fuzzy, but they climb the tomato vine and eat, eat, eat the leaves which compromises the tomato plant. A few tomatoes may survive, but there will be less fruit on the vine.

Answer by  John (9008)

Caterpillars eat plants. Thus, they are harmful to any plant, including tomatoes. Depending upon the type of caterpillar, it might eat the leaves of your plant or it could even consume the tomato itself. Either way, you will have to get rid of them.