Something is eating my tomatoes!

Sounds like a Tomato Horn Worm . They are big but very hard to see. They blend in with the stems of the plants. They look prehistoric.

Hard to tell, without seeing the damage, what's causing it, Dan.  But pests are unlikely, based on your description. I'm betting on furry critters.

Hornworms do not eat the fruit, they eat the foliage. Besides which, northern Illinois is covered up with predatory wasps, so hornworms, if present, are not a long-term problem in the home garden.

Tobacco worms, which are more of a problem with tomatoes than tobacco (go figure), are similar to hornworms, but ugly as home-made sin. Think of a large worm that looks like a strand of green pop-beads.

There is a tomato fruitworm that eats the fruit, but it burrows in and takes up housekeeping. You'll know if you have them, because you'll find them in the fruit.

I would doubt that it's birds, because with them the damage usually is a bunch of holes drilled in to the fruit. Birds generally are after the moisture, rather than the tomato flesh per se. Pheasants do enjoy tomatoes, but most of the time they eat them on the ground.

Channel cuts usually indicate incissor teeth. But it's probably not raccoons. Raccoons are great on causing damage, because they tear down the plants, then take one or two bites from each fruit. Opposum do less damage, but you'd still find the plants torn down.

Squirrels are more likely to eat part or all of the fruit and then depart. There's also a possibility that it's rabbits. If your plants are caged they actually stand up, leaning against the cage, and munch away.

One solution would be to take a damaged fruit to the nearest Extension office and ask them if they can identify the cause.

Wish I could be more help.

If it was eaten half, it might be a worm or a bird... anyway, I'm interested to see what kind of creature attacks your tomato.

I found a Horn worm on one of my tomato plants this morning. It was huge, shaped, colored and textured like a tomato stem. Ate 2/3 of the leaves off the plant and some parts of tomatoes. Hope it survives.

The other plants looked fine.

Been told that planting mint around tomatoes helps keep the worms at bay. Don't know if it's true but i have mint all over my garden and have only lost tomatoes to marauding sheep, not worms. they plowed right through fences that keep deer at bay the dirty rotten so and so's.

Mint is a great companion plant, Gunnar. But I never heard of it deterring hornworms. Mint helps with ants, aphids, even flea beetles. The downside, of course, is that mint is invasive, and takes over the whole neighborhood.

To deter hornworms, the companions of choice typically are borage (which has the secondary benefit of providing edible flowers), sage, and pot marigold. Calendula serves the same purpose, and is a great medicinal herb as well.

Maybe somebody should start a thread on companion plants and what they're good for?

I've just checked my book and  tomato moth could be a culprit. If thats the culprit, destroying the crop is the only treatment.

Sun scald leaves bite sized chunks in the fruit.No treatment butthey do reccommend painting glass with cool glass?

Firstly, I plant extra for any crtters that decide they want to munch. They will not eat it all and if the plant is established, it will do alright.
Think of it this way, I believe ( believe ) that the tomato worm will turn into a gorgeous Luna Moth once it pupates. Don't you want to

help that critter to thrive ? I do.

If you want to stop them caters: you can sprinkle sifted wood ash on at night after you water, and wash it off in the AM.

Sprinkle cayenne pepper around base of plant .

Also watch out for squirrels and cats. While tomatoes is a night shade, those guys will eat the strangest things.

Nice picture of a luna moth, Bellybones. But I believe you're confused. The tomato hornworm is the larval form of the 5-spotted hawkmoth, not the luna.

Also, why are you watering in the evening? That's a great way of promoting fungal diseases.

I should correct, moisten is more the term. Simply wet 'em and drop on the ash.

Works great for slugs .

I guess, it was not an insect that attacked your tomatoes. it must be a squirrel or a rabbit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gonefishin 

   We've got a lot of critters around us...but no squirrels.

 

   thanks,  

  dan

So possibly, what kind? Because, as I see those pictures. It is not an insect that can eat or bite that size.

Maybe, it can be. As I saw the video, the tomato is almost similar to your pictures.