Re: tomatoes

Today I found 2 different critters on my plants that are known to be harmful
to tomato plants. The tomato hornworm and blister beetles. I have only found
one tomato hornworm so far (on one of my pepper plants) and have seen 3 grey
blister beetles. I looked them up on the internet and this is what I
found...

Blister Beetles - slender gray, black, or striped beetles, 1/2 to 3/4 inch
long. They eat the leaves of the plants but the larvae ( the gray ones) feed
on grasshopper eggs and are therefore somewhat beneficial. They usually
arrive late in the season (July-August) as mature adults that overwintered
in the soil (fall tilling kills many). They begin to eat and breed, lay
50-300 eggs in the soil which hatch 10-21 days later. The larvae eat and
molt thru 7 stages before returning to the soil for the winter. They can be
hand-picked but wear gloves as they extrude a caustic fluid in self-defense.
Chemical controls include pyrethrins and 5% Sevin.

Tomato Hornworm - are 3-4" long green caterpillars with diagonal lines on
sides, prominent horn on rear end. Eat foliage and may take bites out of
green fruit. Tomato hornworms are the larvae of 2 large moths: the Hawkmoth
and the Sphinx moth and overwinter in the soil in the pupal stage. Adult
moths appear in late spring and lay single,
pearl colored eggs on the undersides of plant leaves that hatch in about a
week. Larvae feed on foliage for about a month before they enter the soil
and pupate. They can be difficult to spot as coloring matches plant. Look
for them on the undersides of leaf-stripped branches. They can easily be
hand-picked and destroyed or if infestation is severe, use Bt (Bacillius
thuringiensis) dust. Braconid wasps will kill these caterpillars by
implanting rice-like eggs on their backs and Trichogramma wasps parasitize
the eggs.

Does anyone know of an organic way to get rid of these pests? Every day I
can see more damage to my tomato and pepper plants. So far I am having good
luck with my cucumbers.

Thanks :)
Alphie
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