Dealing With Orange Bugs on Your Tomato Plants

Most Common Tomato Pests

• 01 of 12 Cutworms Black cutworm larva (Agrotis ipsilon) MEDITERRANEAN / Getty s Cutworms are the caterpillars of many moth species. The variegated and black cutworms are the ones that hurt tomato plants the most. Damage: Cutworms get their name from the way they eat: they eat the leaves of young plants by cutting them down. They only eat in the evenings and at night. During the day, they hide in the dirt or plant matter. Control: In most cases, damage occurs on seedlings. Pheromone traps should be set up if adult cutworms are still a problem in the summer. To stop them, keep weeds under control so the caterpillars can’t hide during the day.
• 02 of 12: Hornworms DPFishCo/Getty s: These are probably the most well-known tomato pests. They are 3 to 4 inches long. Their bodies are blue-green and have seven to eight white stripes going diagonally across them. They have a horn on the second-to-last part of their bodies. Damage: The caterpillars eat a lot of tomato leaves very quickly. They sometimes also eat green tomatoes. Caterpillars are hard to see because they blend in with the leaves, but their dark green or black droppings, called frass, make them easy to find. Control: They don’t show up in large groups very often, so picking them by hand is an option. Check your plants for caterpillars, the damage they do while feeding, and frass. Get rid of them while they are still small. Braconid wasps are beneficial insects that parasitize and kill hornworms.
• 3. Aphids — Liz W. Grogan/Getty Images These light- to dark-green bugs have soft bodies and are only about the size of a pinhead. They are hard to see because they are so small, hide on the underside of leaves, and reproduce quickly. Before you know it, they have become an infestation. They can be on tomato plants all through the growing season. Damage: Aphids feed on plant sap, which makes the plant weaker, and they make “honeydew,” a sticky liquid that black fungus grows on. Check the underside of leaves for aphids and bring in lacewings, ladybugs, and hoverflies, which are natural enemies of aphids. Insecticides should only be used as a last resort because they kill all insects, even good ones.
• 2004/04/12 Spider Mites jess311 / Getty s Two-spotted spider mites are too small to see with the naked eye. In hot, dry weather, they only live for five to seven days, and you won’t know you have a problem until there are a lot of them. Spider mites eat tomato leaves and take the juices out of the cell walls. It looks like the leaves have been hit with sand because they have a yellow spot or a mottled look. The leaves turn a bronze color, then brown. Control: Look at the bottom of the tomato leaves, especially when it’s hot and dry outside. Usually, a strong blast of water, even under the leaves, gets rid of them. Spider mites can be stopped by getting rid of weed hosts like chickweed from around your garden. Continue to 5 of 12 below .
• 05 of 12 Tomato Fruit Worms by Anas Yousaf/Getty Images The tomato fruit worm, which is also called the corn earworm, is the caterpillar of a yellowish-brown moth. The caterpillars are mostly light green, but some spots on their bodies are tan, brown, or maroon. The female moths lay their eggs on tomato plants. Damage: Once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars eat mostly green tomatoes and sometimes red tomatoes or leaves. They poke holes in the fruit and leave behind frass that makes the tomatoes dirty. It’s best to plant corn nearby as a trap plant for tomato fruit worm moths because they like to lay their eggs on it. To get rid of the larvae, use Bacillus thuringiensis.
• 06 of 12 Flea Beetles amiriphoto/Getty s. The adults of flea beetles are very small, so you might not notice their big back legs. But the way they jump when they are scared lets you know. They spend the winter in leaf litter and wooded areas and come back to the surface in the spring. Damage: Tomato leaves and stems are eaten by flea beetles, which leave holes in them that aren’t all the same shape. Severe flea beetle damage results in wilted or stunted plants. To get rid of flea beetles, plant tomatoes as late as you can to avoid the worst attacks. Another way to keep flea beetles away from other plants is to grow trap crops like radishes. Flea beetles are less common in the summer, so tomato plants that are strong and tall should be able to handle them.
• 07 of 12: Thrips burapa spreads the Tospovirus virus to tomatoes. Western flower thrips are very small insects that are only 1 mm long and have a narrow body. The females are yellow to dark brown and bigger than the males. The males are pale yellow and have a narrower abdomen. Damage: Western flower thrips leave white scars on tomato leaves, messed up growth, and sunken tissue on the underside of leaves with their sharp, sucking mouthparts. You may also see small black spots, which are the frass from the fish eating. Thrips also give plants the tomato spotted wilt virus, which is just as bad for them as the feeding itself. Thrips are hard to get rid of with insecticides because they feed deep in flowers and buds, where the chemicals can’t reach them. If you need to use pesticides, choose ones that have Spinosad in them. Thrips lay their eggs on weeds, so keep the area around tomato plants weeded to keep them from getting infested.
• The adults of the leafminer are small, black-and-yellow flies that mostly show up on tomatoes in late summer (sebasb95/Getty). When it’s warm, they only live for two weeks, and every year there are seven to ten generations. Damage: The bugs eat through the tomato leaf and leave a path of dead white tissue that looks like a snake. They also lay their eggs in leaves and leaf surfaces. Damaged leaves fall off early, and if the infestation is bad, the plant could lose all of its leaves. Control: The best way to get rid of leafminers is to not spray them with broad-spectrum insecticides. Their natural enemies, like parasitic wasps, eat the larvae, so don’t use them. When you buy tomato plants, check them for leafminer damage. Infested plants should be destroyed. Continue to 9 of 12 below .
• 09 of 12 Colorado Potato Beetles vovashevchuk/Getty s. They like potatoes, but they will eat any nightshade plant, like tomatoes. Their bodies are orange-pink, and their heads are black. They also have two rows of black spots on the sides of their bodies. Damage: Both adults and larvae eat tomato leaves, which often strips the plant of its leaves. Look for dark frass on the leaves as well as signs of chewing. Control: Keep an eye on the plants early on, because seedlings are especially at risk. You can pick off a few by hand, and get rid of any egg masses you find. Use an insecticide with Spinosad as an active ingredient to get rid of big infestations.
• 10 of 12 Stink Bugs ibunt/Getty s Also feared as indoor pests, stink bugs are easy to spot because the back of their shield-shaped bodies has an upside-down triangle on it. The bugs are brown or green and measure ½ to 2/3 of an inch. As adults, they spend the winter on the ground under leaves, plant debris, and weed patches. In the spring, they come back to life. Signs of Damage: Feeding damage looks like white spots with fuzzy edges. It looks like needle holes or small dimples on ripe tomatoes. A lot of feeding also makes the skin get hard, whitish calluses. Control: If stink bugs are common in your area, check tomatoes when they are about an inch across and pick out the bugs by hand. To stop them, get rid of all the places where they can spend the winter by pulling weeds thoroughly. Spraying insecticides on stink bugs is not a good way to get rid of them because they move quickly.
• Eleven of the twelve whiteflies are silverleaf whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci). The silverleaf whitefly is a 1/8-inch bug with a yellowish body. It doesn’t do well in cold weather, but it can survive the winter in greenhouses. It usually gets into home gardens through transplants that were grown in warmer places. Damage: This bug only eats tomato fruit and injects a poison into it that makes it ripen at odd times. If the tomatoes don’t look ripe on the outside until you cut them open, you might not see the damage until you see green or yellow lines that go deep into the fruit that aren’t ripe. Take care of: The insect likes to live on the underside of leaves, which is also where it lays its eggs. A strong hose spray on the undersides of the leaves gets rid of both Getting natural enemies like lacewings or parasitic wasps to attack is another good way to keep them under control.
• 12 out of 12 Armyworms by John Brandauer on Flickr under CC BY-NC-ND 2. This is DEED. The yellow-striped armyworm caterpillars are light gray to black and have a yellow or cream-colored strip running down their bodies. The caterpillars spend the winter in warm places and then move north in the summer. Damage: The little larvae eat tomato leaves for a short time and then go after the tomatoes. They make holes about 1/8- to ¼-inch wide in the whole fruit and fruit cluster. Lice can damage two to three tomato clusters with just one or two of them. To get rid of the caterpillars, start looking at the leaves in June. Treat them while they are still small and before they start eating the tomatoes. Apply Bacillus thuringiensis on plants where you spot the larvae.

FAQ

• Which of the following is the most common pest for tomato plants? Aphids, cutworms, hornworms, and tomato fruit worms are all common tomato plant pests. Depending on the other plants in your garden and the weather where you live, some will be more common than others.
• Which insecticides work best to get rid of tomato plant pests like stink bugs, aphids, and hornworms? Bifenthrin, cyhalothrin, and esfenvalerate were tested and found to be effective.
• How can I keep bugs from eating my tomatoes? To keep bugs from eating your tomatoes, spray the plant with insecticide often and brush any bugs you see into a bowl of soapy water.

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Pests vs. Beneficial Insects

Not all insects on your plants are tomato pests. Beneficial insects such as predatory wasps, ladybugs, and lacewings are your allies when it comes to tomato pest control—they feed on the bad guys.

Before you proceed with pest control treatments, ensure what youre controlling is indeed a tomato pest. Pest control measures also depend on population numbers and the scope of the damage.

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Bug Control : How to Get Rid of Little Bugs That Are on the Leaves of My Tomato Plants

FAQ

How to get rid of orange bugs on tomato plants?

To get rid of spider mites, spray them with a blast of water from the hose several times a week. This will push them away and make them less likely to come back. Spraying with insecticidal soap. Alternately spraying with pyrethrin and spinosad at 14 day intervals as needed.

What are the tiny orange bugs on my plants?

Discover the tiny little orange bug known as thrips. Learn about these unique insects and their impact on plants. Click for insights!See more videos about Tiny Orange Bugs, Tiny Orange Bugs on Bricl, Tiny Orange Bug That Bites, Poor Little Bug, Little Bugs Turn into Big Bug, Tiny Little Clear Bugs.

How do you get rid of orange bugs?

Bugs like the bronze orange bug and the spined citrus bug can be killed with horticultural oils like Eco Oil and PestOil right now. In early spring, treat with Yates Nature’s Way Citrus & Ornamental Spray. During late spring and summer, destroy adult bugs.

How to get rid of hornworms on tomato plants?

To kill tomato worms naturally, mix some liquid dish soap and water in a spray bottle, spray it on the tomato plant, and then shake some Cayenne pepper onto the plant and on the tomatoes. The soap kills the worms, and the cayenne pepper will keep them away if the soap washes off of the plant and they try to come back.