Question
I just moved to Missouri and experienced my first attack of tomato hornworms.  Being quite disgusted by these HUGE caterpillars, I spent a day reading up on control and life cycles.
My question is this.  Would covering tomato plants with a row cover material until the flowers were set break the egg laying cycle and keep them from developing?  I am ready to try anything so I do not have to hand pick these gross things!
Thank you for any information.

Answer
Patty:

These worms are hard to deal with. They usually come out at night. Your idea of covering the ground with plastic is a good one. Pick off all the worm you see.

Spray the bottom and top of the leaves with Sevin. Before you cover around the plants spray the soil with light soapy water.

Take care of this problem quickly other wise you won't have anything left.

Best wishes.

Don