People love their tomatoes, and they are very upset when something eats them before they do.

For the most part tomatoes thrive in the hottest part of the summer when even the nights are warm and humid. Unfortunately, so do a lot of the pests that plague them. Here are a few to watch out for this summer:

Flea beetles

Although you’ll frequently see them on spinach and brassicas, they’re really not very picky. Just like the other species, if your tomato leaves are riddled with tiny holes you most likely have flea beetles. At low levels they’re not much of an issue, but in large numbers they can really knock back the plant. If you see evidence of flea beetles, dust your plants with diatomaceous earth.

Root-knot nematodes

There are beneficial nematodes, but these microscopic roundworms wreak havoc on the roots of tomato plants by forming galls along the system. Since the nematodes are affecting the plant beneath the soil, it’s hard to pinpoint the cause. Symptoms include a general lack of growth and sudden wilting. It’s very difficult to treat them once you have them, but you can do a lot in prevention. Cover crops between seasons not only help improve the soil, but they’re not conducive for nematodes to thrive. Also, since nematodes are soil borne, this is yet another reason why moving your crops to different locations is imperative.

Tomato hornworms

As much as root-knot nematodes are hard to see, hornworms stick out like a sore thumb. (Actually, they’re about the size of a thumb.) The easiest way to dispatch them if you don’t have a huge tomato patch is to head out in the evening with your garden clippers, and snip them in half as you see them. You can also use BT to knock down their numbers.

Stink bugs

These are the green or brown insects that are shaped like a shield. If you have holes in your tomatoes or discolorations on the fruit, there’s a good chance you have stink bugs. One thing you can use is Kaolin, which is made from kaolin clay (a favorite of mine to use as a facial cleanser). It’s mixed with water and sprayed on the plant forming a barrier between the stink bugs and the fruit. It’s an organic product so is just fine to wash off the tomatoes before eating it.

Earwigs

I’ve heard people say that earwigs don’t cause much damage in the garden. They need to come to my place. It’s just gross when you bring in vegetables and have these little creatures from a horror story spill out of what you’re going to eat. You can set traps with rolled up newspaper or sheets of cardboard, but when they reach epic proportions it’s hard to make a dent in the population. Encouraging beneficial insects, such as the tachinid fly, is one way to keep them under control, but if they’re eating your tomatoes (or corn or whatever) you want to resort to more drastic measures. Sometimes diatomaceous earth helps keep them away from plants. Other times spraying them with an insecticidal soap is a better way to take care of the problem immediately.

These are just a few of the pests that love your tomatoes. Hopefully you won’t have to deal with any of them, but at least you know what to do if you have to battle to save your ‘maters.

The beautiful photo of the tomato hornworm is copyright of bstarz01 from istock because I haven’t had any of these in the garden for a while. (Thank goodness!)