Sure it's cruel in that respect and a sissy's way out. Just squash them so it's over at once.

There is no humane way to get rid of them. Early in their life they are susceptible to Bacillus thuringiensis - Kurstaki, a disease that only affects leaf eaters and kills them. Scissors work quite well, and fast. Many birds relish them as a food, Brachonid wasps like to parasitize them. I have seen references to Insecticidal Soaps and Neem Oil sprays but I have not found either to be very effective, and both can adversly affect those insects that would parasitize the hornworms.

Pick them off and plop them in a bowl in the same place every time. The birds will find it and expect it.

Dan

I toss mine into the bird bath, Mike. That's three votes for the birds! I'm too squeamish to squish something that big....so I fall into the sissy category.

Save the salt for the slugs, but only if there's a youngster around to appreciate the instant melt-down. ;-)

Just toss them. Give them a good chucking and they'll never find their way back. If you're too squeamish to grab them then just cut them with scissors. I don't think salt will do them any harm besides sucking the moisture from them when covered in it.
Love the instant meltdown comment rhizo!

I would probably drop them into a cup of soapy water. And try not to watch. What birds eat them by the way? Most birds I know prefer little insects.

I have "just tossed" these wee buggers and have also watched them race to the tomato plant as fast as their tiny legs allow them to travel. If you pick them off to feed to the birds they need to be put into a container the birds can get to them but that they cannot get out od, and I';ve not found that, yet.

Any bird 6-7" or larger that is omnivorous will love you forever.

Dan

I have dogs playing near the garden beds, so the birds are not going to visit too often. When I find these worms, I either pick them with a large leaf (take one from the buttom of the plant), or cut the branch on which they are sitting (which at that point is half way eaten so no good use to keep it), and then toss the branch on the ground and kill worm with my foot - there is not much 'body' to it, it's all full of green liquid.

I have chickens. When I pick bugs, the gals (and a few guys) thank me profusely when I toss those sorts of goodies to them. Trust me......even a tiny insectivorous bird can deal with a hornworm.

I was watching out my kitchen window when I saw a catbird tearing into something large under the aristolochia trellis. It dawned on me that a hummer had nested in there and I was watching the catbird tearing off wings. I shot out the door to stop the carnage and scared the bird away and looked down at a body without upper appendages..........sort of like a tiny Venus di Milo, laying on its back kicking. The presence of six legs reassured me it was just a very large cicada. I walked away and the catbird came back and finished dismembering it.

LOL, calliope!

jollyrd, these caterpillars don't sting or bite, you know. They can be picked up with your bare hands. No need to dismember your tomato plants.

We've got a Mockingbird who has taken over our yard. We call him 'Sarge', and it fits him to a T. Anyway, he's learned to follow me around when I'm in the gardens because I'll toss him big squirmy caterpillars. He'll stay as close as a few feet from me while I'm deadheading, just to see what I might scare up.

May have told this before, but I had a landscape job that took a couple months to complete, and I made friends with the clients' pet rat. I had the rat trained to know when I'd pick off hornworms and feed them to him, and when I called his name he'd know I wasn't coming empty-handed. He learned a painful lesson to first grasp the horn then start eating. Lefty grip, BTW.

Dan

Kimmsr I always knew you had a weenie arm but now everyone knows. A hornworm would starve or dehydrate before it made it back to my plants but most likely a bird or some other critter would get it first.
They don't sting, lol. They will try but the horn is not sharp enough to break the skin IME.