Tomato-pillars

They're back. The evil, green creatures heck-bent on destroying the only crop that thrives in our veggie garden are back.

I'm talking about Tomatopillars.

Okay, sure, you may know them as horned caterpillars. But the point is, they are back to reduce our beautiful tomato plants to bare green sticks.

For the last six years, we have had a garden. And living next to a corn field that gets sprayed religiously, any bug that gets scooted out of the corn ends up munching on our meager feast. We have become quite familiar with bugs, good and bad, and what kills them. When in doubt, use Sevin. Sevin kills everything.

But not these suckers.

The hubby and I noticed a few leaves missing on our daily garden check Sunday. So while I bathed the kiddos, he busied himself spraying the garden (anything to avoid bath time). Problem solved, right?

Wrong.

On Monday more leaves were gone. Finally found a 'pillar hanging upside down on a plant that was just missing a few leaves. Figuring I had found the sole culprit, I started a tomato-pillar dance of joy and even snapped a photo with my phone to send to the hubby. I wanted him to bask in the glory of my victory.

But then HE found two more. Including one that Nathaniel named Dorothy (thank you Elmo) and wanted to keep as a pet. "Oh, him so coot! Pet him, Mommy, him soft!" Annoying little buggers are soft.

So once again we are on tomato-pillar watch. Luckily my budding farmer won't let me go a day without checking the garden AND the field corn AND the pumpkins growing in the corn. (Yes folks, that's what happens when you chuck Halloween pumpkins in the field. They may survive to be this year's decorations. Only time will tell.) So we may find more.

But no 'pillars for pets!