Gardener points out major mistake when dealing with certain backyard pest: 'Nightmare fuel'

Not all insects are pests. Sometimes they are hiding a little secret. One gardener found out a little too late but shared their mistake on Reddit so you don't have to fret. 

The OP posted an image of a scary-looking hornworm in the r/gardening subreddit. The green caterpillar had horns coming out of its mouth, markings that looked like eyes all over its body, and a lot of white things coming off of it. One Redditor even commented, "That is legit nightmare fuel." 

The gardener, on the other hand, said, "DO NOT kill hornworms that look like this in your garden." 

According to Spruce, tomato hornworms can eat your tomatoes. However, when they look like the one in the image, they are already dead or about to die. 

The OP said they killed it by mistake, not knowing it was going to die. 

"Instead, it would've brought life to a very beneficial insect, the braconid wasp," they said in a comment.

Those white things on its back were cocoons, and the wasps were feeding on the hornworm. The braconid wasp is an excellent natural pest controller, according to GrowVeg. 

If you're looking to spruce up your garden, rewilding your yard is a great way to do it, attracting beneficial creatures such as the braconid wasp and saving you money on pest control. 

Utilizing native plants is a great way to do this. You can check a native plant finder to discover what's native to your area. Not only can you bring in natural pest control, but you can also attract pollinators, which are good for the ecosystem.

Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds take pollen from one flower and fertilize another one so it reproduces. Pollinators are also vital for food production because they pollinate 35% of the world's food crops, per the Department of Agriculture. 

To top all that off, native plants can beautify your yard, so you will help the environment and boost food production as you continue to enjoy your garden.

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