What Is Eating My Tomato Leaves at Night?

Tomato leaves that disappear overnight are most often the work of tomato hornworms, cutworms, slugs, or flea beetles — and if whole branches are gone, rabbits or deer. The size of the bites, whether there are slime trails, and how low on the plant the damage sits will point you to the culprit, and a ten-minute flashlight check after dark usually confirms it.

Most likely causes

  • Tomato hornworms — large ragged holes, stripped stems, and dark pellet droppings on lower leaves
  • Slugs and snails — irregular holes plus silvery slime trails on leaves and soil
  • Cutworms — young plants toppled or leaves eaten near the soil line
  • Flea beetles — dozens of tiny pinholes, like the leaf was hit with birdshot
  • Rabbits or deer — whole leaflets and stems gone, bitten off cleanly or torn

Compare the possible causes

Possible cause Key signs When it happens How likely
Tomato hornworms Large sections of leaf eaten down to the stem, bare leafless stalks near the top of the plant, and dark barrel-shaped droppings on leaves below Midsummer through early fall, with damage worst overnight and in early morning Very common
Slugs and snails Irregular holes with smooth edges in lower leaves and ripening fruit, plus dried silvery slime trails Damp nights from spring through fall, worst after rain or heavy watering Very common
Cutworms Seedlings toppled at the soil line or lower leaves eaten, with a plump gray-brown caterpillar curled just under the soil surface nearby Spring and early summer, hitting new transplants hardest Common
Flea beetles Dozens of tiny round pinholes, each about 1/16 inch across, scattered across leaves like a shotgun pattern Late spring and early summer, worst on young transplants Common
Rabbits Leaflets and tender stems clipped off cleanly at a 45-degree angle, damage concentrated within 2 feet of the ground Dawn, dusk, and overnight, all season long Common
Deer Entire branches gone with ragged, torn ends, damage from knee height up to 5 feet or more Overnight and early morning, especially mid to late summer Less common

Visual clues to check

  • Go out 2–3 hours after dark with a flashlight and check leaf undersides, stems, and the soil surface — most of these feeders are active then
  • Look for droppings: dark barrel-shaped pellets on leaves mean hornworms; round pea-sized pellets on the ground mean rabbits
  • Check for slime trails on leaves, stems, and nearby mulch — they shine in angled light and confirm slugs or snails
  • Measure the damage height: below 2 feet with clean cuts suggests rabbits; above 2 feet with torn stems suggests deer
  • Inspect hole size: pinholes point to flea beetles; fist-sized missing sections point to hornworms or a mammal
  • Scratch the soil within 3 inches of a toppled seedling and look for a curled gray caterpillar — the cutworm signature

The causes in detail

Tomato hornworms

Hornworms are fat green caterpillars up to 4 inches long that blend into tomato foliage almost perfectly — many gardeners only find them by following the droppings. One hornworm can strip several branches in a night. Look on the undersides of stems near the freshest damage, or scan the plant with a UV flashlight at night: hornworms glow under blacklight.

Slugs and snails

Slugs feed after dark and hide under mulch, boards, and pots by day, so the slime trail is your best daytime evidence — run a finger over a shiny streak and it feels like dried glue. They favor the lowest leaves and any fruit touching the ground. A nighttime check two to three hours after sunset will catch them in the act.

Cutworms

Cutworms are night-feeding caterpillars that curl into a C shape when disturbed. On young tomato plants they chew clean through the stem near the ground; on bigger plants they climb and chew leaves. Scratch the top inch of soil within a few inches of a damaged plant and you'll often find the culprit resting there.

Flea beetles

Flea beetles are tiny black or bronze beetles that jump like fleas when you brush the plant. Their 'shothole' feeding rarely kills an established tomato but can stunt a small transplant. They feed by day too, but the damage often seems to appear overnight because the holes enlarge as leaves grow.

Rabbits

Rabbits make clean, scissor-like cuts because their upper and lower incisors meet like shears. They tend to sample tomato foliage rather than devour it — tomato leaves are mildly toxic to them — so look for a few cleanly clipped stems plus round pea-sized droppings nearby rather than a stripped plant.

Deer

Deer lack upper front teeth, so they tear rather than cut — stems look shredded or pinched off. Deer can remove more foliage in one visit than every insect on this list combined, and they often leave heart-shaped hoofprints in soft garden soil. If half the plant vanished in one night, think deer first.

When to worry

  • Transplants being cut down at the soil line night after night — cutworms can wipe out a young bed in a week
  • More than a third of the foliage gone from a mature plant, which will cut your harvest noticeably
  • Fruit being eaten as well as leaves, which points to slugs, hornworms, or larger animals that will keep coming back
  • Tiny shotholes covering most leaves of a small transplant — heavy flea beetle pressure can stunt or kill it

What to do now

  1. Do a flashlight inspection at night before treating anything — identifying the feeder saves you from fighting the wrong pest
  2. Handpick hornworms and cutworms into a bucket of soapy water; one or two removals usually ends the damage
  3. If you find a hornworm covered in small white cocoons, leave it — those are parasitic wasps that will kill it and protect next year's garden
  4. Slide a cardboard or foil collar an inch into the soil around seedling stems to block cutworms
  5. Trap slugs with a shallow dish of beer sunk to soil level, or lay a board nearby and collect them under it each morning
  6. For rabbit or deer damage, a 2-foot chicken-wire ring around plants stops rabbits; deer need fencing 6 feet or taller
  7. If damage continues after a week of these steps, take clear photos to your county extension office for a free identification

What not to do

  • Don't spray a broad insecticide before you know what's feeding — you'll kill the parasitic wasps and other allies that control hornworms naturally
  • Don't scatter salt around plants to kill slugs; it ruins soil and damages tomato roots
  • Don't assume nothing is there because the plant looks clean at noon — nearly every tomato pest on this list hides by day
  • Don't handle a hornworm's rear horn with worry — it looks fierce but hornworms can't sting

Think you know the suspect?

These animals commonly cause this clue — see their full sign profiles:

Frequently asked questions

How do I find a hornworm when I can't see it?

Follow the droppings. Hornworms leave dark barrel-shaped pellets on the leaves directly below where they're feeding, so look straight up from the freshest pellets. At night, a UV or blacklight flashlight makes them glow pale green against the foliage, which turns a frustrating hunt into a 30-second job.

Will tomato plants recover from having leaves eaten?

Usually, yes. Tomatoes are vigorous and can lose up to a quarter of their foliage with little effect on harvest, as long as you stop the feeding. Seedlings are the exception — a cutworm that severs the main stem kills the plant outright, which is why collars matter early in the season.

Do rabbits and deer actually eat tomato plants?

They do, though tomato foliage isn't their favorite. Rabbits typically sample a few low stems and move on, while a hungry deer will strip whole branches despite the leaves being mildly toxic to them. In both cases the damage arrives suddenly and in much larger bites than any insect leaves.

What's making tiny pinholes all over my tomato leaves?

That shotgun pattern of 1/16-inch holes is classic flea beetle feeding. The beetles are small, dark, and jump when disturbed. Mature plants shrug the damage off; protect young transplants with row cover until they're established, since small plants are the ones flea beetles can genuinely set back.

Related yard clues

Plant Damage Leaves Chewed From the Edges: How to Read the Bite Marks Leaves eaten inward from the edges are usually caterpillars, grasshoppers, or — if the edges show neat crescent-shaped notches — adult weevils feeding at night. When whole leaf sections or stems are missing, the cut itself is the clue: a clean angled snip means rabbits, while ragged torn edges mean deer. Read the guide → Plant Damage Plant Stems Cut Near the Ground: Cutworms or Rabbits? A seedling toppled with its stem severed right at the soil line is the classic signature of cutworms, night-feeding caterpillars that curl in the soil by day. Clean 45-degree cuts a few inches higher point to rabbits, while stems gnawed through at the base — often with the plant left uneaten — suggest voles or, less often, squirrels. Read the guide → Plant Damage Round Holes in Leaves: Bee, Beetle, Slug, or Caterpillar? Perfectly circular holes or half-moon notches cut from leaf edges are almost always leafcutter bees, which are beneficial pollinators that do no lasting harm. Rounded but irregular holes in the middle of leaves point instead to slugs, caterpillars, or — if the holes are tiny and numerous — flea beetles. Read the guide → Plant Damage Flowers Eaten Overnight: Who Raided Your Garden Beds? Flowers that vanish overnight are most often deer or rabbits, and which flowers were taken narrows it fast — tulip and hosta blooms nipped off whole point to deer, while low plants clipped at a clean angle point to rabbits. Petals riddled with ragged holes but still attached usually mean earwigs or slugs working after dark, and shredded rose blooms are Japanese beetles feeding into dusk. Read the guide →

Still not sure? Compare with these clues

Bugs & Eggs Green Caterpillars on Plants: Which One Is Eating Yours? The green caterpillar on your plants is most likely a cabbage worm if it's on broccoli or kale, a tomato hornworm if it's large and has a tail spike, or a sawfly larva if it's on roses. Which plant is being eaten narrows it down fast, and handpicking plus row covers handle most of them — no spraying required. Keep in mind that some green caterpillars grow up to be butterflies worth keeping around. Read the guide → Yard Holes Holes in Flower Beds Overnight? Meet the Night Shift Flower beds dug up overnight are almost always animals hunting food, not making homes: skunks and raccoons dig for grubs and worms in the soft soil, squirrels bury and retrieve nuts, cats use loose beds as litter boxes, and across the South armadillos root through beds nose-first. Each leaves a different style of hole, so one careful morning inspection usually names your visitor. Read the guide → Bugs & Eggs Tiny Yellow Eggs Under Leaves: Pest or Friend? Tiny yellow eggs on the underside of leaves usually belong to squash bugs, ladybugs, Colorado potato beetles, or whiteflies. Identify them before you do anything — ladybug eggs look almost identical to pest eggs, and crushing them destroys one of the best aphid killers in your garden. Read the guide → Plant Damage Skeletonized Leaves: What Eats Everything but the Veins? Leaves chewed down to a lacy network of veins are usually the work of Japanese beetles or sawfly larvae such as rose slugs and pear slugs. Japanese beetles feed in plain sight in daytime swarms during midsummer, while sawfly larvae hide on leaf undersides and 'window-pane' the leaf from below — and stippled, bleached leaves that aren't actually eaten point to lace bugs instead. Read the guide →