Try this

VB Code:
  1. Dim strList As String = "-1 HELLO HELLO2"

  2.        Dim words() As String

  3.       ' Split text using space as separator

  4.        words = strList.Split(" ")

  5.        MessageBox.Show(words(0))

Or you could use try this one
VB Code:
  1. Dim strList as string = ""-1 HELLO HELLO2"

  2.         MessageBox.Show(strList.Substring(0, strList.IndexOf(" ")))