Pepper Plant Pests

 Home Grown Hot and Sweet Peppers

 luv2garden.com  - Abigal Gordon's Gardens ®

 

Pepper Weevil  | Pepper Maggots |   Beetles |   Aphids  |  Worms

How to Grow Peppers | Pepper Plant Varieties | Pepper Plant Diseases

 

 

Common Pests 

There are nearly 40 insects that attack pepper plants, sweet varieties more than the hot ones. Frequent inspection and removal are key to controlling or eliminating infestations. Since many insects overwinter in nearby brush and weed, it is a essential that you keep the garden area free of debris. The major pests include the Pepper Weevil, which is black colored, gray or yellow marked, Pepper Maggot, Cutworms, Flea beetle, Leaf Miner and Tomato Hornworms. Aphids  become a problem by mid summer. Pepper maggots, earworms and borers as well. By late summer, if nor properly controlled corn borers, armyworms, and corn earworms can reach highly destructive numbers.
 

Pepper Weevil -Pest of both sweet and hot varieties of pepper. In the southern USA, Central America, Hawaii and Caribbean. Adult pepper weevils feed on fruit and leaf buds and lay eggs on flowers, buds and fruit. Effective against Pepper Maggots are

Permethrin

Pyrethrin

 

 

Pepper Maggot -

The adult is a yellowish fly about 1/3 of an inch or 8 mm long. It has a pair of brown-banded, transparent wings. A small black dot is located on each side of the last segment of the abdomen.

The Egg is white, oval shaped and about 2 mm long .

The Larva  is a translucent white , the maggot has a pointed head and turns yellow as it develops. It is 10 to 12 mm long  when fully grown.

 The pupa is enclosed in a hard covering. This protective case is about 8 mm long and 4 mm wide.

Effective against Pepper Maggots are

Acephate

Cyfluthrin

Permethrin

Images of Pepper Weevils

Images of Pepper Maggots

 

 
Beetles
  • Colorado Potato Beetle
  • Flea Beetle
  • Harlequin Bug

Aphids

Soft-bodied, oval/pear shaped insects that are commonly found on nearly all varieties of plants, vegetables, field crops, and fruit trees. They range in size from 1/5 inch to 1/4 inch ,Some are winged, some are not. They suck plant juices. Sweet peppers are a occassional target of aphids.

Worms

  • Hornworms,
  • Beet armyworm
  • Corn Earworm
  • Cutworms
  • Corn borer
 

See Pest Control for more extensive data

Sharpshooter Natural Insecticide  Citric acid destroys the wax coating of the insect's respiratory system. When applied directly, the insect suffocates. Sharpshooter is biodegradable. Persons with known citrus allergies may be affected. Do not spray on red mature fruits.  Effective on most insects including aphids, beetles, caterpillars, cutworms, earwigs, flies, gnats, lacebugs, leafhoppers, loopers, mites, moths, snails/slugs, mosquitoes, whiteflies

 

 

 

 

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