Common pepper pests

 Common pepper pests and diseases that can kill your crops

Pepper plants are easy to grow, but unfortunately, you will encounter many pepper pests and diseases in your garden and your plants will die.

It is important for any gardener to be prepared to face any problems that come your way, but especially if you want to eat your crop.

Fortunately, you can learn preventative measures such as removing garden debris, allowing air circulation, and rotating crops to help prevent pests and diseases from finding your garden. If that fails, we have effective solutions to your horticultural problems.

 Common pepper insects

Compared to other plants, pepper plants have fewer pest problems, but they are no exception. There are plenty of insects that think these plants are tasty and worthy of snacks. Here are some of the most common peppermint pests.

1. Aphids

One of the most common pepper pests handled by gardeners is aphids. These are small, delicate body insects that like to stick to the base of leaves and stems of plants. Aphids are usually green or yellow, but some are red, pink, brown, or black. They like to absorb sap from plants when they secrete a sticky substance called bees which attracts ants and soot molds.

Small aphid infections are rarely a problem, but large infections can cause serious problems. Prune some parts of the plant with high aphids and spray the leaves and growing fruits using neem oil. You can get rid of these pests with a strong jet of your plants.

2. Colorado potato beetle

These pests not only attack potato plants; They love and eat pepper plants. Potato beetles eat the leaves, and severe infections completely destroy the plants. Adult potato beetles are recognizable because they are black with yellow stripes, and the larvae are red with blackheads.

Adult beetles emerge in the spring, and females lay eggs in two dozen or more blocks. It is important to select the adults and larvae of the plant as soon as you find them. You can use Bacillus thuringiensis in your garden, which effectively controls larvae, but you will need to use BT frequently for it to work.

3. Cutworms

One of the most common pepper pests, seedling-targeting cutworms, chew almost overnight at the base of young plants. They also chew the leaves. Insects are present at night, so if you go to your garden at night with a flashing light, you can pick up these pests by hand.

Sweeping the soil around the base of your plants helps to expose the cuttings so you can remove them by hand. Spraying coffee grounds, eggshells, and diatomaceous earth helps to encourage pests. Create a collar around your plants with aluminum foil or cardboard to prevent cutworms from eating the stems of your plants.

4. Flea beetles

Flea beetles prefer pepper plants; They are one of the most common pepper plant pests. The leaves look like Swiss cheese because they make small holes or pits in the leaves. Young plants and seedlings are often damaged by flea beetles, reducing or inhibiting plant growth.

Floating row cards placed on top of your vulnerable plants are a good place to start. If you put cards in your garden beds after you plant the seedlings, they will be installed before the beetles become a serious problem. Mature plants are less susceptible to flea beetles.

If you already have flea beetle problems, there are some things you can do. First, with neem oil, some applications of Diatomaceous earth effectively take care of these pests. Both are safe for organic gardening. If you are not an organic gardener, use pesticides containing carbaryl, spinosad, bifenthrin, and permethrin.

5. Pepper Weevil

These pests feed on pepper plants, especially buds and leaves of young fruits. The larvae eat the fruit, causing them to become malignant and discolored. Eventually, the buds and fruits fall off the plant.

These insects reproduce rapidly; Many generations happen every year. Controlling these pests can be tricky because you have to kill everything, including the eggs, or they keep going.

Removal of infected plants Removes pepper moths Is a starting point for rooting and be sure to remove fallen fruit from the soil surface. Spraying plants with pyrethrin-containing pesticides is a great way to get rid of pepper moths.