What's eating my 'jalapeño' pepper?

Jalapeño pepper plants are reliably troubled by aphids and pepper weevils, which are the most damaging garden pests. Flea beetles damage transplants, and thrips scar developing fruits. In warmer US states, the pepper weevil is the single greatest yield threat, causing pods to drop before ripening. Scout fruits and flower buds from bloom onward.

Adults feed on flower buds and young fruit; larvae develop inside pods causing premature fruit drop. Remove and destroy dropped fruit daily; apply kaolin clay; use spinosad or pyrethrin if populations are high; rotate planting location.

Colonies on new growth; honeydew and sooty mould; virus transmission. Blast with water; insecticidal soap; reflective mulch; companion-plant with coriander to attract hoverflies.

Silvery scarring on pepper skin; distorted flowers; reduced fruit set; virus vector. Blue sticky traps to monitor; spinosad spray; predatory mites (Amblyseius cucumeris) for biocontrol.

Shot-holes in leaves of young plants post-transplant; can stall establishment. Floating row covers for first few weeks; kaolin clay barrier on foliage.