What's eating my pepper?

Peppers are targeted by aphids, which flock to tender new growth, and by thrips, which scar fruit and spread viruses. Spider mites can explode in hot, dry summers. Outdoors, caterpillars such as pepper weevil larvae bore into fruit. Birds may peck at ripe fruits, particularly in home gardens.

Dense colonies on growing tips; curled, sticky leaves; transmitted mosaic viruses can cause mottled foliage Water blast; insecticidal soap spray; reflective mulch; encourage beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps and ladybirds

Scarred, silvery-streaked fruit skin; distorted flowers; brown stippling on leaves; vectors of tospoviruses Remove and bag infested plant parts; apply spinosad or insecticidal soap; use blue sticky traps to monitor adults

Bronze stippling and webbing under leaves; worst in hot, dry conditions; can defoliate plants rapidly Keep soil consistently moist; spray with neem oil or insecticidal soap; repeat every 5–7 days; rinse undersides of leaves

Entry holes in fruit with frass; larvae tunnel into stems causing wilting and fruit drop Apply Bt at egg hatch; remove and destroy infested fruit; rotate crops away from corn the following year