Creature Feature
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 2:43 am
I thought I would start another thread to feature creatures in the garden. Bad guys abound but good guys are also welcome
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg ... weevil.htm
The pepper weevil is a tiny insect that shows up in late Spring to early Summer for me, but can be year round in warm climates. Peppers look like they are maturing early and then they turn brown and waterlogged. If you look closely you might see a small hole near the cap. The insides of the pepper are rotten and black. The pepper weevil lays its egg when the pepper is flowering on the young developing fruit. The larvae eats the insides of the pepper causing the tissue to necrose. Peppers can sometimes drop. By the time you notice the damage the lavae has already emerged and left.
Once the larvae is inside the fruit all you can do is trash or put the infested fruit down the disposal. Pick off any suspicous fruit. If you cut it you might see the larvae or the black damaged tissue inside.
Sanitation and not planting peppers in the same spot helps. Even 20 ft away can make a difference. If the weevils are widespread then planting non hosts for a couple of years is an alternative. . Larvae cannot be controlled with insecticides while they are inside the fruit. Adults can be controlled with pyrethrins or sticky traps. Pyrethrins (short acting) are allowed in NOP however it is highly toxic to bees and should only be used as a last resort.
https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg ... weevil.htm
The pepper weevil is a tiny insect that shows up in late Spring to early Summer for me, but can be year round in warm climates. Peppers look like they are maturing early and then they turn brown and waterlogged. If you look closely you might see a small hole near the cap. The insides of the pepper are rotten and black. The pepper weevil lays its egg when the pepper is flowering on the young developing fruit. The larvae eats the insides of the pepper causing the tissue to necrose. Peppers can sometimes drop. By the time you notice the damage the lavae has already emerged and left.
Once the larvae is inside the fruit all you can do is trash or put the infested fruit down the disposal. Pick off any suspicous fruit. If you cut it you might see the larvae or the black damaged tissue inside.
Sanitation and not planting peppers in the same spot helps. Even 20 ft away can make a difference. If the weevils are widespread then planting non hosts for a couple of years is an alternative. . Larvae cannot be controlled with insecticides while they are inside the fruit. Adults can be controlled with pyrethrins or sticky traps. Pyrethrins (short acting) are allowed in NOP however it is highly toxic to bees and should only be used as a last resort.