Green Peppers, Under Attack!

[gte619n]

Hello all!

I'm a beginning gardener and am just starting off with vegetables. I potted my first tomato plant and green pepper plant in a pair of large pots on my patio a couple of months ago. I'm proud to say that the tomato plant is going like GANGBUSTERS, but I'm having some serious trouble with my green pepper plant.

I believe that some nefarious insect is eating my plant. I've tried applying Ortho Max to the plant but that has not helped. I have checked the plant several times during the day and not found anything.

Last night I did some additional sleuthing and found some tiny, TINY little bugs walking all over the underside of the pepper's leaves! These little jerks were white and about the size of a pin-head. I have never seen them on the plant during the day. (Can't blame them, it's HOT here in Atlanta)

Here are a couple of pictures of the damange they are doing to the leaves. I would say that they have eaten over 85% of the leaves at this point!

[img]https://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/gte619n/IMG_0479.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/gte619n/IMG_0480.jpg[/img]

Does anyone know what these insects are and how I can stop them from snacking on my plant?

Thank you for all your help and advice!

[Scarecrow]

I'm new to gardening here also so like you it is a learning experience.

I'm going to say that the damage looks like you have japanese beetles eating on them. I only have a couple of green pepper plants the beetles decimated one of them. They have been munching on my banana pepper plants but not much.

The japanese beetles I have seem to eat at night as I've went out with a flaslight at night and found them.

I have tried dusting with a sevin like dust then went a few times with a sevin spray and they still eat the plant. I finally gave up the fight on it and don't use the sevin stuff anymore. Neem oil may work but being new myself I'm not sure. I'll be watching this post for other comments and suggestions.

[url=https://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pxZ5AUfBywBTr47ydftk-DFCpjSgK8cgRt4PvflHK_NdkVZrFvbJdU_27ZOzJeVyTadyNh2Hj4hSCMH7UW2QDDA/Bell%20Pepper%20-%20Bug%20Eaten_DSC4543.jpg?psid=1]Decimated Bell Pepper Plant. Warning! Looks ugly![/url]

[gte619n]

Thanks for the reply. Your damage looks similar, but when I googled Japanese Beetles, I came up with this picture:

[img]https://entweb.clemson.edu/cuentres/cesheets/fruit/ce212.jpg[/img]

Those things look mean! Unfortunately (or fortunately, judging by your experience!) the interlopers on my plant were super super small and white.

[gte619n]

After doing some additional googling, I think that a "mealybug" might be the culprit. Does anyone have any experience with these guys?

[microcollie]

Mealybugs would be present both night and day. At the beginning of an infestation, they appear as small white fuzzy spots and eventually make larger colonies.
Japanese beetles would be around during the day as well, and tend to make a more lacy type of damage.
Most pests that are the size of a pin take small bites and would also make more lacy type of damage. It looks to me as though something bigger (snails, slugs, caterpillers, etc.) might be your culprit. They often hide during the heat of the day. But as for the small white bugs that you saw at night, can you catch them with a camera?

[gte619n]

I can certainly give it a shot tonight! The problem is that they are SO small, it's going to be difficult to get a decent picture of them. I'll have to do some tripod/lamp work!

I'll try to get them tonight.

[gte619n]

Here are a couple pictures I've managed to get of the insects. They're SO SMALL it's tough to believe that these little bugs are doing all that damage. Does anyone know what they are and how to get rid of them?

[img]https://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/gte619n/IMG_0481.jpg[/img]

Extreme Closeup!
[img]https://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/gte619n/IMG_0483.jpg[/img]

Thanks!

Evan

[applestar]

Wow, good job on the photography!
Those are whiteflies, and suck juice like aphids.
I think the leaves look like slug or snail damage. did you see any while you were out at night?

[gte619n]

You were right! There were about four slugs around the bottom of the plant. I guess it just wasn't cool enough for them to come out earler. Here's a picture of two of them:

[img]https://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff2/gte619n/IMG_0486.jpg[/img]

I murdered an entire family (4) of slugs today. How can I go about insuring the systematic and total destruction of any I might have missed?

[DoubleDogFarm]

"Sluggo" and it adds iron to the soil when it breaks down. Safe for pets.

Eric

[rainbowgardener]

This is my first time looking at this thread. As soon as I saw the pix, I was going to suggest slugs, so glad it came around to that.

Someone on this forum once said they didn't think slugs liked green peppers, but I know for sure they like mine! I have twice now had the nasty experience of opening up a green pepper and finding slugs INSIDE it! (You will be warned if you see one little hole on the outside of the pepper).

Diatomaceous earth works pretty well for me to keep it under control, but you have to reapply sometimes, especially if you have a lot of rain.

[gte619n]

I managed to eliminate another three slugs last night after midnight, so hopefully the poor plant can make it another couple of days while I head to the nursery!

Thanks for everyone's help! I really appreciate everyone helping to get my pepper plant back healthy! Thanks again!