Something ate my bell pepper

[HonoluluGirl]

Hi again. Here's an update. After putting up the cage around the bell pepper plants, no more peppers were eaten. My hubby reminded me that bees need to pollinate the flowers, duh!!! So I cut a bee-door into the cage and open it in the daytime and close it at night. Any way, we have lots of bell peppers growing now. Some are jus starting to get red on top.

Now, I don't think it was rats eating the bell peppers but birds. This is because we set a rat trap in the garden that didn't catch any rats. Also the rat bait hasn't been eaten. I think it was the birds... Do you know if birds eat bell peppers? I know they eat chili peppers.

[brooklyn boy]

Hi again. Here's an update. After putting up the cage around the bell pepper plants, no more peppers were eaten. My hubby reminded me that bees need to pollinate the flowers, duh!!! So I cut a bee-door into the cage and open it in the daytime and close it at night. Any way, we have lots of bell peppers growing now. Some are jus starting to get red on top.

Now, I don't think it was rats eating the bell peppers but birds. This is because we set a rat trap in the garden that didn't catch any rats. Also the rat bait hasn't been eaten. I think it was the birds... Do you know if birds eat bell peppers? I know they eat chili peppers.

aren't peppers self pollinating ?

[rainbowgardener]

Yes, the peppers would have set fruit without the bees, but

"While pepper plants are self-pollinated, the use of bumblebees inside the greenhouse help to ensure the set of high-quality fruits, especially during the cool season when pollen viability is lower. "
https://www.ars.usda.gov/is/np/mba/jun05/pepper.htm

[HonoluluGirl]

Wow, I didn't know bell pepper flowers self pollinate! What do you mean by that? One flower pollinates itself, or somehow the pollen from one flower travels to another?