Liska
Senior Member
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 10:08 am
Location: Western Massachusetts

Something's eating my Red Pepper leaves!

Mini edit: I've heard there are herbs you can plant around the garden to help keep insects away. Is there a particular herb that works best, or would something like that not work in this case?

Thankfully, they're still not too bad yet- but I just noticed this yesterday. None of my other plants seem to be touched (yet) thankfully. I had originally bought some Sevin at the store and sprayed it on them last night, but after reading about how horrible it was for everyone involved, I grabbed a wet paper towel and went and toweled off the leaves to get it off this morning! :P :) :D

With that said, something's eating my peppers :( I've attached a photo of the holes in the leaves on all four of my pepper plants (didn't find any bugs specifically on them last night or this morning) and the overall garden so you can see what they're by. They're in the closest box to the right, between the tomatoes (yes, I learned afterward I shouldn't be planting them together... ;x oops! but they're sprouting, so I don't want to move them)

What's the best way to keep the bugs away without harming my plants? :D Running around in the early morning to catch them doesn't really seem to work for me- I never find anything on them - just the munch trails! augh!

[img]https://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Liskarialeman/Garden.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Liskarialeman/Garden-4.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Liskarialeman/Garden-3.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Liskarialeman/Garden-2.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c25/Liskarialeman/Garden-5.jpg[/img]

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supagirl277
Senior Member
Posts: 109
Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 7:08 pm
Location: Utah Hardiness Zone: 6b

You can plant certain herbs to keep some pests away. If you're worried about slugs, put some copper tubing around your plants, and they won't cross it.
I'm not quite sure of the herb but I know its one of these, mint or parsley. Never plant mint in your garden straight, because it is an invasive plant and will take over. Take a pot and plant it in there, and make sure it is big enough. Don't let it go to seed and plant itself in the area around the pot, and keep cardboard under it so the roots don't grow through the drainage holes and create shoots. I'm not sure how effective it is.

Ladybugs are a good predator for some nasty bugs, and you should read up on what ladybugs will eat. They will definitely get rid of aphids, and if you have ants there, they will help the aphids. The ladybugs will keep the population down enough so that they'll come back next year because theres a steady supply of aphids.

Not saying there are any specific bugs there, but those are some scenarios.

Liska
Senior Member
Posts: 123
Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 10:08 am
Location: Western Massachusetts

supagirl277 wrote:You can plant certain herbs to keep some pests away. If you're worried about slugs, put some copper tubing around your plants, and they won't cross it.
I'm not quite sure of the herb but I know its one of these, mint or parsley. Never plant mint in your garden straight, because it is an invasive plant and will take over. Take a pot and plant it in there, and make sure it is big enough. Don't let it go to seed and plant itself in the area around the pot, and keep cardboard under it so the roots don't grow through the drainage holes and create shoots. I'm not sure how effective it is.

Ladybugs are a good predator for some nasty bugs, and you should read up on what ladybugs will eat. They will definitely get rid of aphids, and if you have ants there, they will help the aphids. The ladybugs will keep the population down enough so that they'll come back next year because theres a steady supply of aphids.

Not saying there are any specific bugs there, but those are some scenarios.
I never knew about the copper for the slugs, and will avoid planting any mint in the garden itself. right now the plan is to buy some garden boxes (like the ones that go on the deck) and put them around the boxes. Thank you very much for the input!



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