Pin holes in pepper leaves

[Bovina_Beas]

All of my bell pepper plants have these small holes in their leaves. Is this an issue for plant health? Is this caused by disease or pest?

[Lindsaylew82]

Looks like flea beetle damage. They're tiny black insects that jump away when approached. ( mine do )

You can use yellow sticky tape strung from a stake to another stake about 1 foot off the ground.

Do you like eggplant? Flea beetles LOVE eggplant. They can be used as a trap crop. Also, you can interplant white radishes all over. Flea beetles love radishes, too. Squash bugs don't. Double duty! When they flower, beneficial insects flock to them!

I think I read somewhere that mint, catnip, onions and garlic repel them. Onion and garlic are made into a spray. Mint and catnip can be grown in pots in the garden. If I remember, you use their cuttings as a green mulch. ( I do this with dill and geraniums for squash bugs and cucumber bugs...it may or may not help...I'm a pretty aggressive hand picker. IMHO, it helps.) At any rate, these plants also attract beneficial by the clouds! (Bug cloud that is. The good kind!) Braconids especially like to kill flea Beetles.

Diatomaceous Earth helps, but has to be reapplied after every rain. It has also helped with slugs down deep in my layered mulch.

Neem oil works, too.

Hope this helps.

[Bovina_Beas]

Thanks, I'll give the sticky tape a try first as I don't think I'll be able to get my hands on any eggplant. Could I plant radishes now in Mississippi? I've got some marigolds and basil in my garden around these plants and I'll try adding my dill clippings as well.

[Lindsaylew82]

Weeell... I don't know if dill repels flea beetles, but it does squash bugs. ( My fault...I was rambling.) Flea beetles like marigolds, too. But I don't know if they like marigolds more than peppers. Same with basil. They DEFINITELY like EGGPLANT more than anything. In SC, there are still eggplant at the big home improvement stores! Now is the BEST time to plant them in SC.

Radishes can be planted whenever. They will make nice roots in cooler weather, and they will bolt in the heat. Either scenario is good. I personally don't like radishes, but I often plant them just because they bolt, flower, and the beneficial bugs just LOVE them. They are cheap and very easy. They reseed too!

The tape is a good start! Yellow tape will get some other types of bugs and it's very easy to find!

[Bovina_Beas]

I'll swing by the flower store this afternoon and see if they still have some eggplant. I wouldn't be mad if I got an eggplant or 2 out of the deal.