Need help identifying what's killing my indoor Habanero plan

[Serbanero]

I started growing Habanero peppers (red and chocolate) about 3 months ago, and as of late I've noticed some sort of tiny insects invading my plants.

What could they be and how can o deal with them? Thanks a lot in advance.

[catgrass]

are you seeing any webbing? I'm thinking spider mites. You will need to wash leaves with soapy water, and the container they are in, also. Area around the plant too dry, needs humidity.

[Serbanero]

Hey catgrass, no I'm not noticing any webbing.

[applestar]

I think the first picture shows thrips. Either that or those white things are moulted aphid skin. Either one a bad infestation by the looks of it.

In any case, first step is to take the plant to the sink and spray/wash off as much of the bugs as you can. Use tepid (cool but not cold and NOT warm) plain water at first. Cut off any shriveled leaves that won't recover. Make sure to hold or lay the pot on its side so you can get UNDER the leaves.

You can also wrap the pot and soil with something, then dunk in a deep large bucket or tub of water, or simply dip individual leaves in bowl or cup.

[catgrass]

Aphids would have been my next guess. Either way, it needs a good washing to get the remainder of the bugs off, like Applestar said. You'll need to check it regularly because as bad as it looks, you won't get them all. I usually treat the soil with soapy water, too. It won't hurt the plant.

[imafan26]

I think they are thrips as well. They are still nymphs, but pepper thrips are fairly large. The easiest way to tell and aphid from a thrip since they both will cause leaves to roll pucker is to get a hand lens or loupe.
Thrips usually have narrow bodies and aphids are more teardrop shaped. Both will cause the sooty mold.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/inverteb ... hrips.html

This website is geared for commercial greenhouse production but has very good information and pictures of the different insects, their management and control.
http://hightunnels.org/wp-content/uploa ... -9-Feb.pdf

I would cut off the most infested leaves, repot the pepper in a larger pot in good potting soil and feed the plant well. Usually plants are attacked when they are stressed and weak, so making your pepper as happy as you can will go a long way toward making it less of a target.

I have trouble using insecticidal soap on peppers, it makes the leaves curl, so I usually use a horticultural oil. I personally am not a fan of neem but that will do. I prefer to use ultra fine instead. If the plant is in a small enough pot now, I would mix up a 5 gallon bucket of oil spray and water and dunk the whole top of the pepper in the bucket and keep it there as long as you can. I put newspaper over the soil so the soil won't come out and wrap it with tape. I put a couple of strips of wood on top of the bucket to support pot and leave the leaves soaking in the oil about 10 minutes. It is the best way to get thorough coverage. Spraying doesn't always get everything.

[Serbanero]

Thanks a lot for all the advice guys. I'll reply again in a bit with the result and what I did.

[Serbanero]

UPDATE: So the plants are getting a bit better. Most of their leaves have fallen off (although one plant seems to be resistant), but they are regrowing the leaves. I've been spraying them and the soil with Potassium-salt detergent solution as indicated on the bottle (every 5-7 days).

Before this, I washed the plants and their leaves under the tap with tepid water, which also helped them improve.

One of my concerns now though is that there are tons of small insects in the soil. Should I keep applying this solution, should I respect the 5-7 day indication or apply it more often? Thanks a lot.

[rainbowgardener]

Potassium salts of fatty acids would be Safer Insecticidal soap? I would not use it any oftener than the label says. All the potassium salts can build up in the soil. It will help if you just let your soil dry out as much as you can between waterings. The insects and larvae in the soil need water.

[imafan26]

Repot the peppers in good soil. Before you put it in a new pot soak the roots for about 10 minutes in an insecticidal solution.

The bugs may just be fungus gnats, because you are indoors, the soil probably takes a while to dry.

The healthier you can get your plants, the less of a target they will be to pests.