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habanero pepper plant infested with something????

xykon

xykon

i just noticed on my red habanero plant, small, white, bugs, smaller than a needle pin head all over the fruit of the pepper.
some of the stalks have turned black, and the peppers are starting to dry very fast. i would like try and keep the plant, because i got it from a friend, who is not here anymore. anybody have any suggestions on how to save, and get rid of the bugs?
pics would be useless, because they are so small.


any help would be appreciated.

Xykon
 
rotenone pyrethrin first then neem oil once a week for a few weeks...

in general the rotenone is more effective at killing what's there... the neem is more effective at screwing up the reproductive cycle.

of course, this is without actually seeing the plant...
 
would it reproduce even at this time of year?
and were would i get rotenone pyrethrin and what does it do?

Xykon
 
bugs will reproduce any time they are alive for the most part... i assume your plant is indoors since you are in rhode island- in general our houses tend to be warm and dry which is exactly the environment preferred by most bugs.

rotenone is an organic pesticide made from the roots of several different tropical plants- jicama among them. it is generally considered the most powerful organic insecticide.

pyrethrin is another organic compound which behaves as a neurotoxin to insects. it is often found in flea products for dogs and cats.

while both are powerful stuff they break down pretty quickly with exposure to air and light making them safe for food plants after a fairly short time.

bonide markets a rotenone pyrethrin spray that is available at many garden centers, etc.
 
pyrethrin is the active ingredient found in the flower - chrysanthemum, you may have heard some old ladies looking for "mums" - it has been used since the ancient times as a natural bug killer. of course they do make a synthetic version.

if you are a super naturalist health food kook, look in your tea chest as see if you have chrysanthemum tea, put that into a mister bottle and spray away.

i plant chrysanthemum plants around my garden along with marigolds to assist in warding off bugs. in their flower state i like to rub my hands in the flower to release their scent and any oils that get on my fingers helps when i am pinching tomato suckers or sickly leaves off my peppers. i find i have to rub my parsley with it as well as parsley is the first plant that gets nailed with aphids.

if it is just the white husks of aphids that you are seeing, you can use any dishsoap, tablespoon into a mister bottle, fill it and spray away, it will suffocate the aphids.

good luck with that.
 
in that case any of the treatments already suggested will work... while they breed quickly, i find aphids to be one of the easiest pests to control in the greenhouse.
 
Bayer makes something called Fruit, Citrus & Vegetable control that is supposed to be highly effective against aphids. Unlike other insecticides, you don't spray this on, but "water" the plant with it. The plant uptakes it, and when the bugs try to feed on the plant, they kill themselves by doing so. Drawback is that you can't use it within 21 days of harvest. If your plants are like the ones I've brought inside, though, there aren't any pods at this point, so you should be good.
 
washed the plants thoroughly with dish-soap and water, and was sure to remove all the husks and egg cases. they are currently drying and will be coated with safer and neem oil
 
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