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What is putting holes in my peppers?

P

PepperZ

I have a bad problem this year. 
 
I've seen earwigs coming out of the pepper but I don't know if they actually make the holes/cause initial damage?
 
I see a lot of tiny crickets in the garden.
 
I did have a tomato hornworm that got done in by wasps.
 
Any idea on what to do? 
 
 
http://imgur.com/a/A0BpB
 
first pic is the earwig. quick little guy.
 
Have you cut any of them open to look inside? Could be pepper maggots
 
Earwigs are a pita. they will cause a lot of damage, sometimes people confuse it with slug/snail damage because it looks very similar. The first night I put out earwig traps I caught maybe close to 1000 no joke. If your finding them in your peppers that's whats doing it for sure. Cheers 
 
So are the earwigs starting little families inside? Or are they just snacking?

I'm asking, do those holes preclude you from using the peppers?
 
FreeportBum said:
Earwigs are a pita. they will cause a lot of damage, sometimes people confuse it with slug/snail damage because it looks very similar. The first night I put out earwig traps I caught maybe close to 1000 no joke. If your finding them in your peppers that's whats doing it for sure. Cheers 
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I didn't realize they caused holes in the pods. How exactly would you use a oil trap( i assume this is what you used?) with container growing? I have the pepper plants in containers on a deck. Can you just place the plastic traps on the ground near them? or do you need to dig holes in the soil in the container?
 
I've read that rubbing petroleum jelly on the stems of the plants help too. I've never tried it or even had a problem with earwigs but look into it.
 
PepperZ said:
I didn't realize they caused holes in the pods. How exactly would you use a oil trap( i assume this is what you used?) with container growing? I have the pepper plants in containers on a deck. Can you just place the plastic traps on the ground near them? or do you need to dig holes in the soil in the container?
Click to expand...
I did cat food can 3/4 filled with oil and a little bit of soy sauce. I placed them around the containers and on top of the substrate. 
 
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