Holes in my leaves

[PepperJam]

For some reason some of my plants have holes in the leaves. Its affecting my biker billy jalapeno and brain strain.

biker billy jalapeno, you can see the new leaves are affected too

biker billy, older leaves

Brain strain, newer leaves affected

 

[mmcdermott1]

I had (have) that and attributed it to two things.
1. i think where I had burnt some leaves it just fell out in that areas and cause what looks like a hole.
2. I found a few asian beetles that i think were having lunch.


Look on the underside of the leaves for pesky bugs.

 

[cjbrewer5]

I had the same thing and I have noticed little black bugs on the leaves. I sprayed the plants with malathion and their all gone now. No more chewed leaves.

Charles

 

[capsidadburn]

Could be flea beetles. They tend to attack the younger plants. Some people plant radishes near the peppers to deter them. I forgot that wormwood also may repel them.

Good luck, Mike

 

[PepperJam]

It could be flea beetle like you said capsidadburn. I did some research after you mentioned wormwood and found this site on companion planting for pest control.

I just happen to have a ton of mint growing, so i'll put some in a pot and put it around the potted plants. Lets see how that goes.

 

[Geosojda]

Looks like slug damage i had last year

 

[queequeg152]

i see that from time to time on my plants. it seems to come and go... the only insects ive seen so far are aphids... little black beetles and i have seen 3 little black caterpillars who were promptly squished. if i had to guess id blame it on the tiny caterpillars?
i started doing weekly malathion sprays... well see if the holes come back.

 

[Rob]

Had the same problem and found the same little black bugs. I squished them all with my fingers and haven't had any problems for about 2 weeks now.

 

[PepperJam]

i started doing weekly malathion sprays... well see if the holes come back.

Malathion is not organic right? Wouldn't it affect the peppers? It is a somewhat toxic wide spectrum insecticide. Here's a link to an article.

 

[queequeg152]

yea malathion is an organophosphate like alot of pesticides. i read a bit about it and it seems pretty innocuous.
food for thought tho... sarin nerve gas also belongs to the organophosphate family of chemicals

edit: and yea its 100% not organic. it has kept my leaves 'purdy' and smooth tho. i suspect by now the aphids would have gotten out of control if i had not started spraying.