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Is this what's boring holes in my peppers?

H

Hammerhead

Have had a problem with something boring holes in my peppers and found this when I harvested some bhuts this morning. They were in a fold/crease on the bottom side of the pod. It looks like there was also some form of ''web'' material with them. They kinda look lika a centipede with pinchers on one end. Pretty small ( about 1/8'' long ) and couldn't get a really great photo but here it is. Input, thanks Pat. 
 
GiantSmasher said:
Hey Pat,
 
Might be Earwigs, I reckon - one of these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earwig
 
Horrible things (they decimated my garden this season just gone - earwigs and I are not on good terms...)
Click to expand...
I dunno, those earwigs look a little larger than what I found. With all the peppers I've had fall off the plant or pick only to find a hole in it, I'm about ready to spray the plants with the stuff I spray my house with . Got nothing to lose, really getting frustrated!!!  Thx for your input....
 
If it's not earwigs, please ignore this, and sorry to harp on!
 
 
 
I've certainly seen some little earwigs*, and some monsters too - reason I said earwigs was the pincers (assumed the pincers are at the 'tail' end?). 
 
moosery, I don't think they're carnivorous - likely omnivorous? Literally watched the little beggers eating my basil and found them in the act on my passion fruit (passionately in the act, too). 
 
You're actually probably right on the baby earwig (assuming it's an earwig!) as the black field earwig grows to 3/5 of an inch (15mm for me...) and can be a lot smaller - image here or up to 1" if they're the common brown type.
 
I did a google and found a number of people saying the earwigs had been in their peppers, so it seems to be a thing that happens... if people are identifying them correctly, I guess? 
 
Try putting out a cat food tin (one of the little single-serve) like the following, and you'll hopefully catch some of them for a good photo, and try checking under any wood you've got lying around. They hide there during the day.
 
Empty single serve cat food tin (doesn't need to be washed, just most of the food gone)
 
Make a mix of:
 - soy sauce 1/4 cup
 - oil 1/4 cup
 - a good portion of brown sugar, maybe a tablespoon (sorry, I eyeball the whole mixture - guessing here!)
 
Dig the can into the ground about 6" from the base of a plant, so it sits ground level flush with the top of the can
 
Fill 1/2 full with the mixture
 
Leave out overnight and see what you catch - it's fine for a few days unless it rains. You'll get roaches, slugs, caterpillars and misc other things... but not normally ladybugs or bees, so they're not so bad for the good guys.
 
 
Try brushing some of the 'creatures' off at dusk, which should leave them on the ground - hopefully those ones will fall into your trap!
 
*('wiggies', my sister calls them, as she was too young to say it when she learnt about them)
 
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