Alright, first off, I'm pissed. Every single pepper I get ready to harvest has these soft mushy rotten spots and when I cut it open, there are these little white maggot looking things inside of them squirming around. WTF?!?! what are they and why are they ruining my peppers?? When I say every pepper, I mean EVERY, SINGLE, PEPPER. And secondly, how do I kill them and keep them from getting in there in the first place? Mojo said to use sevin powder, not that I don't trust him, I'm just looking for options...
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Maggots in my peppers?!?!?
- Thread starter DarkTrak
- Start date
Us Aussies feel your pain, there were two different types of moths that were laying eggs in our peppers last season. I'm not a fan of insecticides of any form but they were the only thing that helped.
I would remove all fruit that has spoiled or looks bad and seal up in a plastic bag so the little fcks can't spread, then I'd look at nuking the plants
My pain from last season
I would remove all fruit that has spoiled or looks bad and seal up in a plastic bag so the little fcks can't spread, then I'd look at nuking the plants
My pain from last season
I feel your pain. Earlier in the season, my little garden was infested with pepper maggots. It was awful - my best plants.
I researched all the available remedies, but concluded there was none. The flies deposit the eggs into the flesh of your pods earlier in the season, in what then looks like a whitened round-ish spot maybe 1 to 3 mm in radius. Those eggs then hatch on the inside of the pods and turn into maggots, which then eat the insides and eventually dig out through a hole. By the time you see the rot spot where the egg laying took place, or a hole where they crawled out, it is way, way, WAY too late. Like a month after the fact. The maggots are already inside the pods eating them. Which is somewhat unappetizing.
I think Sevin or other deterrent/extermination strategies must be implemented in the late June - early July timeframe to keep the flies from depositing the eggs in the first place. By the time they've done so, it is too late.
I threw out the affected pods, but it was only about 1/3 of some plants, and they eventually grew more pods. I am sorry to hear so many of yours are affected.
The most salient point may be that to add insult to injury, the maggots fall to the soil and burrow in and create nests from which next year's flies will emerge to deposit eggs. So basically, below your ruined plants is the next generation of maggots getting ready for the 2011 season. To whatever extent possible, the soil must be replaced or sterlized, or it's gonna be the same sorry drill next year.
I researched all the available remedies, but concluded there was none. The flies deposit the eggs into the flesh of your pods earlier in the season, in what then looks like a whitened round-ish spot maybe 1 to 3 mm in radius. Those eggs then hatch on the inside of the pods and turn into maggots, which then eat the insides and eventually dig out through a hole. By the time you see the rot spot where the egg laying took place, or a hole where they crawled out, it is way, way, WAY too late. Like a month after the fact. The maggots are already inside the pods eating them. Which is somewhat unappetizing.
I think Sevin or other deterrent/extermination strategies must be implemented in the late June - early July timeframe to keep the flies from depositing the eggs in the first place. By the time they've done so, it is too late.
I threw out the affected pods, but it was only about 1/3 of some plants, and they eventually grew more pods. I am sorry to hear so many of yours are affected.
The most salient point may be that to add insult to injury, the maggots fall to the soil and burrow in and create nests from which next year's flies will emerge to deposit eggs. So basically, below your ruined plants is the next generation of maggots getting ready for the 2011 season. To whatever extent possible, the soil must be replaced or sterlized, or it's gonna be the same sorry drill next year.
I hate to say it, but if I was a pepper maggot (I'm not) I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be than in your garden. Ahhh Hawaii... We are going for our anniversary this fall... greatest place on earth. (Except for the vile pepper maggots of course) Good luck I hope you eradicate every last one! I recommend an offering to Pele by chucking each infested pepper into Kilauea's Halema`uma`u Crater. You can ask her for extra fertile soil and a bountiful 2011 harvest. Couldn't hurt.
Beaglestorm
Beaglestorm
A few weeks ago, I saw a pepper maggot fly in the window near one of my Bih Jolokia and Caribbean Red plants, at first I thought it was a mutant large fruit fly (they are in the same family) but when I looked closer, I noticed the black stripes and immediately knew what it was. I squished it ever so gently so it would suffer before dying. 
So far no pods with holes or maggots, thankfully (maybe it was the crying agony of the fly I squished scaring off his buddies, who knows)
So far no pods with holes or maggots, thankfully (maybe it was the crying agony of the fly I squished scaring off his buddies, who knows)
We went to Maui and Kauai for our honeymoon. Now we are going to the Big Island and staying in Kona. Best Thai food I have ever had was about 20 years ago near Kona. I still remember it was late afternoon and the restaurant was empty. The Thai chef came and sat down with me and watched me eat some Panang Curry that I told him to make as hot as he possibly could. (Thank god they did not have easy access to superhots back then) He told me he only knew 3 people, including himself, that could eat the curry that hot. Wow… that sounds like a “Chile Heads Anonymous” introduction story. How long have you lived off the mainland?
Good story! I am military, my entire military career has been overseas...Korea, Iraq and here in Hawaii. Y'all should hop an island flight and come chill on Oahu!! lol