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pests Pepper maggot flies

Hi everyone,
Last year's bell peppers all had holes. Suspected pepper maggot fly. This year I actually see the flies in the garden, infuriating. I have tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, etc... but my main focus is peppers this year so it's especially disheartening. Any advice how to kill the flies before they lay their eggs? I have permethrin spray but I'm hesitant to use it as I've read it can kill beneficial bugs such as bees as well.
 
Try spinosad, it supposedly works per https://ipm.cahnr.uconn.edu/pepper-maggot-damage-detection-monitoring-and-management/
And it's much less problematic than permethrin (which also isn't recommended for pepper maggots). For adults, it looks like "yellow sticky-traps baited with a vial of 28% ammonium hydroxide" works (hang in nearby trees about 20' up) - that's going to be a specialized product though.



I agree.

 
Try spinosad, it supposedly works per https://ipm.cahnr.uconn.edu/pepper-maggot-damage-detection-monitoring-and-management/
And it's much less problematic than permethrin (which also isn't recommended for pepper maggots). For adults, it looks like "yellow sticky-traps baited with a vial of 28% ammonium hydroxide" works (hang in nearby trees about 20' up) - that's going to be a specialized product though.
I actually have a bottle of this:

https://captainjacks.com/product/captain-jacks-dbb-rts/

which is apparently Spinosad A and D (hopefully one of those covers these flies?).

Will give it a shot. Thanks!
 
Pepper fly victim 7-6-24.JPG



Didn't work. It claimed its first victim. Pepper was properly disposed of. Hoping if I can catch most of them before they chew their way out maybe I can put a dent in the population for next year... but doubtful.
 
I don't know of any control that's one and done - you won't get them all and those that remain will continue to reproduce. They're also usually not effective on all stages - eggs, larvae, and adults will have different sensitivities.

Insect control is an ongoing thing.

Maybe try some DE, too. I read that can help with these some too.
 
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