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pests Pepper Pests!

slewis

slewis

Every morning I'm finding little tiny caterpillars munching on the leaves of my peppers. They're about 1/4" in length, and usually found on the underside. Next time I find one I'll snap a picture, but is there any concoction I wan whip up to deter these little suckers?
 
Also, I went out this morning and found a bunch of these little egg looking things on a pepper plant. They appear to maybe have legs. Can you help ID? Those hole are from a bigger caterpillar that was found.
 
Pests.jpeg
 
The picture shows what looks to be aphids.  Neem oil mixed with Dr. Bronners soap should help.  Look underneath the leaves and along the stem.  I would be willing to bet you'll find lots more of them.  The neem treatment will have to be done several times probably.
If you have caterpillars, bacillus thurengensis should take care of them.
 
I had a bad aphid problem on one of my indoor hydro plants recently and ended up using a pyrethrin spray to knock them out quick.  
Here is the stuff I used
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I just went and picked up some of that same Insect Killer. I'll give it a shot and report my finding. You think it will work to keep caterpillars at bay as well?
 
It's a bit hard to tell, but I'd assume those are molted aphid exoskeletons. I'd try to find living aphids and identify the little caterpillars before applying any compounds and solutions. If you don't have many plants, you'd be surprised what a few neighborhood hungry ladybug larvae or other predatory insects can do in a few days.
 
bongcloud said:
It's a bit hard to tell, but I'd assume those are molted aphid exoskeletons. I'd try to find living aphids and identify the little caterpillars before applying any compounds and solutions. If you don't have many plants, you'd be surprised what a few neighborhood hungry ladybug larvae or other predatory insects can do in a few days.
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I've got 64 plants total, but only about 45 outside currently. I did order a handful lacewing eggs and they should be shipping tomorrow. Should I just throw those bad boys out there on Wednesday when I receive them?
Ill take a photo of the caterpillar next time I find one. 
 
Might just have to set this plant on fire...
 
 
aphids.jpeg

 
 
Also, what are these little white fellas? Mealy bugs?
 
 
little white guys.jpg
 
 
This is the little sucker eating holes in the leaves. Hard to zoom in on them being so small. 
 
pillar.PNG

 
Wife and I went and combed through about 25 plants. Found aphids, white flies, mealy bugs, and those little caterpillars. I also noticed that there appears to be quite a few ants hanging out with the aphids covering their six. What do you recommend for taking care of the ant issue?
 
Most likely, those are the kind of ants that are co-dependent on aphids.  The two species have a partnership.  The ants protect the aphids by attacking many of their predators. The aphids excrete a substance that the ants consume as food.
 
I'd ignore the ants.  If you take care of the aphids, the ants will dwindle.
 
DontPanic said:
Most likely, those are the kind of ants that are co-dependent on aphids.  The two species have a partnership.  The ants protect the aphids by attacking many of their predators. The aphids excrete a substance that the ants consume as food.
 
I'd ignore the ants.  If you take care of the aphids, the ants will dwindle.
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Yeah I just didnt know if the ants would try and take out my lacewings. 
 
slewis said:
Yeah I just didnt know if the ants would try and take out my lacewings. 
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That's not a bad question.  But I have no idea how the ants will stack up in the context of lacewings.
 
You have a really interesting assortment of pests here.
 
Best of luck, and I'm curious to see how well the lacewings and/or the Garden Safe Insect Killer work out.
 
Found something through the Google with a guy recommending putting vaseline at the base of the plant to create a barricade for the ants, preventing them from protecting the aphids. Has anyone ever tried this? Received the lacewing eggs to going to be getting them staged this evening. 
 
Welcome to gardening in Florida. You've got the trifecta. (aphids, whitefly, mealybug)  This is a nasty combination that will shut you down quick, if you don't get ahold of it.  Two of the three bugs you got going there - the aphids and mealybug - are directly tied to the ants.  If you pull back a little of the media at the base of the plant, you may also find that you have a thick glob of either mealy bugs, or root aphids, hiding just below the soil line.  And I will also advise you to get those whitefly under control quickly, also, because where there's whitefly, there are often broad mites (they hitch rides on the legs of the whitefly, and they are uber destructive). 
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Unfortunately, if you have ants farming, they are almost certainly living in your containers.  As a result, shutting down the rest of the pests can be a monumental task.  When I'm back home, I've just gotten used to treating my plants as a matter of routine maintenance, rather than on detection.  The ants are relentless when they get established, and I have even observed them attacking the beneficials.  The lacewing are the toughest predators of the bunch,  but I've not had great luck getting them to stay around.  And the ants often attack their eggs.  Ladybug larvae are also flaky.  Depending on whether your live close to unimproved wooded areas, they may or may not have something better to eat, elsewhere.
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One thing you might want to do, is to back off of fertilizers.  Anecdotally, it does seem that too much seems to attract pests (this isn't necessarily a fact, just a casual observation).  I have also been trying some experiments that involve providing an alternative to peppers, that are more attractive to the pests.  I'm stuck in the PNW for a little while, and I had a bitch of a time with slugs and snails for a few weeks.  I solved that problem pretty simply.  I just started leaving them veggie scraps every night, and they immediately started leaving my plants alone.  I'm trying to come up with a similar plan for when I get back home, to try to dissuade ants farming aphids on my peppers.  I am researching plants that are aphid attractors, so that I can plan a sacrificial crop.  I'll still spray soap on them every once in awhile, to keep the population from burgeoning, but that's the general idea.
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Florida is tough, man.  I'm not OK with dumping commercial products on my homegrown food.  If one isn't so inclined, it can be a struggle. What area are you in?
 
solid7 said:
Welcome to gardening in Florida. You've got the trifecta. (aphids, whitefly, mealybug)  This is a nasty combination that will shut you down quick, if you don't get ahold of it.  Two of the three bugs you got going there - the aphids and mealybug - are directly tied to the ants.  If you pull back a little of the media at the base of the plant, you may also find that you have a thick glob of either mealy bugs, or root aphids, hiding just below the soil line.  And I will also advise you to get those whitefly under control quickly, also, because where there's whitefly, there are often broad mites (they hitch rides on the legs of the whitefly, and they are uber destructive). 
.
Unfortunately, if you have ants farming, they are almost certainly living in your containers.  As a result, shutting down the rest of the pests can be a monumental task.  When I'm back home, I've just gotten used to treating my plants as a matter of routine maintenance, rather than on detection.  The ants are relentless when they get established, and I have even observed them attacking the beneficials.  The lacewing are the toughest predators of the bunch,  but I've not had great luck getting them to stay around.  And the ants often attack their eggs.  Ladybug larvae are also flaky.  Depending on whether your live close to unimproved wooded areas, they may or may not have something better to eat, elsewhere.
.
One thing you might want to do, is to back off of fertilizers.  Anecdotally, it does seem that too much seems to attract pests (this isn't necessarily a fact, just a casual observation).  I have also been trying some experiments that involve providing an alternative to peppers, that are more attractive to the pests.  I'm stuck in the PNW for a little while, and I had a bitch of a time with slugs and snails for a few weeks.  I solved that problem pretty simply.  I just started leaving them veggie scraps every night, and they immediately started leaving my plants alone.  I'm trying to come up with a similar plan for when I get back home, to try to dissuade ants farming aphids on my peppers.  I am researching plants that are aphid attractors, so that I can plan a sacrificial crop.  I'll still spray soap on them every once in awhile, to keep the population from burgeoning, but that's the general idea.
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Florida is tough, man.  I'm not OK with dumping commercial products on my homegrown food.  If one isn't so inclined, it can be a struggle. What area are you in?
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Thanks for the reply. I'm in the SWFL area (Cape Coral/Fort Myers).
 
I'm going to do everything I can to kick their asses. Have you ever tried the vaseline trick at the base of the plant so the ants cant actually get up to the leaves to farm the aphids? I know they recommend 1k lacewing eggs for 2000 sqft of garden, but what if I completely saturate the area with the things, starting them on plants that aren't yet contaminated. I think I've got like 10k eggs.
 
I did use some of that spray on the first plant I found contaminated, and it definitely appears to have killed them, but being my first time growing peppers I dont know enough to determine if I want to hit them all with commercial chemicals or not. 
 
No, I've never tried that trick, simply because of my previous statement, that by the time I notice the pests, the ants are already full scale farming.  It would probably be an effective solution if you were just getting started in fresh media.  Unfortunately, once the ants are in, they have a way of (seemingly) being self-sufficient.  Kind of a shame, really, because they're also great pollinators.
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You might have some good luck with lacewings.  Let me know if you do.  I put some out in massive numbers a couple seasons ago, but didn't have the best of luck.  But that's just my experience.  I would consider trying again, if I heard of someone else having a success story.  I want to say I put out close to 30K eggs to cover 6 raised beds that are roughly 4' x 4'.
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I've lived in 4 different places in Central and South Florida, and this scenario is a recurring theme.  Pests are life.  I'm trying to come up with ways that I can use the momentum of the pests against themselves.  It would be great to come up with some methods that would help people to deal with what you are going through, to get around costly products.  I actually (accidentally) came up with something some years back, that triggered fire ants, of all things, into climbing into my bean and pepper plants.  Fire ants don't farm - they literally wiped out every pest on the plant - which was aphids and some small caterpillars.  I have not been able to duplicate that success.  But it was a simple food based solution.  I tried to get a grant from the University of Florida, through the local extension office, to do some research into systematic pest management, that didn't involve chemicals.  They didn't seem interested...
 
Holy hell, 30K. I just went out and hung about 2k worth of eggs on about 15 different plants. I put the other 8K back in the bag to see if they will continue to hatch so I can just run around sprinkling them on the leaves. I was going to wait until the evening but the little bastards started hatching in the bag they were shipped in.  
I also whipped up a quick water and garlic solution to hit the soil with at the bottom of the plant, because I read garlic can be a solid deterrent, simply pushing things away because of its smell. Personally, I'd bathe in it if it were socially acceptable. 
 
I'll keep you updated. Hopefully the next picture I post wont be of my backyard in flames.
 
 
solid7 said:
No, I've never tried that trick, simply because of my previous statement, that by the time I notice the pests, the ants are already full scale farming.  It would probably be an effective solution if you were just getting started in fresh media.  Unfortunately, once the ants are in, they have a way of (seemingly) being self-sufficient.  Kind of a shame, really, because they're also great pollinators.
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You might have some good luck with lacewings.  Let me know if you do.  I put some out in massive numbers a couple seasons ago, but didn't have the best of luck.  But that's just my experience.  I would consider trying again, if I heard of someone else having a success story.  I want to say I put out close to 30K eggs to cover 6 raised beds that are roughly 4' x 4'.
.
I've lived in 4 different places in Central and South Florida, and this scenario is a recurring theme.  Pests are life.  I'm trying to come up with ways that I can use the momentum of the pests against themselves.  It would be great to come up with some methods that would help people to deal with what you are going through, to get around costly products.  I actually (accidentally) came up with something some years back, that triggered fire ants, of all things, into climbing into my bean and pepper plants.  Fire ants don't farm - they literally wiped out every pest on the plant - which was aphids and some small caterpillars.  I have not been able to duplicate that success.  But it was a simple food based solution.  I tried to get a grant from the University of Florida, through the local extension office, to do some research into systematic pest management, that didn't involve chemicals.  They didn't seem interested...
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Im gonna have to get aggressive with these ants. Walked out and one of the strips of paper was covered with them eating the lacewing eggs; bastards. I'm going to add some cayenne powder in my garlic powder solution and hit the soil with that to see if they enjoy it. 
 
slewis said:
Im gonna have to get aggressive with these ants. Walked out and one of the strips of paper was covered with them eating the lacewing eggs; bastards. 
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Yeah, man, that was exactly my experience, and precisely why I ordered so many eggs.  Ants are a formidable enemy, and there are SO many different species in Florida. 
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I honestly don't have good advice about ants, because I haven't found a really great way to keep them in check, long term. (again, I'm not a pesticide dependent farmer)  
 
Solid’s correct. I do the plant thing for a living down in Miami, and pests are a PITA, especially whitefly. My advice depends on how close your plants are to bearing ripe fruit, and how willing you are to go the conventional insecticide route.

When it comes to using pesticides, the most important thing you can do is read. And I mean, a LOT. Personally, I do use them, but I’m very careful.

You’ll want to do an internet search for “IRAC modes of action.” When it becomes necessary to spray, a conscientious grower will go through a tight cycle of products with different modes of action to avoid building immunity in his pests. Spray with the same thing over and over, and it stops working.

If your plants are still a ways off, I’d hit them with a tank mix of acephate and lambda-cyhalothrin. They have a synergistic effect. That alone should knock down pretty much anything on your plants. Three days later, I’d hit them with thiemethoxam and pyrifroxifen. The thiemethoxam should mop up and remaining adults, and the pyriproxyfen is an insect growth regulator. Any eggs that hatch out after that won’t make it to adulthood. From there, you pretty much step back and let it ride.

I typically don’t have to spray anything for months after that.

To deal with the ants, get yourself some garden-grade (NOT pool grade) diatomaceous earth and scatter it heavily on the dirt. Repeat as necessary.
 
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