What is eating my peppers?

[Rfdillon]

Folks, I just this week finished planting my container tomatoes and got my peppers in the ground.Whew! Now I need to plant th. Malabar spinach.
I noticed that something is eating holes in the leaves of the peppers. My eyes aren't too good, but when I look at them it appears that there are a lot of little gray winged bugs flying around them.
I don't see anything crawling on or under the leaves.
I sprayed them with a solution of one teaspoon neem oil, one teaspoon castille to soap, dissolved in a quart of water.
Does this sound like an effective organic solution, and does anyone acquainted with Houston-area bugs know what these might be, and how to combat them? Thanks in advance for your help!

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Rfdillon

Folks, I just this week finished planting my container tomatoes and got my peppers in the ground.Whew! Now I need to plant th. Malabar spinach.
I noticed that something is eating holes in the leaves of the peppers. My eyes aren't too good, but when I look at them it appears that there are a lot of little gray winged bugs flying around them.
I don't see anything crawling on or under the leaves.
I sprayed them with a solution of one teaspoon neem oil, one teaspoon castille to soap, dissolved in a quart of water.
Does this sound like an effective organic solution, and does anyone acquainted with Houston-area bugs know what these might be, and how to combat them? Thanks in advance for your help!

Can you post a picture or two ?

Aphids love pepper plants.
Do a Google search on aphids and pepper plant.

[Worth1]

Snails and slugs are after mine can you go out at night and see if any are there?

Worth

[b54red]

Something is chewing on my new pepper plants also. It looks like the kind of damage grasshoppers inflict; but i haven't seen what is doing the damage. We are currently getting rain every day so I'm hoping they will just grow faster than they can be eaten. I'm more worried about tomato foliage diseases from the rain which is forecast to last another full week.

Bill

[Rfdillon]

I looked again today, but they move around too quickly for me to photograph. As I look at them in the sunlight they look like tiny flies, with iridescent green heads. I tried spraying some insecticidal soap, so we will see if that helps.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Rfdillon

I looked again today, but they move around too quickly for me to photograph. As I look at them in the sunlight they look like tiny flies, with iridescent green heads. I tried spraying some insecticidal soap, so we will see if that helps.

I dont think a tiny fly with an iridescent green head is eating your leaves.
That is if it is a fly or a bee of some sort.

Did you go at at night and look for anything.
Look on the ground.
A new born slug can be only 1/4 of an inch long and they hatch hungry.

Worth

It could be flea beetles- they are bad for eating young pepper leaves.

[noinwi]

It could be army worms or loopers. They can do a number on the leaves quickly. I believe the fly is beneficial but I can't remember its name at the moment...not much help I guess...

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by JoParrott

It could be flea beetles- they are bad for eating young pepper leaves.

Yes look for these even though I never saw one when I lived in the houston area.
But you never know.

Flea beetle.


whoops wrong beetles.
These four not the other four.


By the way I am seeing the tiny flies too but cant get a picture of them.

[ContainerTed]

This sounds like aphids. A blacklight at night might confirm it.

BTW, I've heard that if you get enough of those "little green-headed flies", they make a great pate' to put on crackers. Anybody else hear that?? I've just never been able to get enough together at one time to try it.

[Rfdillon]

Container Ted, you're obviously suffering from a lack of good tomatoes!

[Gardeneer]

Those flies are not eating leaves.
YES Flea Beetles also eat pepper plant leaves. But they do it at night and they can run away fast. Slugs/snails are others.

The pattern of the eating can probably narrow down the culprit. For example, flea beetle leave a perforated pattern. Slugs start eating from the edge ...
Can you post pictures ?

Gardeneer

[ContainerTed]

Originally Posted by Rfdillon

Container Ted, you're obviously suffering from a lack of good tomatoes!

You are right!!!!!

I'm down to 19 quarts of juice, but I've got adequate beer - some of it getting tooooo cold. All my seedlings are at the "more than 2 sets of leaves, and the stores are full of those cardboard excuses for tomatoes. I'm trying, but I might not make it thru to mid-June.

Anyhow, I still think the villain in this leaf disappearance situation is aphids.