Pepper pests

We eat the fleshy fruits of the pepper as a vegetable, and the pungent and bitter ones as a seasoning. Pepper is a delicacy not only for humans, but also for a number of plant pests, because it contains a huge amount of vitamins and microelements. Therefore, you need to protect it until the plant dies. So what are the pests of pepper?

This culture is grown more often indoors, but it also happens outdoors in the beds. In greenhouses and hotbeds, the culture is more often attacked by the whitefly and spider mite. And the beds are a favorite place for aphids, bears. Insect attacks can be caused by various factors, such as an unfavorable climate or prolonged rains. In this article, we will look at the most common and dangerous pests, and how to deal with them.

Pepper pests: causes of pest infestation

There are a huge number of pest varieties, they are divided into specialized and polyphagous. Specialized pests attack plants of the same family, it can be: spider mites or slugs. Pests appear on plants growing both in the garden and in the greenhouse. At the pepper bush, insects eat leaves, roots, fruits and suck out the juice. Plants are spoiled and killed not only by adults, but also by their larvae. The reasons for the attack of pepper insects are contaminated soil, poor agricultural technology, unsuitable climatic conditions and an unnecessarily dense planting. Subsequently, infection of the pepper by insects, the plant weakens, slows down growth and may die. Also culture. Affected by pests is susceptible to diseases, for example, gray rot, cladosporium, bacterial wilting or late blight.

Caterpillars

If you notice holes on the fruits of the pepper, the edges of the leaves of the plant are nibbled, and the stem is eaten, then caterpillars attacked your culture. They love moisture and dislike the sun. Emerge from eggs laid by butterflies. Long distances can be crawled. Peppers are mainly damaged by two types of caterpillars: caterpillars of the gamma-tailed scoop (green with gray dots) and the caterpillars of the winter scoop (gray), which are difficult to control. They reproduce in spring, in the second half of summer and in September.

Pepper pests: slugs

Slug is one of the varieties of molluscs, similar to a snail, but without a shell. Likes to eat not only foliage, but also the fruits of this vegetable crop. The size of the slug varies from 2 to 5 cm. These pests leave holes in the leaves, mucous discharge. They feed mainly at night or in the evening, when the destructive heat for them subsides, and during the day they hide under the remains of plants, under stones and under boards, in pits. Slugs are very voracious. They live mainly in greenhouses and hotbeds. To deal with slugs, take the following series of measures: 1. Do not neglect weeding the area. 2.

Do not over-water the plant as moist soil is ideal for slugs. 3. Be sure to sprinkle the soil with ash, a mixture of tobacco and lime, mustard or ground red pepper, this is not to the taste of a slug. 4. Also, these pests do not like the smell of parsley, so you can plant parsley between the rows of peppers. 5. After watering around the bush, sprinkle with superphosphate granules, the slugs will burn the abdomen and, subsequently, die. 6. Take advantage of specialty drugs that are sold in any agricultural store, for example, Slime Eater, Predator, Meta or Ferramol. 7.Pour boiling water over the slugs (40-50 degrees). 8. Cover the bush with foil.

Aphid

This pest has a huge number of species, more than three thousand. These small midges feed not only on foliage, but also on the plant as a whole. These insects look like this: small in size (reach only 0.7-0.9 mm), greenish or transparent body.

They mainly settle on young leaves of a plant, sucking out juices from it and killing this culture. The danger of infection with aphids also lies in the fact that it is a carrier of many infections and viruses. If you notice shine and a sticky film on the leaves, and the leaves begin to curl and dry out, then aphids have settled on your plant. This small pest loves high humidity and high air temperatures.

Use a number of measures to control aphids:

1. Plant such herbs as dill or coriander near the pepper bush, these plants will attract the ladybug - the worst enemy of aphids. Also, the enemies of aphids are lacewings, hoverflies. They are also attracted to plants such as dill, cumin, or fennel.

2. As a folk remedy, spray the plant with infusion of yarrow and laundry soap.

3. You can also use a manganese solution.

4. Water together with water with nettle infusion (infused during the day).

5. You can also spray pepper with infusions of tobacco, ash, onions, garlic.

6. A decoction of tomato tops helps (1 kg of stepchildren pour 2 liters of water, boil and cool.

7. Use special preparations such as Karbofos, Keltan, Fitoverm or Agravertin, but before setting the fruit.

Pepper pests: whitefly

A very dangerous and widespread pest that resembles aphids in appearance. The whitefly can be visually confused with a moth. It is very small (3-5 mm) and is white or light yellow in color. Whitefly larvae are even smaller in size, similar to transparent growths. Basically, the pest is located on the inner side of the plant leaf, it also lays eggs there. These insects live in flocks. They disrupt the metabolism of pepper and extract juice from it, they are also carriers of dangerous infectious diseases, such as gray rot, powdery mildew or mosaic, it is these diseases that kill pepper bushes.

Because of the whitefly, leaves suffer, which change color to white-yellow, then darken and die off. Most often, the greenhouse whitefly attacks the pepper. You can notice it if you shake the bush and see a swarm of small midges.

To fight, use:

1. The method of usual rinsing with water, if there are few insects, or wiping the leaves with soapy water.

2. Process the culture with Intravir.

3. You can make sticky traps.

4. Make processing with karbofos.

5. Use chemical insecticides such as Mospilan, Confidor or Fufanon.

6. In winter, you need to keep the air temperature low in a greenhouse or greenhouse and disinfect it (you can use sulfur bombs, up to 8 hours).

7. Lure beneficial insects such as ladybirds or lacewings.

8. Spray the culture with herbal infusion: pour the chopped head of garlic with half a liter of water, leave for a week, and dilute the finished composition like this - 5 g per 1 liter of water.

Ants

Ants do not need a description, everyone knows them, they appear mainly due to aphids, they are attracted by the sweet bloom left by aphids. They settle mainly in a greenhouse, close to wooden boards. Not even the ants themselves harm the pepper, but the aphids that they take care of. To combat, observe the following measures: 1. Pour kerosene or boiling water over the anthill. 2. Use special drugs, for example, Muravyin, Thunder-2 or Muratsid, but they are advised to use them only for large-scale attacks. 3. Lay out the bait near the anthills (for this, mix a third of ground borax, 1 tablespoon of honey and 2 tablespoons of hot water). How to get rid of ants in a greenhouse in detail - here.

Pepper pests: Colorado potato beetle

A well-known, widespread and dangerous pest, both an adult beetle and its gluttonous larva.They eat everything, foliage, stems, and fruits. Can lead to plant death in a very short time. An adult beetle reaches a length of 7-12 mm and a width of 7 mm. The beetle has five black stripes on each wing, and the abdomen is light orange with black spots. The beetle has hooks on three pairs of legs, thanks to which it moves through the leaves.

The Colorado potato beetle can fly long distances. They live for 1-3 years, waiting out the winter in the ground, at a depth of 50 cm. The larvae of the beetle are colored dark yellow, up to 15 mm in size, you can easily see them. Older larvae can move, and the larvae pupate in the ground, after which an adult beetle appears after 3 weeks. The difficulty of dealing with the Colorado potato beetle is that it quickly develops resistance to chemicals and birds do not like to eat it.

Methods of dealing with them:

1. Gathering by hand. Only you cannot crush the beetles, you need to fill them with kerosene.

2. Processing of pepper with infusion of celandine helps well.

3. Beetles do not like the smell of beans, garlic, so you can plant these plants next to the pepper.

4. Use special chemicals.

5. In the middle of summer, hilling peppers.

6. Spray the pepper with a solution of wormwood and ash (for 3 hours, insist a glass of ash and 200 grams of wormwood (pre-grind) in 10 liters of high temperature water).

Spider mite

It is difficult to notice a small bug, its size is no more than 0.5-1 cm, in addition, it disguises itself as foliage. Has a color from green to brownish brown. Loves young leaves of seedlings. It attaches to the inside of the leaf, and sucks out the juices, while releasing a dangerous liquid, as a result of which the plant dies. Can get on the plant by air or soil. You can understand that a plant is infected with a spider mite by a thin, light cobweb on the back of the leaf and dark dots-tick bites.

Methods for dealing with this pest:

1. Treat the soil with lime mortar.

2. Watering the plant with warm water (10 liters) with laundry or tar soap (40 grams) and kerosene (2 grams).

3. Spraying pepper with tobacco infusion (400 g of raw materials per 10 liters of water is insisted for 2 days, then boiled for 2 hours and cooled).

4. Use granular products such as Aldicabr or Temik.

5. Use chemicals, for example, Inta-Vir, Fitoverm and Iskarbio, Karbofos.

6. Keep the humidity high.

Pepper pests: thrips

These are representatives of the fringed winged, which very quickly fly over the bushes and lay their eggs. Insects are small, dark in color with a striped belly, 0.5-1.5 mm in size, with wings and antennae. It is difficult to see them, they can be confused with seeds. These insects feed on juice from fruit ovaries, eat the whole plant and carry dangerous diseases. If you notice light spots on the leaves, which then merge with each other and the leaf completely turns white, then your vegetable crop is infected with these pests.

There are several methods of dealing with them:

1. Spray the plant with an infusion of onions, garlic and water.

2. You can make traps with a yellow adhesive base.

3. Spray with infusion of marigolds (grind 300 grams of a dry plant and fill with warm water in the amount of 1 liter, let it brew for 2 days).

4. Use special products such as Fitoverma, Karbofos, Vertimek or Akarin.

Medvedka

A dangerous large pest that looks like cancer, feeding on the root system of the plant and earthworms. Reaches 6-8 cm in length, has a carapace and wings. It can fly and swim. It has limbs with which it actively digs the ground. Lives underground. It is difficult to notice the presence of a bear, this can only be done by the paths left and holes in the ground that she digs.

To combat it, use:

1. Thoroughly weed the soil.

2. Loosen the soil more often.

3. Pour hot pepper infusion or soapy water into the holes.

4. Use manure traps at a depth of 30-40 cm.These pests are attracted by the smell of manure and they creep into one place.

5. Apply special chemicals such as Medvetox, Bankol, Grizzly.

6. In May, you can use light traps from a lamp and a can with a water-kerosene emulsion.

Pepper pests: nematodes

Microscopic worms, 1-2 mm in size, almost transparent, living underground. They feed on roots. As a result of the activity of nematodes, the plant lacks moisture, the leaves turn yellow, and the stems begin to curl. The plant dies. They notice this pest belatedly, gardeners and farmers mistakenly think at the beginning that it is a disease, or a simple lack of moisture or nutrients.

If you dig out a bush infected with nematodes, you can see that there are thickening of a yellow-brown color on the roots, the roots are exhausted.

To combat, use a number of measures:

1. Remove the contaminated soil and replace it with a healthy one.

2. Pour boiling water over the soil up to 50 cm deep and cover with foil for 4 hours.

3. If, nevertheless, you managed to notice the presence of nematodes earlier, then urgently clean the roots of the pepper from the soil and put them in boiling water (50-60 degrees). Maintain from 5 minutes to half an hour.

4. Disinfect the planting tool.

Scoops

These small, gray-brown moths are camouflage and difficult to spot, and they are mostly active at night. If you notice gnawed edges on the leaf, then these are scoops. The winter moth lives in the southern regions of Russia. It has a wingspan of up to 45 mm, its hind wings are white, and the front ones are brown with spots. But the most common scoop is gamma. Its wingspan reaches 47 mm, its front wings are brown or gray-brown, with light spots, and the hind wings are gray-yellow.

To combat them, the following measures are taken:

1. Weeding the soil and killing nettles and quinoa (the scoop lays eggs on them).

2. Manually collect tracks, though you have to do it at night.

3. Make traps from plastic bottles, pouring any juice or jam there.

4. Apply special chemicals such as Volaton, Sherpa, Decis or Arrivo.

5. In the fall, dig up the soil up to 8 cm deep.

Pepper pests: May beetle larva

The root of the pepper suffers from these larvae. Which is gnawed by this pest. Therefore, the plant may die. The larvae live in the soil, at a depth of 0.7 m, so it is difficult to fight them. You will easily recognize them: they have white color, three pairs of legs and a black head. You can bring them into the garden with manure.

Wireworm

The wireworm is a click beetle larva that feeds on the roots of the plant. They are yellow or brown in color and 1-4 cm long. The larval stage lasts up to 4 years. This pest spends winter in the ground, at a depth of 60 cm. The bushes do not develop as a result of the activity of the wireworm and die. It will take a long time to deal with the wireworm.

Ways to combat this pest:

1. Obligatory digging of the earth in the fall, preferably by hand.

2. Treatment of the land from diseases and insect pests with a solution of potassium permanganate.

3. Sow mustard next to the pepper bushes, wireworms do not tolerate its smell.

4. Lime and ash are added to the soil.

5. Use of chemicals Bazudin, Provotox or Prestige.

Shield

A dangerous pest that harms not only the bush, but also the fruits. The scabbard is very small, with a round body up to 2 mm in diameter. Its larvae quickly attack the plant. Interesting fact: female scale insects can lead a motionless lifestyle and feed continuously. When attacked with a scabbard, brown and yellow growths appear on fruits and leaves. The growth of the bush stops, a sticky bloom remains on the leaves, the leaves turn yellow and fall off.

Pepper Pests: Valuable Tips

To keep your plant free from insect pests and reap a good harvest, we recommend following a number of measures:

1. Dig up the soil in time and apply mineral and organic fertilizers.

2. Peppers should be planted in a calm and light area.

3. Alternate planting on site.It is better to plant peppers in a place where onions and legumes grew before.

4. Water with settled water once a week.

5. For prophylaxis, spray the bushes with soapy water.

6. In autumn, lay out traps from manure, straw and destroy them together with pests.

7. Regularly observe and inspect plants for pests and diseases.

8. Disinfection of equipment, soil.

Pepper pests: conclusion

Pepper is a very picky culture, from the entire Solanaceae family. This plant requires proper farming techniques, a sufficient amount of heat and light. Peppers certainly feel better in a greenhouse or greenhouse. If the temperature regime is violated, then fruit setting decreases and various violations appear. Absolutely all gardeners and farmers faced pests on pepper bushes. If it happened that the plant was attacked by pests, then you need to fight them with all your might, otherwise you will not wait for the harvest, both in the present and in the future.

The main thing in the fight against insect pests is to notice them in time. They can be eliminated both by folk methods and by special chemicals that can be found in any agricultural store, as well as by mechanical and preventive methods. Solutions based on ash, manganese and laundry soap are effective and safe.

The main thing in pest control is to start treatment as early as possible, and, of course, prevention. For prevention, it is imperative to destroy plant residues in time, disinfect greenhouses, greenhouses and soil. If pests appear, treat with an infusion of wormwood, yarrow or tobacco dust, a solution with laundry soap. And only in the last, last resort, use various insecticides.

Have a nice harvest!