Pepper Pest

[Farmette]

This pepper is in a 3 inch pot indoors...I have looked for a slug or snail at dark too and haven't seen one.

[Blueaussi]

Put a little cup of beer nest to the plant. Double up some tape and put it around the trunk or the edge of the pot. See if you catch anything.

[Farmette]

I snapped a few pictures of the damage to my pepper plant. Don't know if this will help you identify the likely culprit for me! Thanks.

[salix]

I blame the cat! Maybe doesn't like the taste enough to eat the whole leaf, but just likes to nibble...

[Wi-sunflower]

Yah, it looks more like some kind of mechanical damage than anything i've seen a bug do. It almost looks like what we can get from a bad wind roughing stuff up. My bet is the kitty may have clawed it playing around.

Carol

[svalli]

If it is the cat causing the damage, brew some 'tea' from hot pepper flakes and spray on the plants or just sprinkle hot pepper powder on the leaves. Our cat has left all my plants alone after I spiced them up just once.

[Blueaussi]

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

Yah, it looks more like some kind of mechanical damage than anything i've seen a bug do. It almost looks like what we can get from a bad wind roughing stuff up. My bet is the kitty may have clawed it playing around.

Carol

*nods*

This is what I was thinking.

[Farmette]

Well, I think you are all right...it IS the cat! I know he likes pepper plants as last year he ate the tops off of several seedlings and this year I believe he sucked (rootball and all) 5 seedlings out of their new little pots. All that was left was the soiless mix. Yesterday, I had the big pepper plant sunning outside, brought it inside and left it on the counter for a short time. Came back and there was more leaf damage. So, I offered the cat a leaf and he ignored it. My wise daughter said that he is not intrigued by the leaf but by the whole plant. When I offered him the plant, he happily began munching.

[Wi-sunflower]

OK, then I'm guessing it's NOT a hot pepper. At least not very hot.

We had a customer that complained her cat would destroy any kind of house plant she had. So she tried something. She got one of my hottest pepper plants and made it the cat's house plant. The cat took a nibble or 2 and never touched a plant again. The heat isn't just in the fruit.

So if that isn't a hot pepper, get something really hot and maybe it will break kitty of nibbling your pepper plants. Or as suggested in a post earlier, sprinkle some cayenne powder on that plant. It may just cure kitty.

Carol

[svalli]

It is time to season the plants with hot pepper. It works for our orange beast, who by the way was born in Jefferson WI. Few years ago he had a thing with the freshly expanded Jiffy pellets. Once he had picked them up from the seed starting tray and played with them, so that all my pepper varieties were mixed up. After that I sprinkled a bit of ground hot pepper on the cover of the box and after one sniff and sneezing he did not touch them any more.

Orange peels do also deter cats, but hot pepper is easier to use on plants and things, which they bite.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by svalli

It is time to season the plants with hot pepper. It works for our orange beast, who by the way was born in Jefferson WI. Few years ago he had a thing with the freshly expanded Jiffy pellets. Once he had picked them up from the seed starting tray and played with them, so that all my pepper varieties were mixed up. After that I sprinkled a bit of ground hot pepper on the cover of the box and after one sniff and sneezing he did not touch them any more.

Orange peels do also deter cats, but hot pepper is easier to use on plants and things, which they bite.

I will have to try this with Smokey my cat.

Worth