Bug party!

Fiishergurl · April 26, 2014

What are these bugs on my bell pepper plant? And how should I disinvite them from the garden party... :-)

I'm a first time grower.

Thanks!
Ginny

epsilon · April 26, 2014

yeah they don't need to be invited to the garden party, all they do is suck up all the juice and they never leave.

Also those are aphids, and I think maybe an aphid?, maybe an aphid on a diet? not sure about the weird shriveled thing.

RootLoops · April 26, 2014

i'm not sure but i think the shriveled thing is an aphid shell, maybe when they go from one life stage to the next?

you can kill those with a solution of soap water, a tsp of dawn per gallon of water they are pretty easy to kill, watch for reemergence and reapply to kill the new ones that hatch from whatever eggs are laid on there. you'll probably get more but they are easy to defeat if you don't let them get out of hand

soap water will kill just about any bug, i use a strong concentration of soap water to kill red wasps all summer. for them i mix like a half cup a gallon, they are usually dead before they hit the ground

Fiishergurl · April 26, 2014

Thank you!! Will the same mix kill thrips? While looking for aphids on my tomato plants I found thrips. I took a nagnified picture of thr bug and compared it to thrip pictures and it was the same. So my pepper plants have aphids and my tomato plants have thrips. Or probably both have both.

Ginny

.

RootLoops · April 26, 2014

it should kill the thrips no problem, soapy water kills by drowning the bug, normally when water hits a bug the surface tension of the water creates a micro shield of air around it's body so it can breathe through it's holes long enough to get dry. when you add soap it breaks the surface tension, filling the air holes with water and drowning the bug. they can't get immune to it either which is another reason i use soapy water a lot.

coastal bend · April 26, 2014

Just to add some info. The white one is a dead aphid. The winged aphid fly's in and have living young aphid ,no eggs. There is a wasp that lays eggs in the aphid and will control the populations. If they get to bad they will make sticky mess on the leaves (we call it honeydew)and can stunt your plants.

Fiishergurl · April 26, 2014

Thank you so much. I know this is going to sound crazy but I have never picked a ripe tomato off a tomato plant before. But with all the great info from folks like you all, I have beautiful plants with lots of fruit and some of it is changing colors and just days away from picking. Yay!! Peppers still have a ways to go.

Thanks again for the help.

Ginny

coastal bend · April 26, 2014

That's great. I would have some tomatoes about to blush but the cold weather put me behind about 2 weeks.

**coronabarb** · April 28, 2014

You should post a pic of your first tomato...how exciting!! I usually just hit the aphids with a good spray to knock them off.

Tracydr · April 28, 2014

Spray the aphids off with the hose and sprayer. You should have plenty of good bugs soon if you don't do something too toxic.
I learned recently that sunflowers are great aphid traps, as are nasturtiums and radishes. I'll be planting nastaturiums and sunflowers in great quantities to attract predator bugs from now on.
Sunflowers in the heat, radishes and nastituriums for cooler gardens.
Cowpeas are another good trap.
I think DE will work, dusted on and kept dry.

April 26, 2014	#1
Fiishergurl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Oak Hill, Florida Posts: 1,781	Bug party! What are these bugs on my bell pepper plant? And how should I disinvite them from the garden party... :-) I'm a first time grower. Thanks! Ginny

April 28, 2014	#9
coronabarb Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7 Posts: 2,821	You should post a pic of your first tomato...how exciting!! I usually just hit the aphids with a good spray to knock them off. __________________ Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal

April 26, 2014	#2
epsilon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Desert CA Posts: 400	yeah they don't need to be invited to the garden party, all they do is suck up all the juice and they never leave. Also those are aphids, and I think maybe an aphid?, maybe an aphid on a diet? not sure about the weird shriveled thing.

April 26, 2014	#3
RootLoops Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: rienzi, ms Posts: 470	i'm not sure but i think the shriveled thing is an aphid shell, maybe when they go from one life stage to the next? you can kill those with a solution of soap water, a tsp of dawn per gallon of water they are pretty easy to kill, watch for reemergence and reapply to kill the new ones that hatch from whatever eggs are laid on there. you'll probably get more but they are easy to defeat if you don't let them get out of hand soap water will kill just about any bug, i use a strong concentration of soap water to kill red wasps all summer. for them i mix like a half cup a gallon, they are usually dead before they hit the ground

April 26, 2014	#6
coastal bend Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: south texas Posts: 114	Just to add some info. The white one is a dead aphid. The winged aphid fly's in and have living young aphid ,no eggs. There is a wasp that lays eggs in the aphid and will control the populations. If they get to bad they will make sticky mess on the leaves (we call it honeydew)and can stunt your plants.

April 28, 2014	#10
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Spray the aphids off with the hose and sprayer. You should have plenty of good bugs soon if you don't do something too toxic. I learned recently that sunflowers are great aphid traps, as are nasturtiums and radishes. I'll be planting nastaturiums and sunflowers in great quantities to attract predator bugs from now on. Sunflowers in the heat, radishes and nastituriums for cooler gardens. Cowpeas are another good trap. I think DE will work, dusted on and kept dry.