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Just noticed that there are little black velvet dot like bugs under one of my pepper plant's leaves. I think they are eating up the leaves and some of the leaves are curling too.
Any natural ways/sprays to get rid of the bugs?
Online I found that mixing some dish soap in a gallon of water and spraying it can get rid of bugs. I am worried about using it since dish soap has chemicals in it.
Everything that exists has chemicals in it. A little bit of soapy water doesn't have enough chemicals in it to harm or be absorbed by your plants but the soap will discourage sucking or chewing insects and if they're saturated with soapy water it will suffocate and kill heavy infestations of insects on the plants. You can always rinse off the soapy film a few hours later after it has killed and gotten rid of the insects. Soapy water is my safest "go to" deterrent that I'll use first before I'll consider any other kind of stronger deterrent.
Diner: Waiter! There's a bug in my soup!
Waiter: Don't worry. He won't eat much.
I've never (knock on wood) had problems with bugs in the garden. They don't usually (around here) do enough damage to warrant treatment. They eat leaves, not fruits.
That said (ie- no experience with treatments) I'd be a little leery of spraying oily/fatty stuff (like soap) UNDER a leaf-- That's where the stomata are-- the little openings that take in co2 for photosynthesis. Maybe the treatment is worse than the disease?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Sprinkle diatomaceous earth on the soil all around the plants, knock them off and don't water for a day or two. It only works when dry, sharp microscopic skeletons of sea creatures, and the bugs get cut and dehydrate, usually within 12 hours of walking on it. It's safe for humans, just rinse it off if on the vegetables when you pick. You could also use Sevin dust, which is safe for up to
a week before harvest, though I wouldn't use it on edible leafy vegetables like lettuce or spinach.
I knew about neem oil as it's mainly used to get rid of bugs at my place of origin. I just looked and looks like neem oil is available at home depot. I will try out with that first.
I don't see lot many bugs now, just a couple of them. Not sure if it's because the weather here in Southern California got hotter and the bugs went away and the plant is getting healthier.
I am having a different issue of bud drop on pepper plants, where the plant gets flowers, I hand pollinate them, the flower starts wilting after a couple of days and then there is a small pepper inside it. After that the bud drops. I had this happen on all of my pepper plants with and without bugs, so my guess is it could be transplanting shock or the weather change effect. Hopefully now since the weather is getting steady, I get more flowers and buds will stay on.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,580 posts, read 81,186,228 times
Reputation: 57818
Peppers need the temperature to be 70-85F to pollinate successfully. If it was above that, it's your cause of bud drop. Mine are in a greenhouse and have to be hand pollinated, I use a soft artist's brush. Normally, peppers are mostly self-pollinating, like tomatoes, but need some air movement from wind to distribute the pollen from male to female.
Just noticed that there are little black velvet dot like bugs under one of my pepper plant's leaves. I think they are eating up the leaves and some of the leaves are curling too.
Any natural ways/sprays to get rid of the bugs?
Online I found that mixing some dish soap in a gallon of water and spraying it can get rid of bugs. I am worried about using it since dish soap has chemicals in it.
Something that I tried and worked I'll share with you. This.
Mix 1/2 cup canola oil, 1 tablespoon of dishwashing soap, with 1 Gallon water in a sprayer, shake well, and apply to plants
Read the comments, some use Cyannene pepper as well.
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