Finally bought a house 6 months ago, so we have started our own little vegetable garden area in one corner of our lanai. They are all potted and on shelving. We have several types of peppers growing: Serrano, jalapeño, Datil, banana peppers and sweet snacking peppers. We’ve harvest a few of everything except the Datils as they take more time to grow. This second harvest of the little sweet peppers was just 3 and each one has a hole chewed through it. None of the other peppers are being eaten. Just the sweets. Any idea what could be munching on these? We are in central Florida.
by JulesyJ
5 Comments
Birds
For me, it’s the obtuse rodent variety that leaves damage like this, I’m sure of it. Dang nabbin’ squirrels take a bite and leave it on my front step, which i know is where they chill to snack. Takes them a few tries to learn they are not to their liking. It’s the same with my unripe tomatoes 🙄
Birds. If you take a few rocks and paint them red, laying them in the soil beneath your peppers, it will reduce the amount of bird attacks. They’ll try to peck the red rocks, feel the harm and then stay away.
Ive always got a few on one or two plants at a time, out of around 18 plants, there’s always something eating a few, but they aren’t birds in my situation, most birds around me are honey eaters, natives, apart from the odd passing crow high up in the tree tops, but never on the ground. I’ve seen a few small caterpillars amongst them but they’re so small an can’t see them eating as much as the bites, between 1, 2 days max of checking them. I don’t spray anything and for all the fruit and edibles in the garden, don’t lose enough to be concerned. Different countries so can’t give input, but curious, are the sweets actually sweet, like a sweet hot or not very hot, but sweet? I’d love to try a sweet chilli, you guys get more variety here, have to order everything online.
Hornworms possibly. I only get the tobacco hornworm in my area They don’t typically attack my peppers but they sometimes do and that is what it looks like many times. Tomato hornworms may be different. I dunno as I’ve never dealt with those. They might attack peppers more often for all I know.