10 Common Pepper Plant Pests and How to Get Rid of Them

Aphids

Aphids are tiny, sap-sucking insects that come in lots of different colors and typically feed in clusters on plant stems and leaves. Most aphids are wingless with two tiny spikes, or cornicles, on their rears, but some aphid species can fly.

Distorted leaf growth and yellow stippling on leaf surfaces are the most common signs of aphid problems; however, aphids can also cause stunted plant growth and poor fruiting, and they may coat infested leaves with a sticky “honeydew” residue.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Water. One of the easiest ways to get rid of aphids is to simply spray infested plants with a strong blast of water. To boost your chances of success, add water and a small squirt of Castile soap to your garden sprayer and use this mixture to rinse the tops and undersides of pepper leaves.
• Organic sprays. Insecticidal soap and neem oil sprays can also be used to kill aphids, but these products should never be applied to plant flowers or used when the sun is high overhead.
• Natural predators. Aphid predators, like lacewings and ladybugs, can be released directly onto infested peppers to destroy aphid infestations. But you can also companion plant peppers with flowering herbs or plants like yarrow to attract aphid predators to your garden for free!

Spider Mites

Spider mites are difficult to see with the naked eye, but they build delicate, spider-like webs on infested plants. Like aphids, spider mites feed on plant sap and can cause yellow stippling on pepper leaves, stunted plant growth, and reduced fruiting.

Plants that are badly infested with spider mites may also look dry or dusty, even when well-watered.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Water. Spider mites are relatively easy to wash away with your hose, but you may need to rinse your plants a few times to get rid of every mite.
• Organic Sprays. Neem oil and organic insecticidal soap sprays can also be used to treat spider mites. For best results, reapply sprays every 7 to 10 days until the mites are gone.
• Companion Planting. Growing plants in the Allium family, like garlic and chives, near peppers can naturally deter spider mites and other pests.

Cutworms

Cutworms are the caterpillars of several species of moths and they typically have smooth bodies, occasionally adorned with bold stripes or spots. Cutworm caterpillars come in different colors and they usually target pepper seedlings and new transplants with tender stems.

If young pepper plants disappear overnight or your plant stems are clipped off at the soil line, cutworms may be to blame.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Sanitation. Destroying old plant debris at the end of the season can keep cutworms from overwintering and reemerging in spring.
• Physical removal. Handpicking cutworms off your plants and into a bucket of soapy water is a fast and effective way to treat active infestations. These pests are most active after dark, so a flashlight is a must.
• Plant collars. Loosely encircling plant stems with collars made of cardboard, aluminum foil, or upcycled milk jug tops can keep cutworms from nibbling on tender stems. To install, sink plant collars 1 to 2 inches beneath the soil with at least 2 inches of the collar above the soil line.

Thrips

Another tiny, sap-sucking pest, thrips come in different colors and most have wings, although they aren’t strong flyers.

Like aphids, thrips often deposit sticky honeydew on infested plants and plants can become stunted or develop misshapen fruit, leaves, and flowers.

However, thrips may also transmit plant diseases, like wilt, and they commonly leave tiny speckles of black frass on plant leaves.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Water. Spraying pepper plants with your hose can get rid of thrips.
• Organic sprays. Like many other pests, thrip infestations can be treated with organic neem oil or soap sprays. Reapplying sprays at weekly intervals will ensure you address adult thrips and any nymphs that hatch later on.
• Weeding. Thrips often use weeds as host plants for their eggs, so it’s even more important to stay on top of weeding! To reduce weeds naturally, apply a 2 to 3-inch layer of mulch around your peppers and then use a hori-hori to pull out any weeds that sprout. 

Pepper Weevils

Pepper weevils are small, brown beetles with a distinctly protruding snout or “rostrum.” Both adult weevils and their maggot-like larvae feed on pepper flowers, leaves, and fruit and can cause premature fruit drop, pepper discoloration, and poor harvest yields.

Weevil larvae will also sometimes tunnel into growing peppers, which can make for an unpleasant surprise when you cut into your harvest.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Sanitation. Weevils can overwinter in old plant debris, so always destroy infested plant matter at the end of the season!
• Crop rotation. Moving peppers to a new section of your garden every year can protect your plants from overwintering pests.
• Companion planting. Weevils are hard to treat once they tunnel into peppers, but newly hatched larvae are vulnerable to insect predators, like parasitic wasps. Attract these “good guy” insects into your space by companion planting with plants in the carrot family.

Whiteflies

A close relative of aphids, whiteflies are small, flying insects with triangular bodies and tiny wings. These pests can usually be found feeding on sap on the underside of plant leaves and they may fly up in a dramatic swarm when disturbed.

Yellowing and wilted leaves, leaf drop, sticky honeydew, sooty mold, and stunted plant growth can all be signs of these pesky pests.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Water. Like aphids and spider mites, whiteflies are easy to remove with a strong blast of water.
• Organic sprays. Rinsing infested plants is even more effective if you follow it up with a treatment of organic soap or neem oil spray.
• Reflective mulches. Applying reflective mulches beneath peppers can make it harder for whiteflies to find their quarry. These mulches work against thrips too!

Pepper Maggots

Pepper maggots are the small, white larvae of a fly pest, which lays its eggs directly on peppers. These pests are particularly fond of cherry peppers and bell peppers, but they may affect other nightshades as well.

Infested plants may display small tunneling holes or depressions in their fruit, and peppers may rot and fall off the plant before their ripe.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Sanitation. Destroying old plant debris at the end of the season reduces a lot of garden pests, including pepper maggots. Since pests often survive the composting process, you may want to burn infested plant matter or bag it and throw it in the trash.
• Row covers. Installing finely woven row covers over your peppers in summer can shield your plants from pepper maggots and their eggs.
• Crop rotation. Rotating your crops on a 3 to 5-year cycle makes it harder for pests to come back. If you planted peppers in one corner of your garden, you should avoid planting them in that spot for at least 3 years.

Prodenia or Cotton Leafworms

Prodenia moths have mottled brown wings, but it’s their larvae you need to worry about. These caterpillars are sometimes also called cutworms or armyworms and they typically have dark green to brown bodies with horizontal striping.

Prodenia caterpillars regularly feed on and skeletonize pepper leaves, but they may also nibble on plant flowers and fruit and they can reduce harvest yields too.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Physical removal. While handpicking prodenia caterpillars into a bucket of soapy water, keep a lookout for their eggs. Egg clusters are usually laid on the underside of plant leaves and can be crushed between your fingers or burned.
• Natural predators. Parasitic wasps and birds love eating pest caterpillars. Invite these helpers into your garden by companion planting with nectar-rich flowers and installing a birdhouse or two.
• BT thuricide. Made from a naturally occurring, soil-dwelling bacteria, BT thuricide is an organic pesticide that will kill any caterpillar that feeds on treated plants. To keep prodenia at bay, apply BT thuricide every 7 to 10 days when these pests are active.

Flea Beetles

Flea beetles are small black or tan insects that rapidly jump away when disturbed, much like fleas. These pepper pests riddle plant leaves with tiny holes and pits, but they can also transmit damaging plant diseases, like blight or wilt.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Organic sprays. Neem oil and soap sprays are effective against adult flea beetles. Sprays aren’t that effective against eggs, but repeat applications will address any new beetles that hatch.
• Delayed transplanting. Flea beetles are most active in early spring. Transplanting peppers outdoors later in the season can help you avoid these pests.
• Trap cropping. While flea beetles aren’t picky and feed on different vegetables, they’re particularly fond of radishes. Planting radishes near your peppers can draw flea beetles away and keep your pepper plants safe.

Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails are both categorized as Gastropods; however, snails have shells and slugs are shell-free. These pests commonly carve ragged holes on plant leaves and fruit when feeding, but they may also leave silvery trails of slime in their wake or chew young plants down to nubs.

How to Get Rid of Them:

• Physical removal. Slugs and snails are easiest to find during the day when they hide under rocks, plant pots, and other garden debris near infested plants. Check these areas carefully, gather up any slugs and snails that you find, and drop them into a bucket of soapy water.
• Slug pubs. Make a DIY slug trap or pub by pouring old orange juice or beer into a plastic container and placing the container near your peppers. Slugs and snails will be drawn into the trap by the sweet scent of fermentation, but they won’t be able to crawl out.
• Diatomaceous earth. Sprinkling a ring of diatomaceous earth on the soil around your peppers won’t kill slugs and snails, but it should keep them away. Just avoid sprinkling this product on plant flowers as it can harm pollinators.