Most Common Pepper Pests & Diseases
You have problems with your pepper plants and want to know how to deter pests or how to cure pepper plant diseases?
Great! This article is exactly for you since I will show you solutions to the various issues that may arise by planting peppers.
Pepper Pests
| Pest | Solution |
|---|---|
| Cutworms | Cutworms can be quite harmful to peppers, especially for smaller seedlings. Learn more about how to get rid of cutworms. |
| Aphids | Aphids are small insects that can have an adverse impact on the growth of your plants. Learn more about how to get rid of aphids. |
| Flea Beetles | Flea beetles are particularly harmful to pepper seedlings. You can get rid of them by spraying your pepper plants with neem oil or using stinging nettle liquid. |
| Whiteflies | Whiteflies can transmit viruses and plant diseases. Fortunately, there are easy ways how to get rid of whiteflies. |
| Hornworms | Hornworms can greatly reduce pepper yields. You can get rid of hornworms by spraying pepper plants with neem oil since hornworms don’t like the taste of neem oil at all. |
| Armyworms | Armyworms mainly feed on pepper seedlings and on foliage. Hence, make sure to remove unnecessary foliage from your garden and also use neem oil to deter armyworms as best as possible. |
| Corn Borers | Corn borers can eat the fruits of your peppers from the inside. Hence, it is crucial to keep them away with neem oil or stinging nettle liquid as best as possible. |
| Slugs | Slugs are quite present in your garden. Sometimes, they will also try feeding on pepper plants. Hence, make sure to get information on how to get rid of slugs in your garden. |
| Caterpillars | Caterpillars can be quite annoying companions when growing peppers. Thus, make sure to check out how to get rid of caterpillars. |
Pepper Plant Diseases
| Disease | How to cure it |
|---|---|
| Mold | Plant mold can make pepper plants decay. Also pepper fruits may no longer be suitable for consumption. Hence, make sure to learn how to get rid of plant mold. |
| Leaf spot | Leaf spot is a fungal disease that can greatly impact the growth of pepper plants. Thus, make sure to inform yourself how to control leaf spot. |
| Blossom-end rot | Blossom-end rot is a quite common problem when growing peppers. To avoid pepper fruits start to rot, make sure to learn how to get rid of blossom-end rot. |
| Bacterial blight | Blight will not only impact the visual appearance of your plants, but it can also be detrimental to the overall growth and your yields. Hence, make sure to get information on how to get rid of bacterial blight. |
| Rust | Rust is quite common on pepper and other plants. While it is not that serious, you should still learn how to control plant rust. |
| Powdery mildew | Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that can slow down the growth of pepper plants. Thus, to maximize pepper yields, you should also take measures and learn how to get rid of powdery mildew. |
| Sunscald | Sunscald sometimes happens when pepper plants are grown in a completely sunny environment. If your plants suffer from sunscald, you should move them to a spot where your plants get a healthy mix of sun and shade instead of full sun all day long. |
| Mosaic virus | Mosaic virus is pretty hard to get rid of. Hence, once you spot mosaic virus on your plants, you should make sure to get rid of the infected plant material as soon as possible to avoid the spread of this virus in your garden. |
Pepper Plant Diseases & Pests – Summary List
| Pests | Diseases |
|---|---|
| Flea Beetles | Powdery mildew |
| Cutworms | Blight |
| Hornworms | Mosaic virus |
| Corn Borers | Rust |
| Aphids | Sunscald |
| Whiteflies | Leaf spot |
| Caterpillars | Blossom-end rot |
| Slugs | Plant mold |
How to deal with Pepper Plant Pests & Diseases?
As you can see from the previous tables, there are many natural and chemical solutions to deal with pepper pests and plant diseases.
I personally prefer using natural measures to get rid of pests since they are much better for our environment and make gardening more sustainable in general.
If you want to learn more about growing peppers, make sure to also check out my pepper grower’s guide!
Also make sure to have a look at my growing peppers FAQ section!
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum
Own experience.
