What are these caterpillars that eat peppers?

[steam fire and ice]

What in the world are these caterpillars? I know they go into a cocoon and turn into a brown moth after being in that state for like 2 days. They are eatting the leaves on my pepper plants, and I thought ok one or two leaves are ok, they were staying away from the peppers themselves, until I found one of them had actually bitten into and was still inside a habenero that was almost ripe!!! Boy that made me so mad. I want to get rid of them without damaging or making my peppers to the point we cant eat them. Will the best stuff ever work on them? When they are eating leaves they eat them, then form a web to fuse the leave together to make like a tunnel and they stay inside the leave.

[orchids4me]

Hi cyndi,
Don't know any one or thing brave enough to bite those peppers straight yet alone a catapiller (spelling). Just crazy !
I'd try the best stuff ever (brookin's recipe) shouldn't hurt the plant I'd dd like 10 or 15 drops of rubbing alcohol to sting them a bit on top of the cinnamon extract that shouldn't hurt the plant either its a tiny amount for a to the recipe batch.
I thoght for sure jo beth would chime in or Billc posibly to ID these guys. But give the plant a blast and pick em off.
Good luck
Emmaye

[psyc1210]

No ID for you, sorry! But there are a lot of little brown moths that I won't know the ID for. Too many to remember! I don't know what to tell you about treating it. I only really plant things FOR food plants for caterpillars, so I haven't really had an issue like that If they are big enough to see, pick them off, and keep an eye on the plants in case any more show up.

[digitalgate]

so that mean that you can rule out chilli as a pesticides.

[kiwiloniwi]

Dude,just catch it instead of using chemicals and sprays,it's not good for the plant
in any kind of way,and it polutes the soil.

[steam fire and ice]

Digitalgate, I know, right??? It was just wild because they had only been bothering the leaves on my banana pepper and leaving my habenaros alone, I figured it didnt like the hot ones. Guess not, one of those buggers had eatten its way in, and made a web inside the pepper and was eating the seeds. grrrrr. crazy japanese bugs ha ha ha

[steam fire and ice]

Originally Posted by kiwiloniwi

Dude,just catch it instead of using chemicals and sprays,it's not good for the plant
in any kind of way,and it polutes the soil.

Im a girl, not a dude. I am catching them, but I dont want them eating all my peppers. I use my peppers to create spice, and pepper oil, and I cant use peppers that these caterpillars have spun webs in, and it really defeates the purpose of growing them if I have to spend major money to go buy them in the store at a higher price because they are imported. So if I have to use seven dust Im not above it. I was looking for a better way to prevent them from eating on the peppers. Plus I have a container garden, AKA everything is grown in pots, not the ground.

Im going to try the best stuff ever first and see if I can avoid having to pick off all the peppers like I would have to do with the seven dust. Oh and Emmaye, your gonna have your socks blown on this one, I have gotten my hands on the ghost peppers from india, and if the seeds do I will have several plants from the worlds hottest pepper!! ha ha ha. Hubby loves hot things.

[psyc1210]

Originally Posted by steam fire and ice

Im a girl, not a dude. I am catching them, but I dont want them eating all my peppers. I use my peppers to create spice, and pepper oil, and I cant use peppers that these caterpillars have spun webs in, and it really defeates the purpose of growing them if I have to spend major money to go buy them in the store at a higher price because they are imported. So if I have to use seven dust Im not above it. I was looking for a better way to prevent them from eating on the peppers. Plus I have a container garden, AKA everything is grown in pots, not the ground.

Im going to try the best stuff ever first and see if I can avoid having to pick off all the peppers like I would have to do with the seven dust. Oh and Emmaye, your gonna have your socks blown on this one, I have gotten my hands on the ghost peppers from india, and if the seeds do I will have several plants from the worlds hottest pepper!! ha ha ha. Hubby loves hot things.

Personally, I would never use any kind of bug killing chemicals on anything that I plan on eating. Sevin dust would be out of the question for me, as well as any other kind of pesticide. Whether it is labeled as 'safe' or not, I don't believe what I read.

[Emma Grey]

Originally Posted by steam fire and ice

Im a girl, not a dude.

Ha, Cyndi, I think the other poster meant that as an expression, not a name. Personally, I use "dude" that way all the time... I got it from my wannabe beach bum father.

[steam fire and ice]

Originally Posted by psyc1210

Personally, I would never use any kind of bug killing chemicals on anything that I plan on eating. Sevin dust would be out of the question for me, as well as any other kind of pesticide. Whether it is labeled as 'safe' or not, I don't believe what I read.

I totally hate the thought of even getting to that point totally. These heat loving buggers could eat almost anything else but my habs!!! They are expensive to have to buy the peppers. And Im totally worried about them getting into the ghost peppers once they start putting on. On the farm Ive grown up for years, we would have to pick off every pepper before we could use the seven dust and Im just not into doing that to my plant either. I totally prefer natural pesticides, I just want to avoid having to get to that point. We have just started the harvest season, and already I have gotten 5 of those buggers in a matter of a couple of weeks. Not a good ratio.

[psyc1210]

Originally Posted by steam fire and ice

I totally hate the thought of even getting to that point totally. These heat loving buggers could eat almost anything else but my habs!!! They are expensive to have to buy the peppers. And Im totally worried about them getting into the ghost peppers once they start putting on. On the farm Ive grown up for years, we would have to pick off every pepper before we could use the seven dust and Im just not into doing that to my plant either. I totally prefer natural pesticides, I just want to avoid having to get to that point. We have just started the harvest season, and already I have gotten 5 of those buggers in a matter of a couple of weeks. Not a good ratio.

5 isn't too bad though. Could be worse. I have holes all over my bean plants from I assume beetles eating through the leaves. Not much I can do, but either try to find them and pick them off, or not. It sucks, but I refuse to use anything on the plants. Keep an eye out for them, and keep an eye out on the underside of the pepper leaves for eggs.

[Amblnc38]

I get those evil tomato Hornworms constantly! I throw them into the yard for my neighborhood birds to eat. I'd try soapy water....if not Seven will work, just make sure you wash the produce VERY well.

[11Orchid126]

Soak some hot peppers or seeds in hot water for a couple of hours. Strain the broth and put it in a bottle, add a squirt of dish liquid or Dr Bronners Peppermint soap, a half teaspoon of cooking oil and add enough water to make a pint. Put it in a spray bottle and spray the plant with it. Bugs don't like the hot peppers and they hate soap., and the oil smothers the eggs. You may have to re-spray after it rains.

[Amblnc38]

That bug was eating a Habernero....I don't think hot pepper spray will help her. You could try making a tomato leaf tea spray, but that's almost as bad for you as an insecticidal powder.

[steam fire and ice]

Originally Posted by 11Orchid126

Soak some hot peppers or seeds in hot water for a couple of hours. Strain the broth and put it in a bottle, add a squirt of dish liquid or Dr Bronners Peppermint soap, a half teaspoon of cooking oil and add enough water to make a pint. Put it in a spray bottle and spray the plant with it. Bugs don't like the hot peppers and they hate soap., and the oil smothers the eggs. You may have to re-spray after it rains.

Yeah Amblnc38 is right, the 3rd was eating an actual Habenaro, so it was eating the second hottest pepper I have available...... I am actually growing Bhut Jolokias as well, but the plants are not big enough to put on peppers yet. So if the catterpilar was eatting the second hottest pepper in the world, I dont think it will mind heat too much. That caterpillar was inside the Hab, eatting the membrane and seeds (the parts that have the most capsasin in the peppers) I am trying brooklin's best stuff ever to see if the soap will keep them off of them. Heres hoping it will work. I hate the thought of having to keep the Bhut plants inside. They can get up to 6 foot tall in my region.......