Brady - Thank you! I've been hosing them off every day. Is this enough? rhizo - Thank you! Do I have to worry about when the eggs hatch? Will that damage the branches even further? And will the larvae also damage the tree and fruit? fruitnut - Thank you! Yes, that is bird poo. lol I was wondering if it was birds. We are brand new with fruit trees and are learning every day.

jt, Thanks for pointing me to the Bug Guide site. It looks like a great resource! I will definitely tap into the experts there. Whatever I have, it seems to be quite partial to pepper plants only. I had tomato plants sitting beside the peppers and they are unaffected (so far). Thought IÂd post a few more shots of the plants incase they click with someone who has experienced my dilemma (30% of my plants are beyond recovery so far). I picked up some Neem oil as mrmulcher suggested and will spray them all this afternoon. At first I though I had a water related problem. Initial symptoms showed up as leaf bubbling and curling. I did not pay too much attention to the brown spots. As the pest grew and multiplied they started sapping the leaves. Eventually leaves turn tan to bronze color and dry up and die. I'd post a shot of the carcasses of claimed peppers so far by this thing but that would be cruel LOL. The only bright spot thus far is that my plants started from seeds John (aka fiedlermeister) generously shared with me are all just showing initial signs of being infected. Hoping I can get this under control before it cclaaims more plants! Bill

Aphids, cabbage aphids in particular. Most of us deal with aphids with a strong spray of plain water directed to the underside of the leaves. The object is to knock them off, not tatter the leaves. Repeat the treatment every week or so until you see that the population has been controlled. Aphids are attacked by numerous predators and parasites which will help you keep the population down.

<nasty small white larvae with black "point" on them that attacks the roots. Then, they molt into these ugly looking tiny (about 1/16" ) ear wig looking things (they aren't earwigs, not the ones we have around here normally), their bottoms are red and the front is black, and they can and do fly out of the dirt! > Sorry but that could be any number of insects. Need some clarification. Are the "small white larvae" like grubs? Are they in the soil or on the plant? Is the 'look like earwigs' an interim stage before flying or is the flying stage later. Does it have the rear pinchers as earwigs do. At 1/16" it is much smaller than earwigs, more the size of an ant. Do they have segmented bodies or do they look like beetles? What stage is red and black? And exactly what type of damage did they do to the tomato plants - eat holes in leaves, eat roots, change the color of the plants, etc? I assume you are not located in Texas, correct? If no, where as that gives us clues to common pests and life cycles. Why Bt - it only works on caterpillars and they have to eat it to work. And why are you using manure in pots? What else is mixed in your growing medium? Dave Photos of all sorts of red and black bugs to check out