tint = tiny

Here are some pictures to show you what I mean

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That is very strange. Look at the unders sides of the leaves with a magnifier. Mites are very small--you will see only tiny dots that move-but they can do that to new growth

I had a simular expirence several years ago using some old seeds that were never stored in a cool dry place. I'd try again with some different seeds. chuck

fiedlermeister, there aren't any bugs.

I know the bugs you are talking about, and have had them in the past on my pepper plants as well as my hibiscus. They're small green, yellow, and white bugs that almost look like small amounts of tree sap.. and they're usually accompanied by black ants who somehow feed off of them.

But as you can see, they're not on the stems or the leaves, and there are no ants.

Chuck, I think you may be correct. The seeds are a few years old now, and this could be the case, seeing as other pepper plants aren't affected with the same problem, such as my Tabasco Peppers.

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Thanks to both of you for the help.

You are describing aphids. mites are much smaller and are visiable only as tiny specks.

Shake the plant over a sheet of white paper. If you see tiny, barely visible, specks on the paper, draw small circles around a few of them. Wait a few minutes. If the specks move outside the circles, they are mites. If not, they are dust.

Jim

fiedlermeister, yes you are right, my mistake.

I will look again in the daylight, and try what Jim has suggested.

If they ARE the result of mites, what is the best way to rid the plant of them, and how come they attack the Jalapenos, but not the Tabasco?

I don't know. I only had them on some plants. I had a problem with them a few years ago. Couldn't see anything except the shriveled tops. I thought it was a disease. If I cut off the shriveled parts I got new growth which then gecame shriveled. I took a sample to the university extension offic and they put under a microscope and found them. ( perhaps you will try this to get an answer from the experts.)You may not have them--only a possibility based on my experience. I have grown lots of plants from many years old seeds and not seen that result in what you are seeing.

First of all, WHERE ARE ALL THE LEAVES?!??

If they fell off, you have a nutrient deficiency and or the pH of your soil is too high. (Try adding a few Tbsp of plain vinegar into your water, do this only ONCE).

richardk_ny,

Potting soil is made to have a pH of about 6.5. I doubt raising the acidity is the issue here...that could result in a whole new set of nutrient issues.
I say since the leaves are curling upwards and you have teeny tiny spotting without webbing indicating spider mites to check for Thrips (Western Flower Thrip) on the leaf undersides. These guys are bigger than spider mites, yellowish color and are visible when you take a leaf and see it under good lighting....might need a good hand lens if your eyesight isn't all that good. Thrips prefer love new growth. Females can lay up to 80 eggs at a time and have several generations per year. I have the same on my Cucumber plants this year, but have seen thrips on peppers when I grew them as part of my final crops in school. The are also vectors of TSWV (Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus).

Here is a link that might be useful: Thrips

It surely looks like a Ph issue to me and it won't hurt to test.

Here's a pic of my problem pepper plants. As you can see, the Aphids are still having their way with them! :( I'm off to find some neem oil somewhere today after work, for sure.

i too had a problem with bugs on my pepper plant. They were small, white and could jump. I sprayed the plant with soapy water and wiped as many off as i could. The next day there were still some, so i sprayed it again and the day after that, the mites (or aphids?) were gone. While i have two actual pepper fruits starting to grow, the leaves are now starting to fall off and I'm afraid that I have almost completely damaged my plant with the spray. Does anyone have any suggestions?

yea...ditto on the damaging with spray. I've tried too many times to kill the bugs on mine, with little success & the plants show it. :-\

Ladybugs work better than sprays for me. I think the soapy water works best to wash the leaves off, not as a repellent. I had terrible aphids earlier this year, but they're all gone now. I just kept washing them off until I set the ladybugs loose.

Thanks everyone for your input on the pest problem. My plant is actually indoors, otherwise I would try the ladybug method. Do you think I could give it potassium-rich plant food to help save it?

The best place to use ladybugs is inside. Outside they mostly just fly away. I have used them inside for years.

IMO, the best approach is pest management, not pest eradication when working outdoors. You'll drive yourself nuts trying to destroy all vs. controlling the population to a manageable level.

I have aphids on my tomatoes and okra right now. I give them a soapy water treatment when it gets bad (only once this season so far, mostly because of regular rain). I rarely have to do this more than once a week in the worst conditions, though. The ones on there right now may get washed off by our next rain if heavy or persistent enough. If not, I'll have to spray at some point.

I'm going to use some Neem oil on my Bell Peppers tonight. I think I have mite damage.

The mites/aphids & all other tiny demonic beings took out another one of my pepper plants. :-\ I now have one tiny plant which somehow has buds, even though it's only about 7-8 inches tall. I also have a monster Cayenne plant with 40+ buds that have yet to bloom. I'd like to at least keep that one growing strong. Any ways to help it along? Pic of it below. Please let me know. Thanks! - Steve

Steve, I'll let you know how the neem oil works out.

Cool...thanks...I've yet to be able to find any Neem Oil, but I want to cuz I have about 20 or so hot pepper seedlings of various types that I started when I got pissed a week or so ago cuz the aphids/mites killed so many of my spring ones. I'm pretty sure it's at Wal-Mart, but I don't think it's in the garden section, so it might be a bit challenging to find. Let me know how things go. - Steve

Steve, I bought mine at Lowe's.

cool...I'll check there then. thanks.

Ok, I finally found something with Neem Oil in it! I went to the garden section at Wal-Mart & found an organic compound made by Garden Safe called Fungicide 3. My one remaining pepper plant is now flowering & I should have peppers soon...yay! That stuff is getting rid of the spider mites & aphids very well.

Way to go, Steve. I sprayed again on Monday. It seems like my Bell Peppers are starting to put leaves on now. I think I need to keep spraying it a couple of more times. The bottle says seven day intervals.

I am having an issue with my Habanero plant. It used to produce regular sized peppers and now it only produces peppers half the size of my finger nail. The plant is full size and doesn't seem to be damaged. Any suggestions on what could be the problem?

I read to use Tabasco Sauce in warm soapy water to spray on pepper plants to rid plants of aphdids. However, the next day I now have what looks to be brown spots on the leaves. Could the Tabasco Sauce caused this by burning them?