Pepper is a thermophilic culture. But Russian gardeners have long and successfully grown this plant on their backyards, not only in the southern regions, but also in the middle lane and even in Siberia. Pepper is very useful for the body, it is a vitamin bomb that also affects the taste buds. The taste of ordinary dishes changes, piquancy and pungency appear. Sweet pepper slices decorate main courses and salads, are an integral part of many winter preparations.
It is not surprising that every self-respecting gardener strives to grow pepper. The process will go easier if you arm yourself with knowledge and apply it in practice. It often happens that young plants are attacked by pests. The main thing is to recognize the enemy in time and take urgent measures to save the pepper seedlings and not be left without a crop. In total, about 20 pests are known that affect peppers. Here we will consider the most common ones.
Aphids
Aphids gather in colonies and settle on almost all indoor and garden plants. Aphids parasitize, suck juices from young plants and transfer viruses to pepper seedlings.
Description
Aphids can look different, there are approximately 3,500 known species of aphids. Usually it has an oblong body, ranging in size from 0.3 to 0.8 mm, which does not have a chitinous layer, it is soft and transparent. Aphids pierce the top layer of the plant with their proboscis and suck out the juices.
Insects prefer to parasitize on the back of the leaves of pepper seedlings. The rough foliage of adult plants is too tough for aphids. If you do not take control measures, then the aphid will lead not only to the weakening of pepper seedlings, but also to their death.
Ways to fight
There are a lot of methods for dealing with aphids. One processing of pepper seedlings is not enough, it is necessary 2-3 times.
- For prevention purposes, aromatic plants can be planted next to young pepper seedlings. Aphids will be scared away: marigolds, garlic, parsley, lavender, onions, mint, basil, mustard;
- The simplest method of struggle is to wash off aphids with water from pepper seedlings;
- Use a soapy solution: Dissolve a bar of soap in a bucket of water. Use laundry soap, tar soap, or any liquid soap. Sprinkle pepper seedlings;
- Chop 1 medium onion, add 1 liter of water. The solution should be infused for 6 hours. Add 1 tsp before processing the plants. grated soap;
- Insist 100 g of crushed garlic in 0.5 l of water for 1 to 5 days. Dilute the infusion with water 1 tbsp. l. for 5 liters of water, you can add 1 tsp here. liquid soap and 2 tsp. vegetable oil;
- Insist 100 g of pharmacy chamomile in 1 liter of water for a day, use on the basis of 1 part of the infusion for 3 parts of water;
- Insist 200 g of tobacco for a day in 5 liters of water, then strain, add 10 liters of pure water;
- Pour 1 kg of tops or stepchildren of tomatoes with 2 liters of water, simmer over low heat for half an hour, dilute 1: 3, sprinkle pepper seedlings.
Popular methods of struggle are varied and unusual. The imagination of our gardeners is inexhaustible, in the arsenal of everyone there is a reliable method of fighting a pest that protects pepper seedlings. How to deal with aphids, look at the video:
Chemical means of fighting aphids are represented by such preparations: "Actellik", "Fury", "Fufanon", "Karbofos", "Keltan". Follow the directions for using these pepper seedlings.
Wireworm
The wireworm is the larval stage of development of the click beetle.
Description
The larvae have a rigid body, this is the main feature by which they can be distinguished. In length they reach from 1 to 4 cm. The body is yellow or brown.
The larva develops very slowly, it grows by 7 mm per year, in total, the larval stage lasts more than 4 years. For the winter, wireworms are buried in the soil to a depth of 60 cm. Inhabiting the soil, they harm the plantings of agricultural plants. They are very fond of potatoes, damage the seeds of sown plants, do not hesitate to seedlings of pepper, bite into the roots and the underground part of the stem. As a result, the plant dies.
Ways to fight
It is difficult to deal with a pest. But if you are focused on the result, then in 2-3 seasons you can significantly reduce the number of larvae.
- A good method of dealing with wireworms is digging the ground in the fall shortly before frost. The wireworm, once on the surface, dies from the cold;
- A method that gives a good result, when digging the soil, carefully select the roots of the wheatgrass, even very small ones. So, you will deprive the wireworm of food;
- Make traps. To do this, in the spring, in April-May, spread damp bunches of hay, rotten grass or straw in small holes. Cover them with boards. In search of food and warmth, the wireworm will willingly move here. After 2 days, collect the traps and burn them at the stake. Repeat the procedure several times;
- You can sow mustard near the pepper, which scares the wireworm;
- Before planting pepper seedlings, you can treat the soil with a solution of potassium permanganate: 5 g per 10 liters of water;
- When planting pepper seedlings, gardeners pour mustard powder and even ground bitter pepper into the holes. The mixture will not do any harm to the plants, the wireworm will not come close to the roots of pepper seedlings;
- The introduction of ash, lime will complicate the life of the wireworm, since he loves acidic soils.
Chemical methods of pest control include drugs: "Bazudin", "Prestige", "Provotox", "Metarizin". To successfully protect pepper seedlings, instructions must be followed carefully.
Medvedka
Insect is a pest of agricultural plants.
Description
A large burrowing insect, reaching a length of 8 cm. The elongated soft abdomen is 3 times larger than the cephalopod. Under the shell, the bear hides its head when threatened. The structure of the body looks like cancer. The forelimbs are modified and adapted for digging the ground. The color of an adult insect is dark brown or brown.
With the onset of spring heat, the bear activates, begins to dig tunnels in the soil and feed on the underground parts of plants. Pepper seedlings are no exception. Plants wilt and then die. Paths and holes in the soil are a sign of the presence of a bear.
Control methods
Knowing the features of behavior, addictions in food, you can fight with a bear.
- Digging the ground in spring and late autumn leads to the destruction of passages and egg-laying;
- Medvedka loves fresh manure very much. In late autumn, dig a hole, fill it with manure, in such places insects settle for the winter. With the establishment of negative temperatures, scatter manure over the soil surface, the individuals will freeze, as they are in hibernation. In the spring, you can also arrange small dung traps, in which the bear lays eggs;
- You can plant marigolds, garlic, and onions next to pepper seedlings. Or add chopped parts of plants, onion husks or egg shells when planting in the holes;
- River sand with the addition of kerosene repels insects.
If simple pest control methods have not yielded results, then start using chemical remedies for pepper seedlings.
Preparations in the form of poisoned granules that the bear eats: Medvetox, Medvegon, Grizzly, Bankol. Place pellets near dung heaps and near holes in the soil, sprinkle with soil to prevent birds from pecking or being eaten by pets.
There are drugs that are biological. Once in the body, the bears destroy it, the insect dies. Other insects and plants are not endangered. "Nemabakt", "Boverin" are examples of drugs of the biological group.
Whitefly
Whitefly is a very small insect, but this does not cease to be dangerous for pepper seedlings.
Description
The insect resembles a butterfly in miniature, its size is no more than 3 mm. The wings are covered with a white coating, so the Latin name for whitefly comes from the word flour. The people call the whitefly "seedling moth".
Insects and their larvae feed on plant juices of seedlings. But the appearance of a whitefly also carries with it the danger of infecting plants with various viruses that insects carry. During the feeding process, the whitefly releases sticky enzymes, which are a favorable environment for the development of the fungus. The surface of the leaves of pepper seedlings turns first white and then black. These are signs of fungal infection of seedlings.
Control methods
Whitefly loves high humidity and warmth. Do not allow thickening of the plantings, observe the mode of watering pepper seedlings, ventilate the room where you grow the plants. Simple preventive measures will protect the pepper from the appearance of a colony of whiteflies.
- For whitefly, you can hang ready-made fly sticky tapes near pepper seedlings or make traps yourself. To do this, spread pieces of plywood, preferably a bright yellow color, with honey, petroleum jelly or castor oil. One trap is enough for 1 window sill on which the seedlings of the plant are grown. Mechanical methods of struggle are good at the initial stage, when the whitefly has just chosen your pepper seedlings;
- Plants can be sprayed with garlic infusion. Chop 2-3 heads of garlic, cover with water, leave under a tight lid for a week. You will get a concentrate, before spraying, take 1 tsp, dilute with 1 liter of water. The tool will help if there are few pests;
- Chemical methods of control: the drug "Aktara" is applied under the root of pepper seedlings in the form of a solution, the whitefly feeds on poisoned plant sap and dies. "Aktara" protects pepper seedlings for 5 weeks. You can use other means: "Inta-Vir", "Zeta", "Iskra", "Fitoverm", "Aktellik", "Fufanon", "Zeta" and others.
Slugs
They do not have a shell and look, at first glance, defenseless. However, they are capable of causing irreparable harm to the plantings of cultivated plants.
Appearance
Naked slugs are cephalopods, the closest relatives of which are well-known snails. Slugs have a soft body covered with mucus. Having no methods of protection, they hide during the day and crawl out at night. They actively eat berries and young foliage of seedlings, including peppers. The most favorable conditions for the life and reproduction of slugs are warmth and moisture.
Control methods
You can fight slugs by using folk methods that are quite effective and do not harm pepper seedlings.
- Preventive methods are weeding and loosening, mulching the soil. Straw, ash, sawdust, pine needles, broken brick are not at all suitable for moving slugs. Pepper seedlings can be protected by mulching the soil;
- Use a variety of traps, both self-made and ready-made. Slugs are attracted to containers of beer, which must be buried in the ground so that the edges are at the level of the soil. Watch the video:
- Plant next to pepper seedlings plants that will scare away slugs: basil, onions, garlic, mustard, watercress, geranium;
- Sprinkle with baking soda or soda ash on the shellfish.You can prepare a solution of soda and water: 100 g per 10 liters and spray the plants, add laundry soap to the solution;
- A solution of vinegar, mustard powder, ammonia will also help deal with slugs.
All of these methods are good if there are few slugs on your site. But if the problem has become widespread, then move on to serious means of pest control. "Ulicid", "Thunderstorm", "Meta", "Metaldehyde" are produced in various forms. Carefully read the instructions for using the drugs.
Spider mite
Spider mites are ubiquitous. Despite its small size, it can lead to the death of the plant. Both indoor plants and garden plants suffer from it. These are serious pests of pepper seedlings.
Description
The spider mite has a small body, no more than 0.5 mm in size. Its color is from light green to brown, depending on the stage of development of the individual. Under favorable conditions, ticks live for about a month. Under unfavorable conditions, the development of eggs freezes, they can persist in the soil for up to 5 years.
It appears if there are a lot of individuals. Looking closely, you can see punctures that will later merge and form dried islands on the plant. Pepper leaves curl and fall off.
If you do not take measures to protect pepper seedlings from pests, then it will soon die, since mites damage plant cells, the process of photosynthesis stops or significantly decreases, young plants do not receive proper nutrition. In addition, ticks are carriers of viruses and fungi.
Control methods
Use home remedies to combat.
- Make a laundry soap solution: a bar of soap in a bucket of water, sprinkle pepper seedlings. Spraying with a solution of tar or sulfur soap effectively helps;
- Garlic infusion helps fight the mite. You can not insist, grate garlic about 200 g, stir in a bucket of water and immediately spray the plants;
- Infusion of onion peel: 200 g is infused in 10 liters of water for a day;
- A decoction of yarrow or wormwood: 100 g of grass, pour 2 liters of water, simmer over low heat, strain, add to a bucket of water.
Switch to chemicals if gentle pest control methods have not helped you. Effective drugs: Apollo, Antiklesch, Neoron, Fufanon.
Thrips
Small, inconspicuous insects, but as pests can cause significant harm to seedlings and are considered one of the very dangerous pests of not only pepper, but also indoor and garden plants.
Description
The elongated body of thrips has a size of 0.5 to 2 mm. The color is varied: from gray to brown. Thrips suck out vital plant juices, carry viruses and fungal diseases, pollute plants with their waste.
External manifestations on plants at the initial stage of settlement are reduced to the fact that yellow or discolored spots appear on the leaves of pepper seedlings, then they die off. Larvae or adults of thrips can be seen on the underside of the plants.
Control methods
Thrips reproduce very quickly. At room temperature, there are 2 times more of them per week.
Immediately start chemical control methods. Such drugs as "Intavir", "Karate", "Confidor", "Agravertin", "Actellik" will help you.
Conclusion
The main trouble for those who grow pepper seedlings on their own, both in an apartment and in a greenhouse, is the attack of pests on young plants.
If you are for environmentally friendly products, then use folk methods of struggle, they are gentle and will not harm plants and the environment. For the mass destruction of pests, chemical and biological preparations are suitable, which are produced in different forms for ease of use. Be sure to read the instructions for use, some products cannot be used in an apartment due to their high toxicity.
