Common Peppers pests

Aphids, especially the green peach aphid, cluster on tender shoots and leaf undersides, causing curled, sticky leaves and spreading viruses. Flea beetles chew tiny shot-hole pits in young leaves, and hornworms (tobacco and tomato) plus corn earworm and European corn borer bore into leaves and fruit. Pepper maggot and pepper weevil are pepper-specific pests that tunnel inside fruit, leaving small entry holes and premature drop, while thrips, spider mites, and whiteflies cause stippling, bronzing, or fine webbing. Stink bugs and leaf-footed bugs pierce fruit, leaving pale, dimpled, corky spots.

Common diseases

Bacterial leaf spot (Xanthomonas) is the most common disease, showing small water-soaked spots that turn brown with yellow halos on leaves and raised scabby lesions on fruit. Phytophthora blight causes sudden wilting, dark stem cankers, and rotted fruit, and anthracnose produces sunken, dark, concentric spots on ripening fruit. Fungal leaf spots such as Cercospora, along with powdery mildew and wilts like Verticillium and Fusarium, cause spotting, yellowing, and collapse. Viruses including Cucumber mosaic virus, Tobacco mosaic virus, and Tomato spotted wilt cause mottled, distorted, or ringspotted leaves and misshapen fruit, and blossom end rot appears as a sunken brown patch on the fruit bottom from uneven watering and calcium uptake.

Prevention

Rotate peppers so they do not follow other nightshades (tomato, potato, eggplant) for two to three years, and choose disease-resistant varieties where available. Space plants for good airflow, stake them, and water at the base with drip or soaker hoses to keep foliage dry, since wet leaves spread bacterial and fungal spots. Work in the garden only when plants are dry, remove and destroy diseased plants and dropped fruit, and clean up debris at season end. Keep plants evenly watered and mulched to prevent blossom end rot, and control weeds that harbor thrips and viruses.

Organic control

Start with the least-toxic tools: knock aphids, whiteflies, and mites off with a strong spray of water, hand-pick hornworms and beetles, and use floating row covers on young plants to exclude flea beetles, aphids, and maggot flies (remove covers at flowering so pollinators can reach blooms). Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil helps with soft-bodied pests like aphids, thrips, and mites, and neem can suppress several insects and some fungal issues, while Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) targets young caterpillars such as hornworms and corn earworm. Encourage beneficial insects like lady beetles, lacewings, and parasitic wasps by planting flowers and avoiding broad-spectrum sprays. For bacterial leaf spot and some fungal diseases, copper-based products can slow spread when applied early as a preventive; always read and follow the product label for what it controls, timing, and safe use.

Scouting & monitoring

Scout at least weekly, checking leaf undersides and growing tips for aphids, whiteflies, and thrips, and inspect young transplants for flea beetle shot-holes. From flowering into fruiting, look for hornworm droppings and chewed leaves, small entry holes or premature drop signaling pepper maggot or weevil, and stink bug feeding on fruit. Watch the lower and inner canopy after warm, wet weather for the first leaf spots or wilting, and check fruit bottoms for early blossom end rot. Catching aphids and the first disease spots early is the key to easy, low-input control.

Tips

Keep foliage dry by watering at the base and giving plants room to breathe, since most pepper diseases need leaf wetness to take hold. Manage aphids promptly and use row covers early, because controlling these insects also prevents many of the viruses that peppers cannot be cured of once infected.

General home-garden IPM guidance, focused on prevention and least-toxic control. Always read and follow the product label for any pesticide, including organic products. Page updated Aug 4, 2026.