How to Spot Pepper Weevils

The average lifespan of a pepper weevil is only 21 days, but in that time, a heavy infestation can devastate a crop of peppers. The weevils lay eggs on buds, and the grubs inside eat away at the pepper plant. Left untreated, as much as 90 percent of the crop may perish. If you can identify pepper weevils before the entire crop suffers, you may begin treatment with pesticides and save some of the fruit.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Look for small grayish weevils that reach adulthood within 3 days of hatching. The males feed upon the inside of the pepper fruit, often from the time of emergence if they hatched on the fruit, itself. Adult pepper weevils mate within 4 days of hatching and the female then begins to lay eggs. The weevil, itself, resembles a beetle with fine legs and a hunched body.

2. Cut open a pepper and observe the interior. The pepper weevil grubs may be visible moving about in the center and the seeds and outer layer of the center pith becomes brown and wasted.

3. Observe tiny holes in the exterior of young fruit or buds where the female weevil lays her eggs. The holes are small indentions and the grubs will eat away at the pepper during their larvae stage.

4. Notice unusual fruit drop around the base of the pepper plant. With peppers, weevils are suspected as the probably culprit if large numbers of ripe and unripe peppers fall from their stems. By the time fruit drop occurs, the crop may not recover, even with treatment. Weevils within dropped fruit are resistant to pesticides and will continue to propagate.

5. Purchase boll weevil traps from your local country extension office of from a farm cooperative and ask for peeper weevil pheromone extract if you suspect pepper weevils but cannot identify any. Set the boll weevil traps under the plants and check them within 4 hours and again at 8 hours.

Tips & Warnings

• You may have to destroy a compromised crop and till it under. The soil is then treated and tilled again before replanting a different crop.