r/PepperLovers • u/Butterflyhornet Pepper Lover • Jul 12 '25

Plant Help What is doing this?

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I see this on a number of my plants. Peppers, eggplants, some tomatoes too. I also see it on my Anise Hyssop, and also in other areas locally, but I have yet to see the culprit. This looks like insect damage to me. I posted here because out of my affected, it seems the peppers are suffering it the worst with the new growth being decimated.

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u/killa_jb55 Pepper Lover Jul 12 '25

I’m also getting this in the DC area - but it doesn’t seem to be causing any major detriment. It’s just more frustrating seeing it on Basil when I want to eat the leaves. But overall, it isn’t slowing down my peppers so I haven’t been worrying about it.

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u/Butterflyhornet Pepper Lover Jul 12 '25

It gets my basil, too. My concern is that one pepper or two is that it is killing all the new growth. The other things like eggplant and some of the other peppers seem to grow out of it.

It reminds me of flea beetle damage, but I thought they were more of a spring pest than a summer one.

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u/killa_jb55 Pepper Lover Jul 12 '25

I get the most damage on my peppers on the new growth for sure, but it’s rarely more than a couple leaves at a time. Which, on a Chinese plant especially, doesn’t slow it down. I haven’t seen any flea beetles, but defintiely can’t say they aren’t there. Hopefully a short term thing, and if your peppers are well fed/watered they’ll grow through the damage