Peppers: European Corn Borer

Problem
Pink or tan worms, up to 1 inch long, with dark brown heads and two rows of brown dots, are feeding inside the pepper. The fruit is decayed inside.

Analysis
(Ostrinia nubilalis)

This moth larva is a destructive pest of peppers, corn, tomatoes, beans, and eggplant. The worms feed and promote decay inside the fruit. The borers spend the winter in plant debris, pupate in the spring, and emerge as adults in early summer. The adults are tan moths with dark wavy lines on their wings. The moths lay clusters of 15 to 30 white eggs on the undersides of the leaves. In midsummer, the eggs hatch and young borers enter the fruit where it attaches to the cap. After feeding for 1 month inside the fruit, they pupate and later emerge as adults to repeat the cycle. There are 2 to 3 generations a year. Cool, rainy weather in early summer inhibits egg laying and washes the hatching larvae from the plants, reducing borer populations. Very dry summers and cold winters also reduce borer populations. Peppers are edible if the damaged part is cut away.

Solution
Remove infested fruit. Treat the plants with an insecticide containing carbaryl when the fruits are 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. Repeat the treatment 2 more times, 7 days apart. Clean all debris from the garden after harvest to reduce overwintering sites for the larvae.