I believe that what the ants are doing is eating the substance these bugs leave behind (like with aphids). The last picture looks like some kind of scale insect. Scale and white fly can be successfully controlled with neem oil especially on citrus trees in greenhouses, but I'm not quite sure if the oil might "fry" a pepper plant in the sun.
You can wipe the most afected areas with a q-tip with neem oil. Then repeat as needed.

Carol

That looks like Aphids on the stems to me, and ants do tend aphids for the secretion that they produce.

I have had good luck with a couple of squirts of Dawn Dish Washing liquid mixed with water in a little hand held spray bottle like a windex bottle. It kills the aphids and runs the ants off.

I have never, ever, had any damage to my plants from using this, but I jut sprayed it on the insects, did not drench the whole plant, so if you try it, just spray the insects and let me know what happens, and it is best to spray anything that way when it is cool, early or late and not in the blazing sun.
Bill P.

Thank you guys for the quick response and advice, I'm going to go out and buy some dawn dish washing liquid tomorrow and try that. If it doesnt work I'm going to try the neem oil. Where can I buy this? at home depot or do I have to go to a nursery?

carol_71 you mentioned the neem oil is good on citrus trees. I have a 3ft lemon tree that the leaves are crinkling and if you look at them you can see these shiny silver colored squigly lines on them could this be the aphids too. heres a picture
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To me the lemon tree damage looks like leafminers... you're having some bug problems this year!

Is everything composted and fertilized and getting enough water and sun? Do you have birdbaths and plants to attract the birds in to eat the bugs?
-O

No, that's not aphid damage on the citrus. That's leaf miner. Here's an excerpt that should help.

Leafminer Control: Pick off and destroy infested leaves in small growing areas. Maintain plant health with organic fertilizers and proper watering to allow plants to outgrow and tolerate pest damage. The parasitic wasp Diglyphus isaea is a commercially available beneficial insect that will kill leafminer larva in the mine. Use yellow sticky traps to catch egg laying adults. Cover soil under infested plants with plastic mulches to prevent larvae from reaching the ground and pupating. Neem oil and Indoor/Outdoor IGR break the pests' life-cycle by preventing larva from reaching maturity. Neem oil may also have repellent qualities and interfere with egg laying activities. Botanical insecticides can be used to knock down adult insects but have little effect on the protected larval stage feeding inside the leaf.

Note: Pest outbreaks often occur after general pesticide applications. This is because many of the pests natural enemies are affected by the pesticide.
You can find cold pressed neem oil on eBay. Hope this helps.

I am not Carol_ but what normally makes small squigly lines on leaves that way is leaf miners. Neem might work on them, dunno.
Bill P.

Hi, the citrus damage looks leaf miners to me too. Like jbann23 said, depends where the insects are at the moment of treatment. Once inside the leaf, ones can't reach them anymore. I'd take out the damaged leaves asap. If you have the time, you might get better help by posting on the citrus forum. I wouldn't neglect the citrus.

Neem oil is good for scale insects, which I think is the type of pest on the stem of the peppers. They attach strongly to the plant surface and make a shielding layer over them that protects them from anything (IÂve read somewhere that the use of DDT in early days, was the cause for these insects to develop such smart adaptation). Now, when you apply neem over the insects, itÂs supposed to asphyxiate them, at least they should be then easier to scrap away.
For the white fly IÂd go a bit strong. I donÂt like to use chemicals, but if I see the need for something strong on certain spots, not everywhere then I do use them, carefully. White fly reproduces real fast, especially in warm weather.

Now, just what I would do in front of this, replant if possible a smaller amount of peppers (not in same spot of course) and plant something else where the peppers are now. And would dedicate the work of wiping stems, underside of leaves, etc. to the citrus. But again, you have to consider what is more convenient for you.

Let us know how it develops, what you decide etc. best luck in the meantime!
Carol

dnmlovers4life, just made a search and look at what I found on the link. It looks like what your peppers' stems have.

I bought a summer home in venezuela which is where I'm having problems with my plants. Its always hot here average around 87* to 102* we live close to the ocean but in a dry desert condition. We water and fertilize our plants often which is not the norm for here. I think these bugs are naturally drawn here to the good crop/ feed for them.

Thank you guys for your help. I have been doing alot of research on the neem oil you guys recommended and it seems like it will help with alot of my problems.

I have pulled all the leaves off my citrus with the leafminers on it and will be working on him too.

One gentelman mentioned that his dog was being bit by something and it created scabs on the dog. His vet recommened a dip which cost him $65 each time and it didnt work. So he tried a neem oil solution and it worked. My dog and 2 cats are having the same problem. Which we just notice only happend after planting my pepper plants. So thank you guys for introducing the neem oil because now I might be able to relive my animals suffering too.

Take the time to learn that there is not a "cure all" for every pest at every stage of it's life cycle. Some won't work if it's going to rain. Some don't work well if it's too hot, etc. You shouldn't use Sevin unless you know it will work for the insect you are trying to get rid of and in most cases there are less harsh chemicals you can use than Sevin.

Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here:

Integrated Pest Management
This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist.

Education:
B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis
Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley

Appointment:
100% Cooperative Extension

Research Interests:
Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information.

Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture:

* IPM references and resources
* Preventing pest problems
* Natural common enemies
* Making less toxic pesticide choices
* Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects.

You can watch the programs now online:

Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free.

Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes

Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes

You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on:
Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons

I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals.

;) Take the time to learn that there is not a "cure all" for every pest at every stage of it's life cycle. Some won't work if it's going to rain. Some don't work well if it's too hot, etc.

Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here:

Integrated Pest Management
This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist.

Education:
B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis
Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley

Appointment:
100% Cooperative Extension

Research Interests:
Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information.

Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture:

* IPM references and resources
* Preventing pest problems
* Natural common enemies
* Making less toxic pesticide choices
* Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects.

You can watch the programs now online:

Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free.

Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes

Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes

You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on:
Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons

I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals.

;)

violet, it's not the meaning to take one thing for all pests, I'm sure everyone else who has read this thread has gotten it correctly.

I try to never assume anything. There are far too many people who frequent these forums at all levels of experience and obviously not everyone reads every thread or even every post of one thread. Always better to opt for more information than not enough so others might benefit.

Thank you everyone for your help. I will keep you posted on what worked for me and how everything is going.

UGH! The pest problem on my Greep Peppers started after I used a general pesticide around my garden. Gees! I thought I was doing a good things and ended up creating a problem! Well, it's a lesson learned for many seasons to come.
Stefapez!