Surface insecticide sprays or dusts and insecticide baits may also be used. Eggs are laid on the leaves. Young larvae feed there for a few days, then migrate to and bore into stems. Larvae wander to new fruit as it is being set and bore into it and mine the inside of the pepper before moving to another. Treat foliage when ECB moths are present and ovipositing.
Infestation renders the peppers worthless for marketing.
Pepper maggot pupates in the soil, and adults fly in mid- to late summer. Known from lower Hudson Valley, New York, and Connecticut, pepper maggot may occur in warmer regions of Vermont. Look for flies about the size of house flies, with yellow stripes on the body and brown stripes on the wings. If this pest is discovered, spray 3 to 4 times at weekly intervals beginning early July. They are normally not a problem in the field or garden.