Something's eating my chillies!

[Incy]

Ok, I'm used to the leaves on my chillies getting munched by caterpillars, slugs etc, but I've never had anything take great big bites out of the chillies themselves
Anyone got any ideas as to what these chilli loving monsters could be?

[Sonata]

I had that happen too. I think it was slugs!

[Alice]

Where are your chillies living Incy, and any piccies on the damage.
If they're outside or in the greenhouse I'm putting my money on slugs.
If they're in the greenhouse you can use little blue crystals responsibly to deal with them without any danger of them getting into the food chain.
Not a nice death for slugs - or you can just let them eat everything.

[Incy]

They are in the greenhouse. I have put down organic pellets in case you're right about slugs.
Sorry no pics OH used what was left in a curry last night.
One was a bit nibbled at the bottom, the other had at least half bitten off
I would have thought they would be too hot!

[Shadylane]

We've had them in the placcie greenhouse too this year, though last year they didn't seem to bother. There's been holes appearing in the chili leaves and chunks taken out of the forming chilies too. I was also quite surprised that slugs would do this but when I went out after dark with a torch, I found the offender. One huge slug making it's way across the leaves. Such a bleeding nerve. Anyway it got relocated.

[Sonata]

Has anyone noticed that they seem to like particular plants? I had all my chilli seedlings together but they always went for the one (poor) plant. It kept rallying, but then they wolfed down the lot one time.

And the one they're attacking at the moment has other ones around it - of the same type, but I'm always finding the slugs on that one plant.

Grr.

[srodders]

Caterpillars will eat the chillis as well as the leaves

[Headbrewer]

I've had mice eating my chilli's in the past in my ploytunnel. They were actually carrying some of the smaller ones away and I eventually found a very neat pile of chillis and seeds under some plant trays.

[Sonata]

Grr, I found a huge slug on my morning patrol today - it has just gobbled the top of my chilli plant off.

It got plopped in my slug trap.

[Madasafish]

I had the same problem with mice in the greenhouse. But stopped them burrowing in with cement all round the base.

BUT the same problem started last week so I reset my mouse trap.. And today it caught the culprit: a 4 cm long black slug...

[leoblackcat]

A big slug has eaten the growing tip off my big jim plant and also eaten the top of one of the chillis.

Maybe the fact that he didn't finish off the chilli shows that he wasn't too impressed by it.

[Two_Sheds]

Caterpillars will eat the chillis as well as the leaves

I've found caterpillars in my chillies, but they only sleep in them, they don't eat the chilli itself.

[catalina]

Help!

Hi all,
Hope you can help, i have been growing chillies in pots and came to check on them one morning to find a few of them had been completely gobbled up! They are still small and aren't producing chillies yet. On of my plants has been save but today i found little nibble marks on one of the leaves. It doesn't look like slugs, too small and neat. I am growing them inside and I have searched the plant and the surrounding are for tiny bugs but cant find anything! However there are lots of little fruit flies around them?

Here is a picture, if anyone could help and tell me what i can do to stop them being eaten!?

Thank you!

[rustylady]

Catalina you say you're growing them inside - inside where or what? My bet is snails, they have had a go at my plants too.