Dark Lumps On My Pepper Plant Stems

Question

Hi – I’m trying to frown cayennes peppers. There are dark brown and black lumps that have formed on the stems (picture 1). With some effort I can remove them manually – the underside is pictured (picture 2). Any ideas what these are? There are ants going up and down the stems, in case that helps, though I can’t see any aphids.

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Answer 1

Uh oh! That would be Scale insects! Removing what you can, manually, will be the first thing to do. Once you do that, you can spray with something to keep them from coming back. Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/what-is-armored-scale.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects