White Spots on Pepper Leaves

Question

I have a dozen bell pepper plants (grown from seed) from last summer. They are under a grow light in my house. They had begun to blossom when I forgot to water them. Some of them died, the rest lost some leaves, and the others are kind of wrinkled with little white spots. They are putting out new leaves. I have a little black bug flying around sometimes.  I think I should spray it, but I am afraid it will contaminate the house.

Answer 1

If your little black bug looks like a fruitfly, it is a fungus gnat. The gnat won’t harm your plant, but it’s larvae will eat the root tip. Usually fungus gnats appear when the soil is consistantly too moist. To help prevfent fungus gnats and to keep your plants more stocky, let the soil dry a little between waterings. Don’t let the plants wilt, but almost to the point of slightly wilting. (Sorry if this is confusing.) Fungus gnats are a pain in the rumpus, and hateful little critters.
Contron can be difficult. If you choose to use an insecticide, make sure it kills gnats and won’t hurt your pepper plants. Be sure to follow package directions. You can wash all soil from the root system and repot in sterile soil…but you might not get each larvae or egg, and you risk root damage in the process.
The following link to an article about fungus gnats: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/children/fungus-gnats.htm