Hello,

I am new to gardening but really enjoying it. Currently I have squash and tomato plants outside, and a hot pepper inside. Recently I have noticed a lot of small black ants on all of the squash plants. They seem to excavate around the main stem, and congregate around the base of the leaves. They look like they are sucking on small bumps on the stems. I tried to get rid of them with sprinkled pepper, and mild soapy water. Neither worked. I am looking for a solution that won't poison the squash or make them bad to eat.

The hot pepper plant has very small white insects all over the bottom of its leaves. I think they are aphids, but I really don't know. They are chewing holes in the leaves and I would like to get rid of them without pesticides.

Can anyone give me advice on how to get rid of these insects without pescticides? I usually like bugs, but not when they're eating my vegetable plants. Thank you so much for any help!

Jay