I have a hole under one of my bell pepper plants that appeared for the first time today. This is an extreme closeup, but its about as wide and deep as my thumb. Can anyone tell me what this is? We have some striped lizards, Carolina anoles, frogs, and toads. Could that be it?

Something has been eating on some leaves and even ate a deep ring around the stem of one of my peppers. I suspect slugs. We have those too. Do they makes holes like this?

That thing inside the hole is part of a pine tree that gives pollen (don't know what its called) Notice the centipedes and a small snail. Are they harmful? I've done pretty well for a newbie. Already picked several nice sized peppers, but I still have a lot to learn.