The swirly markings are leaf miners. Usually they just do cosmetic damage to plants, but no real problem. If there are a lot of them they can destroy the leaves, but that's not common.

The tomato appears to have aphids, a sucking pest that feeds on the sap from the plants.

The pepper appears to have whitefly and aphids.

You sure do have an assortment of beasties, don't you? :)

I am not sure what ate up the leaves of the pepper, but it's not likely anything in the photos.

Get yourself some insecticidal soap and spray the plants well including the underside of the leaves This will kill whatever pests it contacts while having no residual effect. Then get some neem oil based insecticide which will kill any insect feeding on the plant and spray with that.

You will likely need to spray with both once per week or so to keep things under control.

Go out at night with a flashlight to find the leaf eating culprit.

newbie,

It looks like you have some serious problems--and all at the same time! It looks like aphids and gnats in the second picture, but I don't think that they are responsible for the damage to the pepper plants in the first picture--that looks more like caterpillar or moth damage. Finally, the last picture with the swirly lines in the leaves are leaf borers. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what to do in this situation--they are edibles, so you wouldn't want to treat with a systemic. The thing is, you have a serious infestation, which isn't typically common unless the plants are stressed to begin with.
I would go back to where you got the plants and let them know; it's likely that the pests came to your garden on them. They might be able to tell you what to do about it, or maybe even give you replacement plants--but I wouldn't take them home until you have the situation under control, or you'll just be back in the same boat again. If you have moisture and a good place for them, lady beetles (aka ladybugs) will help with the aphids, but every time I have introduced them, they leave (it's VERY dry and hot where I live, and they don't like that environment).
Sorry I don't have better news for you--someone else may have some suggestions?

The first photo of the bell pepper looks like mine did when slugs got into them. Even with them being in containers slugs can be a problem. I bought some slug bait, sprinkled a little in the container and it solved the problem. Aphids and White Flies are a constant problem here in hot humid Georgia. I do preventative spraying with insecticidal soap.

Liquid Sevin or GardenSafe Neem Oil-based Miticide, in a large dose (don't let it touch plants) done a few times over several days might be your best option right now.

tn veggie gardner, that's some very weak advice you've given. Why would anyone use (in a large dose, mind you) chemicals that need to come into contact with the actual pest in order to work, in a manner that won't come into contact with the pest?

First, ctnewbie, know that all of these pests are extremely common garden problems. I doubt that they came in with the plants when you purchased them, but found them afterwards. That's certainly what happens in millions of other gardens all over the world. So, you're not alone.

Let's do the inventory of the pests: aphids galore (the little critters with the wings are also aphids), leaf miners (a common problem, but not much to worry about), and who knows WHAT is chowing down on the foliage. Looks like caterpillar damage to me, but you'll need to find that culprit.

Every veggie gardener needs to become familiar with aphids. They come in an assortment of colors (green, pink, yellow, gray, etc.) and can explode in population in a very short time. They can easily be controlled, early on, with plain water or a satisfying squishing method much loved by many of us. As a matter of fact, if you only have a few plants, you shouldn't need chemicals of any kind. Catch them early!

The leaf miners are causing what should be considered cosmetic damage. Remove the affected leaves, if you wish, or ignore.

I suggest that you investigate your plants at night, as justaguy suggests, when slugs and other munching insects are likely to be more active. I don't see any tell-tale signs of slimy slug activity, but they are still a distinct possibility.

Good luck. If you find a big fat caterpillar or two, or a handful of slugs take a pair of scissors to them.

Thank you, thank you every one for your helpful insight and advice. (Justaguy, you've helped me out immensely in the past so special thanks to you!)

I went out and bought the insecticidal soap and neem oil spray today and can't wait to get out there and spray away!! The soap and oil both say to wet all the leaves and parts of the plants, so I humbly question tn veggie's advice to not touch the plant. I've also done some reading on aphids and am glad I know who I'm dealing with now!

The slugs or caterpillars have invaded my garden in the past, leaving nothing but bits and pieces of plants behind. I don't think I have the stomach to cut them up should I find them, but I share your zero-tolerance attitude, rhizo! I tried slug pellets, and they did work for a bit, but then they got wet (Bermuda winter is very rainy) and they began to turn moldy.

Thanks again to all you wise gardeners! I have so much to learn and it's great to know you're all there to help!

I second the advice on treating the aphids as early as possible. And use treatments from a reliable source - the old-timers on this board or check what a couple local nurseries (not Home Depot, not the produce stand with flowers) say.

I tried various "natural" recipes off the internet, like dish soap with alcohol and it didn't work terribly well. Some of the things I tried damaged the plant too.

Segregating my plant in my bathroom with no light probably didn't help either. I tried washing off the bugs in the shower. This was a full grown pepper plant I was trying to overwinter.

I got some again this year, on my tomato seedlings. Found that washing them off in the sink bent and damaged the stems.

The aphids came back, and I buried the lower stems/leaves in dirt and surprisingly that seemed to work.

I will say that healthier plants can fight off bugs more easily.

Alice

rhizo: Sorry...bad flashback to last year when they destroyed all 11 of my hot pepper plants. I tried everything suggested on here & several sprays that never really worked at all. The Neem Oil was the only thing that got rid of some of them for a day or so. Then, they came right back. :-\ My gut reaction when I read this post was to spray the crap out of them with everything I have, in an upsetting manner...lol, hence my post (that should not be tried). I truly believe the only cure for them is ladybugs, in large numbers.

I had a similar problem last season. Ladybugs cured the aphids in no time.
the first photo looks like catapillers. you'll find 'em at dusk. they eat tons and grow fast so treat them quick but remember if you use ladybugs not to use a spray that will harm them too
good luck!

Yea...you can order like 800 ladybugs off the internet for like $10 or something...lol...funny, but true.

Thanks for the ladybug idea, but unfortunately I have no idea where to get them down here. Ordering them online isn't an option for me since I live in Bermuda because a)most places won't ship internationally, b) Bermuda is very strict about bringing in any kind of live thing, and c) if a & b weren't an issue then the high cost of shipping and duty on the bugs would cost more than the bugs themselves.

I sprayed last night, so we'll see how things look today. Thanks again everyone!

Are they gettting enough light? I've found that I always get aphids when the plants don't get enough light, but if I move them to more light, they bounce back.

Soap is good for removing the current infestation while the plant recovers. You have to do it a few times because it kills the adults but not the eggs. So you have to keep doing it til everything has hatched (and before they lay a new crop). But in general, I have found aphids like plants that are weakened by inadequate light.

It looks like the tomatoes have whitefly, too. Some years are just harder than others!!

I am a firm believer that the first picture demonstrates slugs having a banquet. I had it happen a few weeks ago. Once I used Sluggo, they all disappeared. I kept the plants after I removed the chomped up leaves. I will be interested to see if they bear fruit. I once made a garlic spray to get rid of the pesky aphids. Word of caution it gets rid of other bugs as well.

L.

looks like slugs to me in the first pic too. They seem to start not only on the edge of the leaf but in the middle also. I'm still new at this, but that looks like slug.

The aphid picture makes me want to run outside and check everything every time I see it. It's like they are contagious via the internet. scary stuff :)