Sounds like a caterpillar or maybe a grasshopper...Loopers/inchworms do that too.

Any poop under the damage? Could be a Hornworm too.

Bugs Bunny would have eaten the whole plant I think.

Sounds like a rabbit but could be hornworms. Check your plant for those.
They nearly destroyed my Big Jim before I pulled them off and killed them.

Stoney

Did a check on the plant for worms. Also dug around a bit around the plant and see no culprits. No poop either. My neighbor did say that cutworms have been in our neighborhood before. But I thought they chewed the stem of the plant like a beaver, and not individual leaves.

Sounds like insect of some sort then. Usually the only thing that will munch on pepper leaves here are the occasional hornworms. Look the plants over really well as they are a bugger to spot. (If the are them of course.) Hope you find out the culprit!

I say hornworms also. They're hard to spot because the blend into foliage seamlessly. You're right about cutworms snipping seedlings at soil level and they're the only ones I've ever had to worry about, but since they are a caterpillar, maybe some eat foliage too. In either case, BT K variant(thuricide, dipel, caterpillar killer) will take care of them. It's not effective on MATURE caterpillars, so you'll still want to inspect and try to get rid of them by hand. Start off with a couple weekly treatments and then go bi-weekly and you'll be in good shape.

You may still want to do some night recon though to rule out possible critters.

Kevin

Next to a seedling this AM with one new eaten leaf I saw 3 of these are around it. Its poop, and its white.

Is this a bird? FYI: My neighbor planted corn right behind my plants, and I have seen birds digging around for seeds. They havent sprouted yet. I just didnt think they'd munch on leaves.

This post was edited by peps22 on Mon, Jun 2, 14 at 7:26

I would guess any poop that is white (and fresh) would be from a bird. But before my first guess would have been horn worms. I have never dealt with them but have read up on them and what described seemed pretty classic to horn worms. A horn worm will eat a plant down to a leafless skeleton quickly, eating the green foliage but leaving the trunk and branches and they are active at night when you typically won't be looking for them. Go out at night with a flashlight to check for them.
If it is birds, your only option might be to try to cover them with bird netting or chicken wire if the birds are bigger.
Good luck, let us know if you figure it out.
Bruce