If you are an amateur gardener or houseplant lover, you have probably wondered how to control thrips. Although the so-called bladderpods are tiny insects, they can cause a lot of damage because they feed on plants. Additionally, they are some of the most annoying plant pests for gardeners because they are difficult to detect. Often their traces look more like a nutritional or illness problem. Here is some useful information and plant care tips that can help you in the fight against fringed winged beetles.
Use the right products and fight thrips
Thrips can produce hundreds of different ornamental andedible plantsinfested and are extremely resistant to eradication. The plant pests have slender bodies that are usually around 7 millimeters long, although some species can reach up to 1.5 centimeters. They are stinging, sucking insects that cause damage by feeding on plant juices. Thrips include more than 6,000 species in the order Thysanoptera. Of these, more than 200 are considered problem pests for indoor and outdoor plants. Most species have fringed wings, and although they move quickly, thrips are poor fliers, moving with the wind rather than their wings.
Under the magnifying glass, thrips have a distinctive cigar-shaped body that looks a bit like a worm with legs. They are social insects usually found in clusters. Their colors are usually black or tawny, but may have red, black or white markings. Thrips are a common pest found in indoor and outdoor greenhouses and gardens. They damage plants by sucking their juices and scratching on fruits, flowers and leaves. Plant leaves canhave brown leaf tips, as well as becoming pale, mottled and silvery and then dying. Injured plants are twisted, discolored, and scarred.
Correctly identify the type of insects on houseplants
Because thrips are so tiny, they can be difficult to see until the insect infestation becomes large. So one way to identify them is to place a white sheet of paper under the flowers or leaves of the plant and shake the stem. If thrips are present, some will fall off and their darker bodies will be easy to see on the white paper. A 10x to 15x magnifying glass will help identify the pest.
You can also use sticky traps to catch thrips for monitoring and identification. This won't keep the insects away, but it will let you know if your houseplant is infested. It is best to use specially made blue traps instead of standard yellow traps. Blue traps appear to be more effective at catching thrips and are easier to spot against blue than yellow.
How thrips develop in the garden or on houseplants?
There are several species of thrips that survive in almost any environment and have evolved to feed on almost all different types of plants. In general, however, thrips are more of a problem in gardens where weeds abound. These often serve as host plants from which garden infestations begin. Additionally, gardens with lots of soil debris are likely havens for such insects, as eggs laid in plant tissue can easily overwinter to emerge as nymphs the following spring.
Follow simple steps and fight thrips
Early detection and integrated pest management are the best ways to prevent large-scale infestations. This involves some tolerance to minor plant damage, which is kept in check by selective pruning and destruction of affected parts of the plant or by regularly washing the plants with bursts of water to remove thrips. Thrips are so widespread that attempting to control them through the use of chemical pesticides is often counterproductive. This allows you to kill a variety of beneficial insects, which also causes local populations of bladderworts to develop chemical resistance.
Integrated pest management is considered the coordinated use of pest and environmental informationavailable pest control methodsto prevent unacceptable damage from pests by the most economical means and with the least possible risk to people, property and the environment. In other words, for most gardeners, controlling thrips is an ongoing activity that requires a certain tolerance for the presence of these stubborn creatures and the damage they cause. This is the price of an overall balanced and healthy garden ecosystem.
Prune insect-infested houseplants
If you see spots or wrinkles on the leaves along with black spots, it is likely that you have identified damage caused by thrips on your plant. Prune and destroy affected leaves immediately. However, you should completely remove a severely infected plant to prevent the pests from spreading to other plants. Routine inspection and pruning of thrips-damaged plants is sometimes enough to keep infestations at manageable levels.
Wash affected plant leaves
As mentioned earlier, thrips are tiny insects. They are easily removed with hard blasts of water, and you can hose down your plants with water spray to get rid of the pests. However, be sure to focus on the underside of the leaves, where the insects often congregate. Spray or wash houseplants with a solution of soap and water (about 2 teaspoons of detergent to 3 quarts of water), making sure to apply the solution to all leaves and other areas of the plant. Washing plants is one method among several to combat thripsto keep pests under control.
However, washing alone is usually not enough to keep thrips away from your plants. Therefore, you can use the following methods as more effective countermeasures. While spraying actively growing plants with chemical pesticides is not usually recommended, it is a very good idea to dust any bulbs you dig up and store for the winter with insecticidal dust, which will kill any overwintering pests. This is especially helpful for gladiolus bulbs, which are known to harbor thrips.
Use beneficial insects against thrips
A variety of natural enemies will devour the fringed winged beetles and their eggs. In fact, some predatory insects are so efficient that they are often intentionally purchased and introduced by commercial growers and greenhouse operators. Predatory mites, tiny pirate beetles, and lacewings are all known predators, and you may be able to purchase these to introduce into your home garden. However, this may also require repeated monthly applications to combat and keep thrips completely under control.
There may also be certain types of nematodes that act as beneficial insects against thrips. Contact your local garden center for information about which species of these microscopic soil worms are effective against such pests in your area. Another way to encourage natural predators is through careful, limited use of pesticides. Instead of spraying your plants extensively, use chemical pesticides very selectively or not at all, as they typically kill helpful predatory insects as well as your targeted pests.
Spray plants with neem oil or pyrethrin and control thrips
Neem oil is a natural substance extracted from the neem tree. This is an effective natural insecticide against many pests. However, unlike chemical synthetic pesticides, it is not devastating to bees and other pollinators. When using neem oil for thrips, a good method is to combine four teaspoons of the substance, two teaspoons of white dishwashing liquid, and 3-4 liters of water. You can therefore spray the solution directly onto the affected areas of the plants. In addition, neem oil works against the pests by disrupting the thrips' feeding and reproductive cycles.
Pyrethrin is also a natural pesticide extracted from the flowers of certain types of chrysanthemums. Spraying plants with two applications of pyrethrin three to four days apart treats a serious thrips infestation. Make sure you use a pure pesticide that is considered safe and organic. Pyrethroid, for example, is a synthetic version that contains chemicals. These are added to increase the effectiveness of the pesticide. Additionally, pyrethroids are not considered organic pesticides, although they are admittedly safer than other traditional chemical pesticides.
This is how thrips can be controlled and kept away from plants
- It is very difficult to completely prevent thrips. However, you can minimize populations by eliminating rotten plant litter rather than allowing trimmed leaves, stems and dead flowers to lie on the ground over the winter. As winter approaches, remove and destroy dead plant stems to prevent eggs from overwintering.
- If possible, keep your own garden and adjacent areas as free of weeds as possible. Many weed species serve as hosts for thrips, which can easily drift into your garden in a light breeze.
- Covering important plants with a fine-mesh sieve can also prevent infestation. Thrips travel primarily by drifting in the wind. Covering vegetables, cane crops and other susceptible plants with fine-mesh cloth can prevent the insects from gaining a foothold.
