Thrips are little slender insects that have fringed wings and feed on other insects by puncturing them and sucking out their insides. However, some of them also feed on the buds and leaves of a plant. This causes distorted parts of the plant or black specks, which is actually the feces from the thrips. Stippled leaves or blossoms that die before opening are also a sign that you may have these pesky insects.
If you are wondering how to kill these pests, insecticides work. The problem with killing them is that you will accidentally kill things that are beneficial to your plants. This includes some species of thrips. Therefore, you want to form a plan of thrip control because controlling them is much better for your plants that getting rid of thrip altogether.
There are other pests that can cause damage similar to that of thrips. This might be mites or lace bugs. Make sure that the pests are the ones you have before you take any action to start controling them so you know what you are doing will kill the actual problem. Some thrips are beneficial because they kill other pests to your plants, and that’s why you want to keep some of them on flowers. However, the bad ones need to be controlled and there are some specific ways to take action.
How to kill thrips
Controlling thrips is not always the easiest thing to do. You could use pesticides, but you don’t want to rid the plant of the beneficial ones. You should use control strategies that include the least toxic insecticides along with making sure you use good cultural practices, such as providing consistent watering and cleaning up dead or diseased plant material.
When controlling thrips, you can prune and get rid of any injured areas on the plant. Regular pruning helps get rid of them. Thrips on flowers can be eliminated as soon as you see signs of damage by using a mild insecticide like insecticidal soap or neem oil, or by pruning the flowers. You never want to shear your plants because the new growth caused by shearing will attract even more thrips than you had before shearing the plant.
Controlling thrips is better than thinking about getting rid of them because when you get rid of them, you will also be eliminating beneficial bugs to your plants as well. You do not want to do that. Protect the beneficial bugs, and make sure you take care of thrips that are not beneficial by taking appropriate and safe measures.
Source: www.gardeningknowhow.com
