Fans of indoor plants engaged in their breeding, often faced with the need to protect them from pests. Thrips are very dangerous, are a common insect, along with aphids, spider mites. If you do not take action on time, they can completely destroy the potted crop. This means that you need to respond at the first sign of detection.
Thrips on indoor plants are quite common, because they don’t particularly understand what they eat (polyphages). Any kind of home flora can be their victim.
Description of thrips
Eating juices, thrips quickly multiply and equally rapidly lead to significant damage to the green part of plants.
Thrips on a houseplant
If you regularly examine the flowers, detecting insects is not difficult, although they are very small.
Need to say! The pest is spread across the planet, present on every continent. An amateur gardener usually first of all sees the result of his activity in the form of damage caused to a room culture: this is a lethargic appearance, light spots on the leaves.
The greatest danger comes from varieties that carry the infection:
- hothouse;
- Californian;
- tobacco thrips.
The degree of damage depends on the duration of exposure to insects. The flowers are deformed, black and white spots appear on them. Leaf plates begin to resemble fabric. It is especially annoying to find thrips on orchids and other valuable flowers.
California thrips
Their description includes the following features:
- the body is thin and long;
- the size reaches 14 mm, although for common types - up to 2 mm;
- piercing-sucking type of mouth;
- runs with the help of legs equipped with a tooth and a suction cup;
- nondescript, often black or gray.
Also, individuals are equipped with small wings.
Main types
Due to the fact that the size of the insect is very small, it is difficult to immediately determine the type of thrips. Scientists distinguish up to 2000 species. 300 of them are found in the territory of the Russian Federation and the nearest countries. The list of the most common is as follows:
- heterogeneous;
- decorative;
- dracenic;
- bulbous
- Tobacco
- rosans;
- California thrips.
By their name, you can determine which plants they like to attack. Decorative can live both in the middle lane and in more northern areas. May harm the Phalaenopsis orchid and other species of this plant, as well as the monstera palm, dieffenbachia. It is less than 2 mm in size and has a brown color.
Tobacco thrips
Not all thrips are equally dangerous for plants, but emit a hundred of those that it is desirable to immediately destroy. The pest consumes the juices of leaves and fruits, and also transfers diseases and leaves poisonous secretions on the flora. Trips lives secretly, hiding in secluded places. Therefore, at the very beginning, it is not always possible to detect it in a timely manner.
The reasons for the appearance on indoor plants
There are several sources of plant infection with thrips. Their list:
- They migrate with the help of wings, flying in the windows of the premises. The probability of entering the house increases in the summer with the wind.
- Penetrate with soil taken on the street.
- The risk when buying flowers is also significant, in the store or at the factory they can be infected with thrips.
- Got along with a process taken from friends.
Important! The most favorable distribution conditions are summer, dry air, heat. With increasing humidity and lowering the temperature of the medium, such intensity decreases markedly.
Thrips control methods at home
Some fans of growing flowers at home have a lot of them, while others prefer to take care of only one pet. One way or another, one does not want to allow the death of living greenery. When considering thrips on indoor plants and how to fight at home, it is important to know about measures in order to take them in time. Noticing just one pest, the grower will be able to protect the flowers from a whole invasion.
How to detect insects if they like to hide in order to apply this or that remedy in time:
- Firstly, the discoloration of the leaves is striking.
- Inspection of the bottom of the plates is required. If there are brown spots, the likelihood of thrips is increased.
- A late sign is the death of leaves and their deformation.
The process of killing insects is all the more simple the earlier it is started. Otherwise, it will take a lot of time. The more time passes before the adoption of measures, the more increases the likelihood of death of the flower and the transfer of the pest to neighboring greenery. The following insect extermination procedure is recommended:
- Isolation of the affected plant from others by transferring to another room. In this case, care is taken not to shake off the larvae.
- Pests visible to the eye can be partially removed with a shower.
- Apply chemistry, special preparations.
Thrips hit the flower
Experts recommend treating the topsoil in the affected plant. It’s best to swap the whole earth. The roots, the pot are washed and planted in new soil. Processing the culture medium is done by calcination at high temperatures. The following drugs are used:
- Fitoverm, 2 ml ampoule is dissolved in a glass of water. This will significantly harm the plant. All areas are sprayed: sick and healthy, after which they put a plastic bag on the plant and keep it in it for 24 hours.
- Vertimex, 2.5 ml is dissolved in 10 l of water. Process similarly, with the use of sedimentation in the package.
- Agrovertin, 5 ml per 1/2 liter of water. It is used only at air temperatures above + 18 degrees C, otherwise the effect will be small. The processing is the same.
- Actelik is very toxic, has a pungent smell, is sold in ampoules (1 pc. Per liter of water). They handle about the same.
After a week or 10 days, the procedure is repeated. During this period, larvae hatch.
Consider, for example, thrips on orchids and what to do with a lesion. The silver color of the leaves indicates the appearance of pests. Dots and strokes are found on the bottom of the plate. Insects can hide in the substrate. Sequence of actions: shower, cutting out the affected areas with powdered crushed coal. Further spraying with Fitoverm. You can apply Actellik. Repeat the procedure twice after 10 days. The plant must be quarantined.
Examples of folk remedies
Natural and folk methods help at an early stage. With extensive infection, only chemistry is applicable. Ways of struggle, the first of which has the greatest effect:
- Garlic cooked in vegetable oil. Crush, pour, insist up to 3 days. Then a solution is made from the resulting composition and sprayed.
- Soap solution.
- Kerosene solution.
Important! The destruction of insect colonies is a very difficult process. Home botanist needs to prevent possible infection, knowing about the dangers.
Disease prevention
Prevention of insect invasion is done regularly. Plants must be properly maintained. That is, competently water, fertilize, if necessary, inspect all its parts. When changes are detected, decisive action should be taken. A number of tips will not hurt:
- It is better to put a new pet separately from old copies.
- Thrips can be on bouquets, which also need to be kept away.
Having learned the details about the pest that can destroy both the home plantation and a single plant, you can take measures in time and also make them more effective by connecting drugs, natural and folk methods. When you can completely get rid of insects, you just have to admire the flowers. Even with all the requirements, infection insurance is not available. Therefore, careful monitoring and timely action will solve the problem.
