How to control thrips?

How to control thrips?

Thrips are small, hide deep, reproduce quickly (10-15 generations per year), and are prone to developing resistance. Control requires careful methods.

Chemical control (dinotefuran spray)

• Spray early morning or evening when thrips are most active for best results.
• Spray evenly on tender shoots, flower buds, blooms, and both sides of leaves.
• Spray deep into flower centers — thrips prefer hiding deep inside flowers.
• Spray leaf undersides thoroughly — thrips often hide there.
• Also spray the soil surface, as some thrips pupate in the soil.
• Spray every 7-10 days, 2-3 times consecutively.

Environmental cleaning

• Promptly prune faded flowers and old leaves to reduce thrips hiding places.
• Remove weeds and fallen leaves from pots.
• Seal and discard pruned diseased leaves and flowers; do not leave them in pots.
• Keep balconies and yards tidy.

Physical control

• Hang blue sticky traps — thrips are strongly attracted to blue.
• Blue sticky traps are more effective than yellow ones for thrips.
• Place traps above pots or near plants.
• Replace sticky traps regularly.

Isolation measures

• Quarantine new plants for 1-2 weeks to confirm they are thrips-free before placing them near other plants.
• Immediately isolate any plants found with thrips.
• If one pot has thrips, check and treat neighboring plants as well.