Only if you accurately identify the type of pest on your houseplant can you resort to a suitable remedy and successfully treat the infestation. Read this article to find out how you can recognize thrips and how to take action against the small animals.
How do you recognize and control thrips on houseplants?
To identify and combat thrips on houseplants, look for yellow or silvery speckles and browning on leaves. Treat the infestation with soapy water or neem oil, place the plant outdoors, or use biological predators such as predatory mites.
Thrips characteristics and lifestyle
Thrips occur almost everywhere. Although they also have useful properties, 95% of the existing species are considered plant pests. The little animals use the support of the wind to spread out. They most often nest in apartments because they prefer warm temperatures and low humidity. They are particularly often affected
- Orchids
- rubber trees
- and the bow hemp
Identifying thrips
Thrips are often confused with spider mites. Due to their small body size of just one millimeter, they are hardly visible to the naked eye. To determine an infestation, you should therefore focus primarily on the damage to the plant. Additionally, it is worth hanging blue plaques near the houseplant. These are signs that are covered with a sticky film. The blue color attracts pests. If you sit on the board, they will stick. You can then see a larger population without a magnifying glass.
Tip
Distinguishing between spider mites and thrips is very important because both species have to be controlled differently. With a magnifying glass you can recognize the thrips by their elongated bodies. Spider mites, on the other hand, are round.
Damage to the plant
- yellow or silvery gray speckles on the leaves
- Brown coloring
- Stunting young specimens
Treatment measures
Since thrips respond very well to biological agents, you don't even have to think about chemical fungicides. You usually have good success with homemade solutions made from soap or neem oil. Simply mix the home remedies mentioned with water and spray your plant several times.
As long as it doesn't harm the houseplant, a simple trick is to put it in the fresh air. Thrips react very sensitively to the changed environmental influences and migrate from the plant. If the methods mentioned do not have any effect, you can purchase beneficial insects such as predatory mites or lacewings from the shops, which you can use to combat the pests in a purely biological manner. However, be sure to provide the predators with a species-appropriate habitat.
