Methods for dealing with thrips on flowers

People who have recently started growing indoor flowers are already familiar with how to water and feed them, but an unforeseen situation can happen - pest infestation. To properly deal with harmful insects, you need to know the enemy by sight. In this article, you will learn what flower thrips look like, where they come from and how to get rid of them.

To spot thrips on flowers, you need to know what an adult looks like. The body of the pest is narrow, no more than 2 mm long, the color of the insect is different: beige, brown or black. On the back of adult beetles, under protective plates, wings are located, which are covered with long hairs from above. In different species of thrips, the structure of the wings may differ: in some they are quite long, in others they will be very short, and in others they may be completely absent. Therefore, wings cannot be considered a distinguishing feature of these harmful insects.

A feature of beetles is a specific way of movement: they run very quickly and often jump sharply, using the unusual structure of the abdomen. Adult insects differ from each other: females are larger and slightly thicker, while males are more slender and have a short body. Individuals of the same species are of different colors. It doesn't depend on their age or gender.

Thrips are dangerous to many indoor plants. They quickly multiply on gladioli and rubber plants, but violets suffer most from insects: at the larval stage, pests are located on flowers and eat the anther. Beetles do the greatest harm because they multiply quickly: after 10 days, larvae appear from the eggs. Young offspring feeds on flower juices for 30-40 days, and only then turns into adults. At this time, the plant suffers greatly from pests: the damaged tissues die off, and various viruses easily penetrate into the holes gnawed by the larvae. When nutrients are no longer sufficient, the offspring move to nearby flowers.

Not only are the larvae harmful to indoor flowers: adults also cause serious damage. Thrips pierce the leaves to extract nutritious juices, so the plants are covered with many small dark spots. The lower part of the leaf suffers most: large brownish spots appear on it, covered with a silvery bloom. These marks are a sure sign that your flowers are infested with pests, and you need to urgently start taking measures to treat them.

There are more than 2000 varieties of thrips in the world, and of these numerous species in Russia, there are about 200. The following pests are considered the most common types: Californian, tobacco, Indo-Chinese, European, barren and oriental. Recently, a new species of beetles has also appeared, the presence of which has been recorded all over the world - Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood. These small white bugs have spread from Asia all over the world in 20 years.

Western flower thrips can grow on indoor flowers as a result of normal daily activities. Due to the way these insects breed, they quite easily penetrate the house on their own or together with the residents. Let's consider several reasons why pests can get on indoor plants.

• During airing. Thrips can get inside the house through an open window, because they are able to fly. The slightest draft will easily bring them directly into the room. Housewives most often place flowers on the windowsill, so it will not be difficult for pests to find a plant.
• With purchased flowers. Sellers usually keep a close eye on their product, but when plants are outside for a long time, it is quite easy for thrips to get on them. This applies not only to young plants in pots: gift bouquets can also contain pests.
• From wildflowers. It is quite romantic to give your beloved a bouquet of wild flowers, but along with such a gift there is a chance to bring harmful beetles home.

The most optimal conditions for thrips breeding are created when the air in the room is dry and warm. Having settled down in a favorable environment, beetles are able to quickly move to neighboring plants, therefore, having noticed pests, it is necessary to act immediately. Before you process indoor flowers with folk remedies or chemicals, it is necessary to carry out preparatory measures.

In order for the drugs to effectively remove pests, it is necessary to isolate the infected plant from the rest by moving it to another room. In addition, it is necessary to replace the top layer of soil in the pot, because it may contain adults or larvae.

If you are sure that there are very few insects, you can try to get rid of them with folk remedies. When the beetles just get on the plant, they do not have time to lay too many eggs, so simple tinctures will easily destroy unwanted pests. We offer you several options for preparing a solution at home.

• Finely chop the onion or garlic, then place a teaspoon of the chosen ingredient in a glass of water. In a day, the solution will be ready for use. Strain the liquid and spray the infected flower with a spray bottle.
• Place the dried Turkish carnation flowers in a large container and fill them with a liter of hot water. After 2-3 days, pass the marigold tincture through cheesecloth. Water the infected flower closer to the roots with the resulting solution.
• In the summer, fresh dandelions will help cure infected plants: take 50-60 g of leaves from these flowers and fill them with 1 liter of hot water. After a few hours, strain the solution, pour it into a spray bottle and process the thrips flower.
• You can destroy pests with dried chamomile: it is necessary to pour 100 g of dried flowers with 1 liter of warm water. The solution should settle for 9-12 hours, then it must be passed through a filter. Add a little soap solution or liquid soap to the resulting liquid. Then use a sponge to wipe all the infected flowers with the tincture. After 24 hours, wash off the soap from the plants with warm water.
• Celandine has always been famous for its antiseptic properties., and in case of plant pests infestation, it can also help. It is best to harvest this herb during flowering: during this period, its juice has antibacterial properties. Pour fifty grams of celandine leaves with 1 liter of warm water and leave for 24 hours. Spray the flowers infested with thrips with the prepared solution. This method is also suitable for pest prevention.

In the event that pests have massively infected indoor flowers, it is necessary to resort to the use of chemicals. Potent insecticides will cleanse plants not only of adult thrips, but also of larvae.When treating flowers with chemicals, be sure to follow the instructions on the packaging, and also clean in a ventilated area or outdoors, away from children and animals. Also, if there is a garden or vegetable garden adjacent to your house, it is necessary to process it too, because thrips can get into the house from there. We offer you an overview of several drugs that effectively remove pests.

• Kinmix. The insecticide easily copes with a large number of pests both on indoor flowers and on cultivated plants and fruit trees. Provides protection against reinfection with thrips for two weeks. The chemical can be dangerous to humans, so it is necessary to create a solution strictly according to the instructions. Plants should be sprayed only in calm weather.

• Aktara. With the help of this chemical, pests are destroyed not only on the plant itself, but also in the adjacent soil. The drug works best when the pests have just laid eggs. Flowers in pots are watered with a solution of "Aktara", removing eggs from the roots. For the complete removal of thrips, the substance must be used in combination with other drugs.

• Fitoverm. The substance easily destroys many different pests, including thrips. To process one plant, it is necessary to dilute 2 ml of the substance in a glass of water. Spray the leaves and stem of the plant with the resulting solution.

Harmful thrips spread quickly through indoor plants and trees in the garden. This makes dealing with them difficult. To prevent the appearance and reproduction of these beetles on the leaves of trees and flowers, it is necessary to regularly carry out prevention. Let's take a closer look at several effective preventive methods.

• Inspect the petals, leaves and stems of plants regularly to spot thrips in time. It is best to inspect the flowers daily, so you can prevent the appearance of larvae and kill insects in time.
• Dry soil is a breeding ground for pests, so keeping the soil moist is very important.
• A new flower purchased from a store must be kept away from other plants for several days. If it contains thrips larvae, after a while you will see signs of infection on the leaves or stem.
• Periodically prepare tinctures on cloves or celandine and spray the flowers with them. Such prevention will rid the stems and leaves of unnoticed beetles.

Methods for dealing with thrips on flowers in the video below.