Indoor plants give the whole apartment freshness and beauty. They delight the eye not only of the households themselves, but also of the guests. Therefore, it is very disappointing when the flowers suffer from diseases or parasites. One of the most dangerous are thrips on indoor plants. How to deal with such pests? What are they? We will talk about all this in detail in the article.
Pest Description
First of all, it is worth noting that thrips on flowers appear, regardless of the type of plant. They can affect both exotic and simple cultures.
Determining the presence of thrips is easy. These are small insects that differ in an elongated body (up to 2 mm) of a light or dark shade. In adults, there are even two pairs of wings. Larvae possess a light yellow body, the length of which is not more than 1 mm.
They can be identified by movement. Adult individuals can move very quickly, often they jump, pushing off with their elastic abdomen. Male from female can be distinguished by a more elongated body. In females, it is not so long. In addition to this, males and females differ in their color.
If we talk about how to deal with thrips on indoor plants, it is worth considering that they quickly grow into numerous colonies. In total, there are more than 2000 varieties of these pests. However, only 200 of them can be found in Russia, and even then not everywhere. As a rule, thrips prefer to dwell on foliage, flowers and buds of plants. They drink juice and nectar.
The main danger of thrips is that they multiply extremely quickly. For their masonry, they use the foliage of plants or the flowers themselves. Only ten days are enough for the new offspring of pests to be born. From larvae in adults, they grow in thirty days. If you stretch a month and do not struggle with thrips on indoor plants, then with the greatest probability the flowers will die. They will begin to get sick with viral diseases and outwardly they will look very unattractive.
As soon as thrips drink all the juice from one plant, they move to the neighboring one. Therefore, it is important to notice them in a timely manner so as not to lose all indoor flowers.
Common types of thrips
Initially, thrips became known back in 1744. The first of these pests was discovered by Carl de Geer. Today, humanity knows a lot more about these insects. I managed to find out that there is a huge variety of them. However, the following types are most often found in apartments:
- California thrips (also called Western). This is a tropical variety of pests that are found only in some cities of Russia. They were first discovered in the Northern capital when seedlings of chrysanthemums and carnations were brought from there. However, today this species is found in some greenhouse farms and greenhouses and other cities of the country.
- Tobacco thrips. This species is more common. It can be found in the middle lane and in the south of the country. Tobacco thrips prefers ornamental plants, which are mainly found in greenhouses and various greenhouses. That is, even experienced flower growers are sometimes powerless in front of these pests. An insect of this species differs in length no more than 1 mm. The color is light yellow or brown.
- Decorative thrips. To a greater extent, it is found in the northern regions and the Middle lane. This thrips is a huge threat to indoor ornamental plants. As a rule, it most often affects monstera, orchid, dieffenbachia and some types of palm trees. The insect is distinguished by a dark brown color and body, the length of which can reach up to 2 mm.
- Dracene. Most often found in the northern regions. This thrips mainly affects ficus, hibiscus, dracaena and many other indoor plants. The insect is distinguished by a yellow-brown color and a rather short body, not more than 1 mm.
- Omnivorous (also called ordinary). This is the pest that occurs most often, and you can find it in almost any region of the country. The insect prefers flowers and plant buds.
- Rosany. This thrips is not averse to feasting on rose plants. It can be distinguished by the brown tint of the body and a length of not more than 1 mm.
- Bulbous. This thrips is also found even in the most remote corners of the country. As a rule, he prefers to feast on lily plants. In appearance, it is distinguished by a dark brown color and a rather long body, up to 2 mm.
In total, there are thousands of varieties of this pest. However, these are the main species that owners of indoor plants most often encounter.
How to detect the presence of a pest
To understand how to deal with thrips on indoor plants, you must first identify them. For this, a detailed inspection is carried out. If the leaves have become paler and puncture points have appeared on them, then this is most likely indicative of thrips.
It is also worth paying attention to the lower part of the foliage. Pests leave brown and brown spots there. Damaged areas can also acquire a silver tint. This is due to the fact that air began to penetrate into the cells of plants.
Seeing this picture, you need to immediately take action. Otherwise, the death of the sheets, flowers and buds will be deformed. Pests also leave unpleasant sticky secretions on the foliage.
It is also worth checking the status of recently blossomed shoots. Their thrips are eaten with the greatest pleasure. On such sprouts, flowers will not be able to develop fully, since insects literally suck out vital juices from them. Therefore, if inflorescences are formed, they differ in very small dimensions, often deformed.
Signs of thrips are often confused with sunburn. However, if you remove such a plant away from the sun, then nothing will change. Pest larvae will still destroy the foliage.
There is another sign by which you can detect the presence of thrips. If there are flowers on the plant, then it is worth looking into their buds. Due to the life of the pests, a large number of particles that resemble dirt accumulate in them. These are actually insect excrement.
It is also worth considering that thrips are able to tolerate rather unpleasant viral diseases, which are extremely dangerous for plants. Because of this, flowers can even die. Therefore, you must immediately get rid of them. First of all, flower growers give preference to folk remedies for thrips. Such methods are cheaper than specialized drugs and can not seriously harm the plant itself. Consider the most effective of them.
Onion and garlic
If at least a few larvae were found on the plant, then the fight should be started immediately. Onions and garlic from thrips are very effective. It is necessary to grind both plants (1 teaspoon each) and pour the mixture with a glass of clean water. The infusion is left for a day. After this, processing can be performed. To do this, both a sprayer and a cotton cloth or cotton pad are suitable.
Marigold Flowers
This is another simple way that will get rid of gluttonous insects. To prepare the product, you need to fill half of the can of flowers with water and insist in this state for 48 hours. After this, the mixture must be carefully filtered and processed from thrips.
Dandelion
This remedy will require roots or freshly picked flower leaves. About 50 g is needed. Flowers or roots are poured with a liter of warm boiled water and infused for 3 hours. After that, the entire mixture is filtered and used for spraying through a spray.
Chamomile
For this tool you will need 100 g of dry grass, which is poured with a liter of water and infused for about 12 hours. Then you need to strain the liquid and add half a teaspoon of green soap to it. With a finished composition, you need to wipe each leaf of the plant. The next day, it is recommended to wash the bush in a bath under warm water.
Tobacco
This will require half a glass of dry tobacco. The mixture is poured with a liter of water and infused for 24 hours. The finished solution is filtered, and then about 1 liter of water is added to it. Ready infusion needs to be sprayed daily with thrips infected plants. After some time, traces of insects and they themselves will disappear.
Other means
Also in pest control are very effective:
- Dry tomato leaves. They need 50 g. Leaves are poured into a glass of water and infused for 3 hours. After that, another liter of water is added to them and the mixture is used for spraying infected flowers.
- Celandine. For this tool you will need a flowering plant. It is enough to fill in 50 g of celandine with a liter of water and insist 24 hours.
Spraying is not always effective if the colony of pests has already grown. In this case, it is worth considering alternative methods of getting rid of annoying insects. For example, some gardeners chop garlic with turpentine, fill a small container with the composition and install it directly in a pot with the affected plant. After that, a bag is put on the flower itself. In this condition, it should stand for 3 hours. After that, thrips die or try to escape by flight. But sometimes such methods are powerless. In this case, it is worth giving preference to specialized formulations.
"Fitoverm": instructions for use, reviews, when to process
This is a biological drug that can literally save the plant from pests. Its active substance is aversectin C. It enters the digestive tract of thrips and leads to paralysis. After that, the insect loses its ability to eat and dies. As a rule, complete extermination occurs within 5 days.
What is said in the instructions for the use of "Fitoverm"? When to process? Reviews pay attention that for each culture its own dosage is required. If we are talking about indoor plants, then in the season you need to carry out at least four to five sprayings. This is for prevention. But if you need to get rid of pests now, then, according to the reviews of experienced gardeners, it is worth preparing a Fitoverm solution from thrips from 2 ml of the drug diluted in half a liter of water. After this, you need to moisten a soft sponge in the composition and carefully wipe each individual sheet. To fix the result in case there are larvae that had not hatched at the time of processing, it is recommended to perform another treatment after a week. You can also use a spray gun, but many say that it is better to spend a little more time, but process each leaf.
It is also worth considering another specialized tool that is popular.
Liquid "Actara" for indoor plants: how to breed and use
This is a new generation insecticide. Essentially, it is poison that simply kills pests. However, such a drug does not harm the plant itself and for a long time protects it from repeated attacks of insects. Before use, be sure to read the instructions.
If we talk about the use of this tool, then usually flower growers breed it in a proportion of 8 g per bucket of water. The resulting solution is enough to spray 250 pots. Therefore, if you want to cure only a few indoor plants, the dose of poison will be much lower. When processing, you need to ensure that pets do not decide to enjoy the plant.
Finally
Thus, although thrips are a real headache, getting rid of them is quite real. You can use both folk methods and specialized tools. But the main thing is to notice the appearance of pests in time.