Indoor plants give the whole apartment freshness and beauty. They delight the eye not only of the household themselves, but also of guests. Therefore, it is very disappointing when 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.
Description of pests
First of all, it is worth noting that thrips appear on flowers, regardless of the type of plant. They can infect both exotic and the simplest crops.
Determining the presence of thrips is easy. These are small insects that are distinguished by an elongated body (up to 2 mm) of a light or dark shade. Adults even have two pairs of wings. The larvae have a light yellow body, the length of which is no more than 1 mm.
You can also identify them by their movement. Adults can move very quickly, oftenthey jump, pushing off with their elastic abdomen. The male can be distinguished from the female by a more elongated body. In females, it is not so long. In addition, male and female individuals differ in their color.
If we talk about how to deal with thrips on indoor plants, then it should be borne in mind that they quickly grow into numerous colonies. In total, there are more than 2000 varieties of these pests. However, in Russia you can meet only 200 of them, and even then not everywhere. As a rule, thrips prefer to live on foliage, flowers and buds of plants. They drink juice and nectar.
The main danger of thrips is that they reproduce extremely quickly. For their clutches, they use the tissues of the foliage of plants or the flowers themselves. Only ten days are enough for a new offspring of pests to be born. From larvae to adults, they grow in thirty days. If you stretch a month and do not fight thrips on indoor plants, then the flowers are most likely to die. They will begin to get sick with viral diseases and will look very unattractive on the outside.
As soon as thrips drink all the juice from one plant, they move to the next one. Therefore, it is important to notice them in a timely manner so as not to lose all indoor flowers.
Common thrips
Thrips were first known in 1744. Karl de Geer was the first to discover these pests. Today, humanity knows much more about these insects. It was possible to find out that there is a hugediversity. However, the following types are most often found in apartments:
- California thrips (also called western thrips). 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 greenhouses and greenhouses and other cities of the country.
- Tobacco thrips. This type is more common. It can be found in the Middle lane and in the south of the country. Tobacco thrips prefer ornamental plants, which are mainly found in greenhouses and various greenhouses. That is, even experienced flower growers are sometimes powerless against 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 the monstera, orchid, dieffenbachia and some types of palm trees. The insect is distinguished by a dark brown color and a body, the length of which can reach up to 2 mm.
- Dracaena. 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, no more than 1 mm.
- Multivorous (also called common). This is a pest that is most common, and you can find it in almost any region.countries. The insect prefers flowers and plant buds.
- Rozanny. This thrips is not averse to feasting on rosaceous plants. It can be distinguished by the brown tint of the body and the length of no 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. By external signs, it is distinguished by a dark brown color and a rather long body, up to 2 mm.
There are thousands of varieties of this pest. However, these are the main species most commonly encountered by houseplant owners.
How to identify 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 become paler and dots from punctures appear on them, then this most likely indicates thrips.
You should also pay attention to the lower part of the foliage. Pests leave behind brown and brown spots there. Damaged areas may also take on a silver tint. This is due to the fact that air began to penetrate into the cells of plants.
Seeing such a picture, you need to take immediate action. Otherwise, the leaves will die, the flowers and buds will be deformed. Also, pests leave unpleasant sticky secretions on the foliage.
It is also worth checking the condition of newly blossomed shoots. Their thrips are eaten with the greatest pleasure. On such sprouts, flowers are notwill be able to develop fully, as insects literally suck the life juices out of them. Therefore, if inflorescences are formed, they are very small in size, 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 continue to destroy foliage.
There is another sign by which the presence of thrips can be detected. If the plant has flowers, then it is worth looking into their buds. Due to the vital activity of pests, a large number of particles accumulate in them that resemble dirt. It's actually insect excrement.
It is also worth considering that thrips are able to tolerate rather unpleasant viral diseases that are extremely dangerous for plants. Because of this, flowers can even die. Therefore, you need to get rid of them immediately. First of all, flower growers prefer folk remedies for thrips. Such methods are cheaper than specialized drugs and cannot 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 you need to start the fight immediately. Onions and garlic for 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 that, processing can be done. For this, both a sprayer andcotton cloth or cotton pad.
Marigold flowers
This is another easy way to get rid of voracious insects. To prepare the product, you need to fill half the jar of flowers with water and insist in this state for 48 hours. After that, the mixture must be carefully filtered and treated for thrips.
Dandelion
This remedy will require the roots or freshly picked leaves of the flower. 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 whole mixture is filtered and used for spraying through a spray bottle.
Chamomile
This remedy will require 100 g of dry grass, which is poured with a liter of water and infused for about 12 hours. Then the liquid must be filtered and add half a teaspoon of green soap to it. With the 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, after which about 1 liter of water is added to it. Ready infusion should be sprayed daily with thrips-infected plants. After a while, the traces of insects and they themselves will disappear.
Other remedies
Also very effective in pest control:
- Dry tomato leaves. They need 50 g. The leaves are poured with a glass of water and infused for 3 hours. After that, they add morea liter of water and the mixture is used to spray infected flowers.
- Celandine. For this remedy, you need a flowering plant. It is enough to pour 50 g of celandine with a liter of water and leave for 24 hours.
Spraying is not always effective if the pest colony has already grown. In this case, it is worth considering alternative methods of getting rid of annoying insects. For example, some flower growers grind garlic along with turpentine, fill a small container with the composition and place it directly in a pot with an affected plant. After that, a bag is put on the flower itself. In this state, it should stand for 3 hours. After that, thrips die or try to escape. But sometimes these 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 preparation that allows you to literally save the plant from pests. Its active ingredient 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 does the instructions for using "Fitoverma" say? When to process? Reviews draw attention to the fact that each culture requires its own dosage. If we are talking specifically about indoor plants, then at least four to five sprayings should be carried out per season. It's forprevention. But if you need to get rid of pests now, then, according to the reviews of experienced flower growers, it is worth preparing a Fitoverma solution from thrips from 2 ml of the drug diluted in half a liter of water. After that, you need to moisten a soft sponge in the composition and gently wipe each individual sheet. To consolidate the result in case there are larvae left that have not yet hatched at the time of treatment, it is recommended to perform another treatment after a week. You can also use a sprayer, but many people say that it is better to spend a little more time, but process each leaf.
Also worth considering is another specialized tool that is popular.
Liquid "Aktara" for indoor plants: how to breed and use
This is a new generation insecticide. In fact, it is a poison that simply kills pests. However, such a preparation 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 dilute it in a proportion of 8 g per bucket of water. The resulting solution is enough to spray 250 pots. Therefore, if you only want to cure a few indoor plants, the dose of poison will be much lower. When processing, you need to make sure that pets do not decide to eat the plant.
In closing
Thus, although thrips are a real headache, get rid ofthem quite real. You can use both folk methods and specialized tools. But the main thing is to notice the appearance of pests in time.
