How To Get Rid of Thrips Naturally

The most effective thrips management strategies use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs. IPM integrates cultural methods, monitoring, physical barriers, biological controls, and mild treatments as necessary. NaturesGoodGuys offers natural thrips control to treat thrips infestations.

What are Thrips?

Thrips are common pests that feed on plant cells and damage plants. Adult thrips are thin and elongated, and are usually 1-2mm in size. Because of their small size and tendency to hide, they're nearly impossible to see with the naked eye.

Thrips can be several different colors, which is one reason they are hard to identify. Most thrips larvae, called white thrips, are pale yellow or clear. In contrast, adult thrips display a darker color and people often call them black thrips because of their brown-to-black appearance. 

The most common and destructive species of thrips is the western flower thrips. Other major species include tobacco thrips, onion thrips, greenhouse thrips, and soybean thrips.

Can Thrips Fly?

Although they are weak fliers, their narrow wings help them drift on air currents. This allows them to move from plant to plant and across gardens and greenhouses quickly. Their traveling behavior makes thrips infestation hard to contain. 

Signs of a Thirps Infestation

Identifying thrips early can prevent plant damage. They often hide in buds, flowers, and on the undersides of leaves, making them challenging to detect.

Thrips eat a wide variety of plants. Some of their favorites include roses, gardenias, alocasia, citrus trees, herbs, and vegetables like peppers and tomatoes. Look for signs of thrips damage like:

• Black, tar-like flecks of frass (excrement) on the underside of leaves
• Scared or discolored leaf surfaces, flowers, and fruit surfaces
• Distortion of plant parts
• Vector-borne plant diseases 

Life Cycle

Under perfect conditions, thrips can complete their lifecycle in just 14 days. Many thrips species can reproduce a-sexually, allowing them to reproduce independently without requiring a partner. They hatch from egg and develop through two actively feeding larval stages.  They then enter their non-feeding stages called prepupae and pupae in the soil.

Cultural Strategies

Cultural methods aim to establish an environment that benefits plants while being less inviting to pests. Keeping soil healthy, rotating crops, using mulch, and companion planting are good practices. These methods help create conditions that aid in aphid management.

Physical / Mechanical Control

Physical or mechanical control methods use barriers, tools, or techniques to prevent, monitor, or manage thrips populations. We offer a range of products to help prevent thrips naturally, including:

• Blue Sticky Traps for early detection and monitoring of infestations.
• Beneficial Insect Netting to keep beneficial insects while keeping out harmful ones.
• Diatomaceous Earth to create unfavorable conditions for soft-bodied pest insects.

Biological Control

Thrips hide in flowers, feed on leaves, and pupate in the soil, moving between plant and ground throughout their lifecycle. Effective biological control requires targeting multiple life stages simultaneously with predators that hunt in different zones. Using beneficial insects to control thrips in soil and on leaves is a great method. 

We offer a wide range of natural predators for chemical-free pest management. As long as there is food source and the right environmental conditions, these helpful insects can thrive and control pests all season.

Specialized Thrips Predator - Orius insidious

The most effective thrips predator, attacking all life stages on plant surfaces is Orius insidiosus (Minute Pirate Bug). Orius also targets many other pest insects such as spider mites, moth eggs, aphids, & more.

Predators for Thrips Larvae on Foliage

• Amblyseius swirskii controls thrips larvae and eggs in warmer environments. 
• Amblyseius cucumeris controls thrips larvae and eggs in cooler environments. 
• Green Lacewing Larvae controls thrips larvae and eggs on foliage.
• Ladybugs controls thrips larvae and eggs on foliage.

Predators for Thrips Pupae in Soil

• Dalotia coriaria (Rove Beetle) controls thrips pupae in the soil.
• Hypoaspis miles controls thrips pupae in the soil. 

Soft Chemical Control

You can often manage light infestations with monitoring and releasing beneficial insects early. For moderate infestations, use a combination of beneficial insects and targeted treatments. Severe infestations need soft chemical knockdown for thrips treatment, then a release of beneficial insects to prevent re-infestation. We offer gentle chemical solutions, including neem oil, horticulture oils and insecticidal soap as treatment options.