Thrips

[Doll]

Thrips seem to be a constant problem for me. I guess they thrive in Houston's hot,humid climate. Would it be ok just to spray all my plants once a week all season long with spinosad?

[davidwood]

Doll that is what I do, once a week.  Spinosad kills all sorts of stuff so I think its just good management, quite often I will forget and am soon rewarded with a few deformed buds, not sure if its Thrips that causes that but I know if I spray regularly I don't get it.
 I will also have the odd month where I spray with Neem oil each week, that's just in case whatever is in my garden builds up a tolerance to the Spinosad.
Maybe not the most scientific of methods but considering the weird and wonderful creatures here in Vietnam it seems to work.

[Doll]

David, it is great to hear that it works. Thanks

[Charlie]

By all means, if your area is prone to them then spray for thrips preventively rather than play catch up when the problem is well established. We spray every Friday even if we have not seen a mite or a thrip in months. The last thing we want is to send pests out on our plants and I think we are doing the best job ever this year by spraying every week no matter what.

Thrips will become resistant to spinosad if you spray nothing but spinosad for a year or longer. We rotate it with other thrip killers to make sure this does not happen. Unfortunately, only Orthene is available to people without a permit but if you spray some Orthene (or Orthenex or anything containing acephate) once every couple of months that will help prevent spinosad resistance.

Charlie

[Doll]

I was concerned about the thrips building up resistance to the spinosad. Thanks for the advice about Orthenex.

[Charlie]

OK, Doll. By the way, watch out for an even dozen 6 inch pots to arrive by Friday! I like the idea of getting them to you earlier in the season so they can adapt to the heat and sun as it gets more intense.

Charlie

[Doll]

Actually they should make it here Thursday. And my UPS driver has been kind enough to drop my shipment off early when he knows they are plants. Normally I'm at the end of his route and he arrives around 6pm but he comes by at 10am with my plants.
Getting them before the summer heat should be a great help. Thanks

[Charlie]

A good UPS delivery driver is a great asset to have. I had an excellent one before we moved which was one of the drawbacks of making the move. I'm glad to hear your guy looks out for you, unlike the occasional one who delivers our boxes to customers with the big "up" arrows pointing down.

Charlie

[blupit007]

Charlie, maybe you should bake your UPS driver a cake   That always makes me happy!  I got my last shipment with the giant arrow pointing down from you too.  Luckily you know how to package your plants like a pro, and they were only 4" so they were nice and light!

[farmer d]

Well I'm making my way through all the different pest experiences hibiscus can have.  Many of my new blooms this season are falling off before opening and a few do show scratching.

I was wondering if earthworm castings would be a natural way to kill off thrips in the ground before they make their way back up to new blooms?  I know this works well for aphids and gnats...just wondering if it gets them as well.

Farmer D

[Charlie]

Farmer D, when you grow hibiscus thrips can be expected once or twice per season if you control them when they show up. If not controlled, they can become a real pest, knocking most buds off the plants and marking up the others. You can certainly try worm castings, perhaps they will help, but eventually you will probably find spinosad is the easiest and most effective way to go. Of all the effective pesticides, it is the safest and least obnoxious. It is even approved for organic vegetable growers to use.

Charlie

[Darkhorse]

Thrips are a big p.I.t.a. here too.  I think it's the heat of CA's central valley that helps them thrive.  I never really had an issue with them in the cooler bay area.  I have already gotten some significant bud drop this year, so I'm spraying every five days for now.  2x with spinosad, then once with acephate.

[Charlie]

That should do it, Jordan. Should be better every week and much better after 3 sprayings.

Charlie

[jpiper82]

Charlie, I use Bonide fortwo applications (once a week) and then Spinosad for two applications. Is that ok?
John

[Charlie]

John, is the Bonide product one that contains acephate? If so then your rotation should be fine. Less often than once a week gives thrips too much time to continue the life cycle and the problem can become endless. Once there are no more signs of thrips you can stop spraying until they come back.

Charlie

[farmer d]

I thought I would share a realization (for those like me = thick headed) I had today.  Way back in early spring I sprayed for thrips thinking it is the usual spring population explosion and the usual spraying or two and they would be gone. 

Well here I am in August and I am still seeing these guys and their effects.  Then I looked into a plumeria bud and saw several of them running about and I realized that I didn't spray my plumeria tree so guess what....

Thrips seem to really love plumeria buds, their scratchings don't show on my white & yellow blooms but they are all over them.  Lesson learned, spray all flowering plants.  Guess what I will be doing all over again this week?

Farmer D