Still trying to research endless ideas to find the ultimate thrip solution

[Lancaster8]

I water from the bottom, so no dampness on the top of my soil pots.  Plus I have a layer of diatomaceous earth on the surface.  I still have thrips, although only in small numbers.  My plants are still healthy as I am constantly vigilant in removing them as soon as I find any.  However, they are still there, and if I take my eye off the ball for a second, then I will have armageddon. 

 

I've tried endless products and nothing seems to work conclusively. Some seem to work a bit and others not at all.  I also don't like spraying chemicals over the leaves as I feel that it affects the respiration of the plant.  

 

Ultimately, I am seeking things that don't involve sprays.  I've tried various forms of smoking them out.   <I've pretty much smoked myself out of the house>, but the thrips remain unaffected.  I am currently experimenting with numbers of Vicks vapo-rub jars open in the tents as I wondered if the camphor smell might be detrimental to them.  No conclusions as yet.  Then, I have been wondering about burning citronella candles in the tents, as I like the citronella smell anyway.  Haven't tried this one yet.  

 

Then I wondered about the OLD FASHIONED mothballs (not modern ones) made of Napthalene.  You only seem to be able to get these abroad.  They've probably been banned here for some reason?  You can find them on ebay, but then I wondered if (a) whether they might work and (b) if they will make the buds stink of Napthalene?  Not sure about this.  

 

Just airing my thoughts in an ongoing quest to find a solution once and for all. 

 

Any comments appreciated. 

 

Cheers guys!

[Bartyfartblast]

Thrip life-cycle is about 15 days so you need to treat for that period or just over to stop your infestation. 

It is not easy for them to get onto a tent inside a house so you may be inadvertently picking them up outside and taking them in on your clothes perhaps ?

 

Plants breath by diffusion through holes called stomata which the plant can open and close to help prevent water loss. Spraying a plant will not suffocate it , the thrips will do the damage for you.  Pyrethrum is a natural occurring insecticide , it comes from  Chrysanthemums I believe..... try that for a few weeks , it may save you stinking out the neighbourhood with naphthalene.    

[Oldbear]

Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew

Natural and very effective. 

[Lancaster8]

1 hour ago, Oldbear said:

Captain Jack's Dead Bug Brew

Natural and very effective. 

This is why this forum is so useful. I had never heard of this product before - (although I do know about Spinosad.)  Cheers!

[vince noir rock n roll star]

just thought id throw something in here ...ive had thrips most of this year .little buggers ,my fault ..brought them in from the outside strawberries ..ive tried a few things one being the alcohol/veg oil spray which does control them somewhat but leaves  the leaves coated and i stopped using it because of that ..anyway ..i was looking online at organic thrip killers ..solutions potions you name it ..and then i came across this little titbit

 

from ecoco products organic thrip killer description on amagoon ..

 

EFFECTIVE ORGANIC INSECTICIDE THRIP BLAST There are about 6,500 species of thrips and they are the bane of British gardeners. If you are faced with a severe infestation of thrips, usually the fastest way to kill them is to use a chemical pesticide which may also be harmful to other garden creatures. Worm castings concentrate contains high levels of a natural chemical called chitinase. It works by destroying chitin. Thrips have a tiny skeleton made of chitin. So when the concentrate hits the infestation, they are killed very quickly

 

 

so ..i got worm castings in the garden ..grabbed a handful ,shaken in water and sprayed onto the plants in the veg tent and soaked the soil surface ..we shall see if this is the magic bullet for thrips ..if so ..its pretty much free ..i like that .

[GSZZ]

On 26/09/2020 at 9:08 AM, Lancaster8 said:

I water from the bottom, so no dampness on the top of my soil pots.  Plus I have a layer of diatomaceous earth on the surface.  I still have thrips, although only in small numbers. 

 

Top of pot dampness and a layer of that silicon earthstuff won't kill thrips, they don't live or go anywhere near the medium. Thrip larvae live on the aerial parts of the plants and feast on the sap from leaves - the larvae leave a little silvery trail, small black dots (shit) and tiny little scar marks, you would be hard pressed to ever see an adult thrip as they like to hide.

 

If you don't wanna use any chemicals then use something like Nuke Em Flying skull which is an oil based product, coupled with predatory mites and BLUE sticky fly traps, the yellow ones are useless for thrips but great for fungus gnats. Sulpher Burners (hotbox sulphume) are really good too. You can use all 4 together but be very careful spraying plants in the days leading up to or after a sulpher burn because it will burn holes straight through your plants.

 

If you don't mind too much about the chemicals, then abermectin annihilates thrips in a single spray.

 

Anyway, are you even sure you've got thrips ?

[vince noir rock n roll star]

allo @GSZZ  ..cheers for the reply ..

 

i was going to mention an oldy but goldy ..and i still dont know the answer to this one ..sb plant invigorator ..is it one of them weird systemic ones or could that be classed as safe to use on the little blighters .

 

i did read some reviews saying it obliterated the thrips on peoples shizz .

but for some reason my brain recalls felix telling me it was a poison ..but i genuinely cannot recall ..

 

btw ..i now have muddy plants ..and hiding thrips .

i got tiny little orangey caterpillary things ..decimating leaves ..they aint mites thats fo sho .

Edited October 27, 2020 by vince noir rock n roll star

[vince noir rock n roll star]

update -

 

just checked the plants i sprayed worm casting water onto ..they are all dry now ..and theres lots of what looks like dust but is actually thrips ..dead thrips ..

 

i have to say this is tres interesting ..i shall keep an eye out for any thrippy thangs over the coming days and continue to use this ..i have to do a full clean down soon in prep for the sweet seeds comp ...i think ill spray the tent with mud before i clean it out with some jeyes ..

 

this really might be worth checking out on vegging plants ..handful of worm castings in a spray bottle ..shake n spray on leaves ,soak them top n bottom ..

 

 

[vince noir rock n roll star]

update .

 

looks like a spray of worm casting water works wonders ...not thrips visible anywhere in the veg tent ..checked stems ,internodes ,even soil surface ..nothing showing ,leaves once washed off look visibly healty and no insect damage ..i know i still have some in the flower tent but im running it down anyway ..im defo going to wash down in worm casting water before i do a clean down .

 

[vince noir rock n roll star]

another update ..the 4 revegging plants i sprayed with worm castings are still so far ..thrip free .none showing anywhere on leaves ,no leaf damage ,nothing crawling across the soil surface ..who knew worm castings could be so effective ..impressed myself .

i could bottle it and call it vinces miracle thrip killer and retire before im ol.....oh fuck it too late .

[Arthur Mix]

Vince’s special secret sauce....

[Thai Stick]

Hey @vince noir rock n roll star Great bit of info.

 

How much worm castings did you use?

Has anybody else tried this method?

 

 

[sweettooth]

in the same boat

 

 

Wondering what I can do as currently on start of week 5 of flower. I have some blue traps coming and ha e cleaned as much as I can. tent is in the loft so I must've bought then in somehow???

[Rhubarb & Flustered]

On 12/10/2021 at 8:30 PM, sweettooth said:

in the same boat

 

 

Wondering what I can do as currently on start of week 5 of flower. I have some blue traps coming and ha e cleaned as much as I can. tent is in the loft so I must've bought then in somehow???

 

 

Plant invigorator,it's advertised that it can be used on fruits right up until harvest so I doubt it has any poisons.

[vince noir rock n roll star]

On 12/10/2021 at 8:21 PM, Thai Stick said:

Hey @vince noir rock n roll star Great bit of info.

 

How much worm castings did you use?

Has anybody else tried this method?

 

 

grab a few handfuls of castings and dissolve in water ..spray on ..repeat three days on the trot ..not saying it will get rid of all but itll reduce them down to manageable ..repeat this every week til they gone ..