Indestructible Thrips

[Player2]

Odds are you are battling western flower thrips and they need access to the soil. DC mentioned diatomaceous earth already. That didn't seem to bother my az thrips. I had to bag wrap the stem to pot tops and soap spray along with stopping their entry. The adults can't fly very well and plain soapy water will kill them, easy. Without access to the soil, the ones you have will die.

I don't think I noticed anyone mentioning sticky traps. Hang some yellow and blue ones at plant height for monitoring.

 

[Chemdawggy Dawg]

Player2 is probably right. I only grow in rdwc setups so I might not know everything. Lol. Regular thrips as I know them are easy to defeat.

 

[gorilla ganja]

Im not having that problem brother. Haven't had too many nutrient build up or lock out problems in the last decade. I've been using my version of Heavy 16 with a few additives for i think around 7-8 years now. My plants def speak for themselves.
I'll catch a bug problem or PM problem whenever i out source for clones which i always regret once every couple years. Other than that im not seeing signs of the Russian Rullette you are speaking of.
Just a Thrip issue from some infected cuts i picked up without the proper precautions.

I'm sure you know this, but worth mentioning for others having insect or mold problems .

Quarantine incoming clones or seedlings. Deal with any problems before they become bigger plants. Much easier to deal with on a small scale. Whole plants can be dunked and every inch covered. Much harder to spay a large plant and catch all of it properly.
Also always easier to deal with a few insects and eggs rather that thousands.

Best of luck dealing with the Borg

Peace GG

 

[Stinkhorn123]

Wow Mike it’s troubling to read of Spinosad resistant thrips. Ive had success with the cheaper products by using root drenches and foliage applications but I highly doubt the thrips here are as evolved as yours are. Maybe give the conserve a shot and rotate with a biological like Botaniguard. Good luck, your gonna have a Brownfield site on your hands with all the stuff your spraying.

 

[mikeoldschool]

Player2 is probably right. I only grow in rdwc setups so I might not know everything. Lol. Regular thrips as I know them are easy to defeat.

Being that im on the west coast and the most over sprayed state im betting he's right as well. These things are super resistant to several poisons that usually drop bugs dead instantly.
Im hoping once i buy some Spinosad thats 22% as opposed to the .5% thats in Monterey and in the Captain Jacks, these Thrips will get handled.
I had no clue they were selling 22% Spinosad online.
Fuckin $400-$500 bucks for online Spinosad A % B
Thats steep as hell for a spray

 

[mikeoldschool]

I'm sure you know this, but worth mentioning for others having insect or mold problems .

Quarantine incoming clones or seedlings. Deal with any problems before they become bigger plants. Much easier to deal with on a small scale. Whole plants can be dunked and every inch covered. Much harder to spay a large plant and catch all of it properly.
Also always easier to deal with a few insects and eggs rather that thousands.

Best of luck dealing with the Borg

Peace GG

Agreed buddy. A lazy mistake that i know much better than to pull. Quarantine is mandatory.

 

[slownickel]

Western Flower thrip?

Western Flower thrip?

If you are sure the spinosad is not working, try Steinernema feltiae nematodes and stratiolaelaps mites. Spray plant therapy with an added 15 ml per gallon either food grade ethanol or just regular isopropyl.

 

[soil margin]

Grow some basil plants around your herb. Doesn't have to be a ton. The smell and oil from the basil drives thrips away and keeps population under control even if it doesn't exterminate 100%. Very convenient and low labor/cost method. Marigolds repel thrips as well.

 

[buzzmobile]

Marigolds repel thrips as well.

Marigolds attract spider mites.

 

[Mountain Wizard]

I'm sure this prob isn't something you want to try, but it's cheap! You can get like 1500 ladybugs for $7 on Amzn. You can just release a few at a time and keep the rest alive in their medium they come in. Just thinking outside the box.

 

[gladysvjubb]

Indoor grow? Try Hot Shot NO PEST STRIPS. Read and follow all directions. These will be the end of your problem. I won't grow without them.

 

[Lyfespan]

Indoor grow? Try Hot Shot NO PEST STRIPS. Read and follow all directions. These will be the end of your problem. I won't grow without them.

make your own. tanglefoot applied to ORANGE solo cups, yes it must be orange for thrips, YELLOW for white flies

i tried every color cup and these worked the best

paint it on with chip brush you have cut bristles down on, place cup upside down and its a trap

oh and for white flies cups need to be placed in top of stakes around top of plants and for thirps you can just put around base of plants, also by the holes in the pots

 

[diseasedmind]

Did you figure out? Same problem here, spinosad does nothing.

 

[buzzmobile]

Spinosad Resistant Insects

 

[MedicalMonkey]

Just posted similar info in another thread, but I'll put it here too.

White oil - 4:1 ratio mineral oil and soap. I used murphy oil soap. Put in a jar and shake for a few minutes. Dilute using 1-2 tsp per liter of water (start with 1tsp/L). Repeat every 3-5 days for at least 2 weeks. Can also dunk plants/clones/seedlings in this mixture, but make sure you constantly mix it or a layer of oil can develop on the water in the bucket and can leave too much on some of the plants. Keep plants out of full light until they are mostly dry

Hot water 100-120 degrees. I use straight from the tap and fill a bucket to dunk plants, but can also spray, though spraying tends to cause branches to bend badly. Can treat the soil too if in containers. Soak until center of rootball reaches around 100 degrees. Make sure to feed and adjust ph after soaking the rootball.

DE mixed 1-2 tbsp per liter of water and spray the plants. When it dries it will leave a residue to kill them and keep them away.

The bugs have no resistance to these methods, and they'll always work so long as you are persistent and keep at it for AT LEAST 2 weeks.

 

[MedicalMonkey]

Usually I'll do the hot water to kill adults/larvae. Sometimes I'll use some H2O2 in with it (especially when treating flowering plants). Sometimes I'll spray/dunk in room temp water right after. THen when mostly dry I use the white oil to deal with the eggs and any remaining adults/larvae that managed to hide from the hot water. Latest I'll use it is around week 4 of flowering, but have used it in an emergency at week 6 and was able to rinse all residue off and the smoke tasted clean at harvest. Repeat this every 3-5 days for at least 2 weeks. I try to give a good rinse with fresh water before each time I spray with the oil, but not sure if it's necessary. I only use the DE and water mix on small plants and seedlings if dealing with infestation because it'll keep the bugs from messing with them too much while I deal with the bigger plants. All new clones get either a hot water dip, or a white oil dip at planting time. Be careful if using hot water right before oil and let the plant cool first or can cause damage.

 

[MedicalMonkey]

Whatever you do... do not spend a bunch of money on other stuff and potentially cause more resistance problems down the road until you try this stuff first. White oil has been found to kill 100% of thrips in every life cycle including eggs waiting to mess up your life.

 

[thailer]

when i've used spinosad in the past, i noticed a significant difference when i tank mixed spinosad with a horticultural oil. you add the spinosad first to the water and then add the oil based product like neem or a white oil like JMS Stylet oil. i just use a small amount of oil and it helps like a sticker spreader to make sure the whole leaf surface gets spinosad and it keeps it there. when i didn't use it with the spinosad, the spray would just drip right off.

 

[MedicalMonkey]

I've heard the same about mixing spinosad with oil products, but the oil itself will work. Mineral oil is cheap, and so is soap. I'm sure there are times where spinosad and other products are necessary, but for thrips especially the white oil is all that's needed. Doesn't work in 1 application, but if you keep at it they will be gone.

 

[Nay Hay]

I hope you got the new $pinosad. Sounds like it's worth it if the numbers are legit. I have no experience with thrips (yet), but when I get problems (like russets) I use three products at once, one a day, every day for the full term. That way if one product is defective, old, etc., hopefully one of the others will work.

Eager to hear the end results...