Thrips
Tiny slender insects that leave silvery streaks and black specks on leaves and flowers.
What you'll see
- Silvery or bleached patches and fine speckles on leaves, dotted with tiny black droppings.
- Twisted shoot tips and young leaves, flecked petals, and buds that never open.
- Slender insects, smaller than 1/16 inch (2 mm), that drop onto white paper when you shake a leaf or flower.
Why it happens
Thrips are tiny insects with fringed wings that scrape and suck out surface cells. Some, like western flower thrips, also spread plant viruses.
How to fix it
- Move the plant away from others, rinse the leaves, and cut off damaged buds, flowers and tips.
- Hang blue or yellow sticky traps indoors to catch adults and track numbers.
- Use insecticidal soap or horticultural oil for a quick knockdown, or spinosad, which works better, and repeat as the label allows.
- Keep kids and pets away from treated plants until the spray dries.
Keep it from coming back
- Check new plants, especially their flowers, for silvery flecks before you buy.
- Avoid overfeeding and overwatering, which favor thrips.
- Protect their natural enemies by avoiding long-lasting broad-spectrum sprays.
Read more
Sources
General guidance, not a diagnosis. For valuable, edible or outdoor crops, check with a local extension service or plant expert. Use any product exactly as its label says, and keep children and pets away while it dries.