Thrips

2023 Author : Hannah Pearcy | [email protected] . Last modified: 2023-06-01 01:49

Thunderstorms , thunderflies or bladder feet - the thrips have been given many names. No wonder, since more than 200 different types of pest are known in Germany! If thrips have spread on the leaves of your plants, it is important to combat the pest quickly to prevent it from spreading and infesting other plants. In warm, humid weather - as before summer thunderstorms - Thrispe appears more and more: Then the thunderworms can become annoying not only to plants but also to humans!

Garden care

pests

Insects like to tamper with our plants - and destroy them

What is thrips: what do thrips look like?

Adult thrips measure only one to three millimeters long. They are dark brown to black and have narrow, long wings that end in "fringes" (hence the name fringed wing). The pest larvae are translucent yellowish to whitish in color and have no wings.

Why are thrips harmful to plants?

Thrips drill their mouthparts into the plant cells to suck out their sap. The empty cells initially turn yellow, later air also penetrates into the empty plant cells, the leaf shimmers silvery in these places. In the event of a massive infestation, entire parts of plants can atrophy and damaged leaves can fall off.

Thrips are not only harmful due to the weakening of the plant by the stolen plant sap: fungal spores can also be transmitted via the proboscis of the thrips, which can also damage the plant!

In order to save the infected plants and stop the further spread of the thrips, it is advisable to use pesticides in the event of a larger infestation!

Thrips damage pattern: What does thrips attack look like in plants?

The yellowish-silvery small spots on the leaves and flowers of the infected plants, which spread over the entire leaf within a short time, are characteristic of a thrips attack. With a sharp eye (or a magnifying glass) you can also see the elongated oval, somewhat translucent larvae and the dark-colored adult thrips on the leaves (mostly on the underside of the leaf). Clearly pinpoint black dots indicate a thrips infestation: The droppings droppings of the thrips are missing e.g. B. in an attack by spider mites, the rest of the damage is very similar to that caused by thrips.

Vegetable plants are particularly at risk between May and August. Houseplants, however, are attractive host plants all year round for thrips.

Thrispe on orchids

Thrips appear in the garden on many plants, especially geraniums. In the case of houseplants, thrips particularly target green plants such as rubber trees, Schefflerea or palm species. Orchid friends also know how to report how popular Phalaenopsis species are with the pest:

Dracenae thrips, which like the other types of thrips, feed on the cell sap of the plant. In contrast to the species of thunderstorms found in the wild, Drazene thrips prefer dry climates - as prevails in living and office spaces during the heating season. The relatively high humidity in greenhouses or outdoors, however, prefer other types of thrips, which in turn cannot be found indoors.

Fighting thrips

Because the Drazänenthrips do not like high humidity, it usually helps to combat this type of thrips by placing the infected houseplant in a sun-protected place in the garden or in the greenhouse for a few days, where the warm, damp weather drives the Drazänenthripse away. Use a lukewarm shower to free more sensitive indoor plants that cannot move to the outdoor area from the pests on the underside of the leaves.

In the garden, you can remove individual infected leaves or - in the case of heavy infestation - use an insecticide. Plant protection products with the active ingredients pyrethrins, acetamiprid, thiacloprid and methiocarb have proven particularly effective against thrips. However, it is better to prevent the thrips with yellow tablets!

Practical tip: Always use pesticides for spraying on plants that only evaporate a little water from the leaves (such as palm trees and leafy house plants). Other forms of administration - such as granules, sticks or pouring agents - do not convey the plant protection products quickly enough to the pests on the leaves.

Cheap home remedy for thrips

Classic soapy water is effective against thrips! For the home remedy for thrips, mix a liter of water with two tablespoons of olive oil and a dash of detergent. Mix Thrips home remedies well and spray evenly on the infected plant with a plant sprayer - don't forget the undersides of the leaves!

Do thrips bite people?

Again and again one reads that thrips should also be dangerous for humans: Thunderstorms appear more often in hot and humid weather and can be very annoying, but thrips are not a danger for humans - not even for allergy sufferers. Rarely, it is reported that thrips - similar to mosquitoes - try to pierce the skin with their mouthparts, which can sometimes even lead to red, inflammatory swelling like a mosquito bite. But the thrips don't suck blood. Scientists suspect that the fringe wing is attracted by the smell of sweat. Due to their modest flight skills, however, it is more likely that the feather-light pests are simply blown onto the human body by the wind and stick to the moist film of skin.

Practical tip: Bright, bright colors attract thrips (like many other insects). If you dress darkly at a picnic or garden party, you won't even notice the thrips!