How to Get Rid of Thrips on Houseplants: Tricks, Tips, And Prevention

What Are Thrips?

Thrips are tiny insects that feed primarily on plant sap, causing damage to both indoor and outdoor plants. They attack flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, shrubs, and virtually any organic plant material they can find. Thrips insert their mouthparts into the leaves or stems of a plant and suck up the fluid, leading to weakened plants and stunted growth. Dealing with thrips on houseplants can be particularly frustrating for indoor gardeners.

Identifying Thrips on Your Plants

Thrips range in size from 1/50 to 1/25 inches long and often have a white, dark yellow, or brown color. Adult thrips have silvery wings but are not strong fliers. So, how far can thrips fly? Not very far—they use their wings to glide short distances between leaves in search of more food and places to lay their eggs. Can thrips jump? While they can't jump, thrips can move quickly by crawling or flying short distances.

Adult thrips can also transmit viruses from one plant to another, making it crucial to inspect your entire garden for damage and treat any infested plants promptly. Their small size makes them difficult to detect until significant damage has occurred.

First Steps to Get Rid of Thrips

To treat your plants correctly, start by inspecting them for signs of thrips. Look for yellow, brown, or off-green discoloration on leaves, which indicates a pest problem. Thrips can't fly or jump very far, so they move from plant to plant in search of new food sources and shelter.

For outdoor gardening, check surrounding areas such as fallen leaves, old wood, and leaf piles where thrips may hide. For houseplants, examine areas near open windows or humid spots that attract these pests. Setting up sticky traps near your indoor plants can help catch and identify thrips on indoor plants.

Understanding the Thrips Life Cycle

The life cycle of thrips is quite interesting because they do not require mating to reproduce. Female thrips lay their eggs into flowers and other plant parts without any help from males. A single female can produce up to 80 offspring that hatch within days or weeks, depending on the temperature.

After becoming nymphs, many will pupate near soil before emerging as adults once again with feathery wings. They then return to your plants for reproduction. This rapid metamorphosis allows them to have 12-15 generations per year, and in warm weather, the entire cycle from egg to adult may take as little as 16 days!

How Long Before an Infestation Becomes Visible?

Thrips populations grow quickly, but you'll usually start noticing signs of thrips on your garden and indoor plants within about two weeks of an initial outbreak. By the time leaves show signs of damage, the infestation may have already spread.

If you see adults around your house, on leaves, or in the garden, there's no time to waste in addressing the problem!

7 Tips to Get Rid of Thrips Now

There are several natural methods you can use to eliminate thrips from your garden or house without resorting to chemical pesticides. These tips will help you understand how to get rid of thrips on houseplants and how to prevent thrips on indoor plants.

1. Flushing Thrips

One popular technique for getting rid of thrips indoors is "flushing." Thoroughly clean your plants and surrounding areas with a strong spray of water to remove any insects from the leaves. Thrips can't survive well in very wet conditions. You may need to repeat this process multiple times to completely eradicate them.

2. Taping

Another technique is "taping." Wrap heavy-duty tape (such as packing tape) around each plant stem several times. Thrips are attracted to stalks and stems where there's plenty for them to eat. By sealing off these food sources, you're giving thrips nowhere to go. Note that this isn't a foolproof solution, as some thrips may find ways around the tape over time.

3. Sheltering Plants

Thrip eggs require a lot of moisture to hatch. By keeping your plant dry, you can make it difficult for thrip populations to grow. Move plants from high-humidity spots to drier locations. Their offspring will die before hatching when placed in an area where they're not able to get enough water.

4. Weathering

Thrips have difficulty with windy conditions. Placing potted plants near areas with plenty of air movement reduces their ability to find food sources and spreads infestations more slowly. Elevating plants can also help, as thrip eggs don't have a chance when exposed to wind.

5. Time Heals All

You can also try waiting for populations to die out on their own. They will eventually die off as long as you provide them with few food sources, but it takes time and patience before the infestation dwindles away completely.

6. Use Predatory Insects

As a last resort, consider releasing beneficial insects that prey on the eggs and larvae of thrips before they can become adults. Minute pirate bugs, ladybugs, and lacewings are effective predators. This method is especially effective in greenhouses where pests thrive due to warm temperatures year-round.

7. Use Neem Oil

One of the best tips is to spray neem oil on the leaves and flowers of the infested plant. Neem oil is a natural ingredient that kills thrips quickly and is safe for use around pets and humans when used as directed. This is an effective method for how to kill thrips on houseplants without using harsh chemicals.

The Importance of Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a way of controlling pests without using harsh chemicals by integrating several different strategies together. It's especially important to choose natural methods of removal if you are treating a problem indoors, as pets like dogs and cats might get sick from insecticide sprays. Implementing IPM is an effective thrips treatment for houseplants and outdoor plants alike.

Thrips populations can be managed with a few simple adjustments to your plants, as well as by researching and following specific IPM guidelines for any plants you have in the garden or indoors.

Using Pesticides to Remove Thrips

Gardening without insecticidal chemicals is both natural and avoids unintended future consequences. Some gardeners might resort to using pesticides, but this isn't recommended for several reasons. Thrips can become immune to chemical agents if they're exposed too often, and the long-term effects of pesticide use on human health are still unknown.

Preventing Thrip Damage

The best method to avoid thrip damage is through prevention. Understanding how to prevent thrips on plants is essential for maintaining healthy indoor and outdoor gardens. Thrips are attracted to stressed plants because those plants release excess nutrients into the air around them. Bringing struggling plants back to prime health is one of the best methods that will benefit the whole garden.

Trimming the foliage of houseplants and garden plants near ground level is a fantastic way to prevent thrips. They can often be found in this area as it's a prime spot for them to feed and lay eggs without being seen.

Before planting anything, amend the soil with compost, which contains bacteria that predators eat as well as fungi that produce toxins against pests like thrips and grubs.

How Planters Prevent Thrips

The best way to protect your plants from thrip infestation is by keeping them in a planter. This method helps because the soil in planters is easier to examine for signs of insect activity, aiding in early detection of thrips on houseplants. Pots are also easy to move around to quarantine plants or to bring them indoors for closer inspection.

For big plants that you can't bring indoors, using a planter adds another hurdle for pests to climb over. Every tactic helps when getting rid of thrips!

It can be a nuisance to deal with thrips on plants, but fret not! We have the perfect planters that will protect your plant from these pesky insects and look stylish at the same time. Check out our range of planters today and find one that is right for you—or buy two!