Thrips and mites

[Dexenthes]

Needless to say. . . I have thrips and mites in my collection.

I used a chemical pesticide a few years back that seemed to work wonders. I'm open to using chemo-toxins again. It's pretty important that I treat my entire collection as I am going to need to downsize and consolidate my plants in the coming months. I can't dissolve this collection this time, I have too many once-in-a-lifetime plants now.

My friend swears by a blend of oils I think it was rosemary, neem and maybe some others. Does anyone know anything about natural oils and if they might harm Nepenthes? It seems like Nepenthes have rather durable leaves but I don't want to start spraying without some feedback.

Just curious what you guys have had success with if you've had to deal with these two particular pests.

Natural remedies? Chemical remedies?

Thanks

 

[Grey Moss]

From what I've seen you can use neem with no issues. No idea about the other plant oils but I can't imagine them doing any harm. As for chemical pesticides I've always used Bayer containing Imidaclorpid without any ill effects.

 

[Whimgrinder]

Don't waste your time on "natural remedies" when dealing with Thrips and Mites - these are stubborn pests that require serious measures to eliminate. Imidacloprid is very effective on Thrips, but I would do a second treatment with Talstar Pro 10-14 days later as well. You won't get 100% elimination with just one shot of ANY insecticide.
Good luck.

 

[NickHubbell]

I used acephate to get rid of some thrips that came with some ventrata I purchased. Sprayed every 5 days for 5 treatments. No more thrips.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dexenthes]

Thanks for the input guys. I will definitely opt for some hardcore poison this time around.

How do you guys tend to apply it to your plants? I was thinking a foliar spray (outside), one by one, over and over until the whole collection has been hit. Should I repot every single plant too?

Whim - what is your logic behind using two separate chemicals?

 

[NickHubbell]

Two separate chemicals is to make sure any survivors of the first chemical get knocked out by the second chemical. Those survivors of the first may have become resistant to the first.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[humanbian]

Beginner question here: what are thrips and mites? How does one identify them (pics?)? What do they do, and at what point do they become a problem? I have seen some tiny little crawlies that could very well fall in these categories, but I'm not sure how urgently I should address this.

 

[Grey Moss]

Beginner question here: what are thrips and mites? How does one identify them (pics?)? What do they do, and at what point do they become a problem? I have seen some tiny little crawlies that could very well fall in these categories, but I'm not sure how urgently I should address this.

Thrips and mites are pests that feed on your plants. Thrips are generally very small, and shaped sort of like a grain of rice. I'd say they're mostly between half and 1 mm in length. Mites are generally too small to see with your eye. Both of these pests will cause warped leaves and pitchering to stop. As soon as you see wrinkled or burnt looking leaves an infestation of these is possible and you should apply pesticide. If not, then the insects you see probably are not thrips.

 

[humanbian]

Thrips and mites are pests that feed on your plants. Thrips are generally very small, and shaped sort of like a grain of rice. I'd say they're mostly between half and 1 mm in length. Mites are generally too small to see with your eye. Both of these pests will cause warped leaves and pitchering to stop. As soon as you see wrinkled or burnt looking leaves an infestation of these is possible and you should apply pesticide. If not, then the insects you see probably are not thrips.

Thanks Grey Moss! I’ve seen neem oil mentioned. Is there a sticky or tutorial on pesticides that have proven well and how to use them? I have a ventrata that had some leaf wrinkling but is throwing tons of pitchers and seems to be doing better than when I got it. I’d like to use more natural remedies then chemical ones if possible. Also things safe for people and pets.

Will post a pic of the leaves tomorrow.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk