So what is the hands down best method for dealing with this pest I have tried sns and safer soap and have felt with them every flower cycle for four runs. Any help is welcome
Thrips
- Thread starter Evergreen89
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dynamohum
Well-Known Member
I remember having them after finding out just what the heck they were by reading on this site in the pest section. I remember It took me so long to figure out what they were. And my girls were looking bad. I let the plant get good and dry and pulled them out of the pots and sprayed the root ball with either Safers soap or liquid seven. Try the Safers 1st. I was so desperate, I had to do something, and it did save the crop. Thats where I learned not to reuse old soil.
Neem oil: 1 tsp per 1 liter warm water with a plant based soap (surfactant). Only use enough soap to break up oil and cause a little foam on top. Spray after lights out.
I use Ecos "free & clear" soap. Some soaps have dyes and perfumes that will harm your plant. Don't attempt unless you have adequate soap for the job.
Just my $0.02
I use Ecos "free & clear" soap. Some soaps have dyes and perfumes that will harm your plant. Don't attempt unless you have adequate soap for the job.
Just my $0.02
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- #4
Havnt tried spraying rootball but have tried neem and sns products and this year when they showed up they came by the hundreds
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- #5
They ate most of the leaves on 9 plants in bout 5weeks
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- #6
so if I treat soil with a systemic will that kill them so I can reuse soil?
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- #7
I know of most pest on plant from years of being a plant and lawn health technician but just don’t know what to do when they keep coming back and nothing seems to work
Delps8
Well-Known Member
Change your grow cycle to avoid the summer months because that's when thrips are most active.
Spray Spinosad or Neem oil phrophylactically.
Lady bugs.
dynamohum
Well-Known Member
dynamohum
Well-Known Member
I use neem all the time. And I have forgotten exactly what I used, it could have been neem. I was so freaked out when I finally figured out it was thrips and the girls were on a downhill turn. But I do use safer's, neem. I've gotten better but I tend to freak out when things go south on my babies. I had something that knawed on the stem of 2blue dream, 1 bubblegum, and 2 ak47. They fell over like trees being chopped. I moved the rest and they are still recovering. Don't know if it was crickets or mice.
dynamohum
Well-Known Member
I never reuse soil. I used to and that's always caused problems
NAGreengo
Well-Known Member
I use General Hydroponics Exile as a last resort when Nematodes have failed.
Neem is good to treat veg plants but not in flower after the pistils start forming. The neem is an oil and trichomes dissolve in oils which is not helpful. Also it is said to leave a bad taste on the buds.
The true soaps can be used straight through flower, but only work as a contact killer. They work by dissolving the exoskeleton of the bugs but you have to spray them directly to have any effect. A bug landing on a freshly sprayed leaf will be largely unaffected. To use, spray on and under the leaves in every nook and cranny you can, let dry then rinse off with clean water.
The life cycle of the little bastards (mites and thrips) is quite short. They can hatch and be sexually mature enough to lay their own eggs in a matter of a few days. Plus, the eggs have a protective coating that generally prevents the sprays from doing their thing, although some treatments claim to work on the eggs as well.
That means treating them is not a one-and-done exercise. Best practice is spray daily for 3-4 days, then every 3 days for a week or two, and then if you don't see any more damage spray preventative every week or so.
The true soaps can be used straight through flower, but only work as a contact killer. They work by dissolving the exoskeleton of the bugs but you have to spray them directly to have any effect. A bug landing on a freshly sprayed leaf will be largely unaffected. To use, spray on and under the leaves in every nook and cranny you can, let dry then rinse off with clean water.
The life cycle of the little bastards (mites and thrips) is quite short. They can hatch and be sexually mature enough to lay their own eggs in a matter of a few days. Plus, the eggs have a protective coating that generally prevents the sprays from doing their thing, although some treatments claim to work on the eggs as well.
That means treating them is not a one-and-done exercise. Best practice is spray daily for 3-4 days, then every 3 days for a week or two, and then if you don't see any more damage spray preventative every week or so.
dynamohum
Well-Known Member
I'm with you never spray your buds with neem.
NAGreengo
Well-Known Member
Along the lines of natural pest control like I use, such as Nematodes. You can also purchase Lady Bugs. They will devour all the pests. I have used them for heavy infestations
I have used Neem oil 3 weeks before harvest and it never imparted a flavor. My last harvest while using Neem was with my usual strains. Harly-Tsu, AC/DC, and a couple personal strains I have made and continued. The Mango was a continued strain, so the flavor has always been a touch off since interbreeding. The personal made strain was flavored Mint and Citrus and tasted like a Mojito. Using Neem Oil that late in to flower didn't affect any of my flavors. I was growing outdoors and perhaps that added an extra buffer. I can not speak on indoor grows.
Neem also doubles as a foliar application and the plants derive nutrients from it as well. It is also safe for indigenous insects that don't eat your plants. Win/win all the way around.
If someone has had ill affects or flavor imparted from the Neem; perhaps they used it too concentrated? Check my past grow journals and you can clearly see the trichomes never washed off; quite the contrary.
Neem also doubles as a foliar application and the plants derive nutrients from it as well. It is also safe for indigenous insects that don't eat your plants. Win/win all the way around.
If someone has had ill affects or flavor imparted from the Neem; perhaps they used it too concentrated? Check my past grow journals and you can clearly see the trichomes never washed off; quite the contrary.
are you out door ?
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- #18
Indoor I don’t have anything growing right now I was just asking before I pop some more seeds.
That's good to know.
number one is clear them before flower. they are always present previous if you get them during. then keep the grow area segregated and vented proper as an environment on it's own and clean.
there's piles of ways to clear them before flower. i use the same recipe as most other things i fight. i always clear them in the veg room before moving.
in veg
you need a two or three prong approach. one alone will not work. always rotate between treatment types. thrips and mites can harden against a single approach.
50/50 90%iso and water spray. always spray from the bottom up. they live on the bottom sides of the leaves. messes up the soft bodies real bad. not so much the fliers.
neem spray. alternate the iso and neem spray. both are applied the same.
water alone. a good spray in the shower takes a bunch out immediate. thrips and mites are dry weather pests. sometimes good to start there.
a hot shot. death from above. the secret weapon. controversial.
seal up the tent or grow space for 16 hrs a day and hang a hot shot in there. decimates the adults and fliers and lets the other treatments work more effective. hot shots have cleared numerous things that would kill my grows. can't be used in flower at all.
careful. it off gasses the chemical that keeps killing tourists in south america. i've used them for yrs. they are common on farms and around livestock barns.
root drench. use neem or a product like safers. for gnats or thrips with a soil component. it gets the larvae. may need more than one. i alternate with an h202 drench. turns them in to plant food.
any treatment is going to take 3 - 6 wks. use them all for the best effect.
if you wait til flower it's generally hang on and pray.
