GET RID OF THRIPS (and make sure they never come back)

If you found thrips on your plant, I'm so sorry, I know they are the worst, but I can tell you there is hope and in this video I'm going to share with you everything that I know about them so you can really tackle the problem and make sure that they're gone and they don't come back. First, let's make sure that you really got thrips. The way to identify it is by two ways. The first is looking at the plants and what kind of damage you have on your plants. One very telling sign that your plant is being attacked by thrips is if you see silver gray patches on the leaves and black spots around the leaves as well. A plant that commonly gets attacked by thrips and I can tell you that from my experience and also from what I've heard from you guys is the Monstera. If you have a Monstera that is being attacked by thrips, you will see that the leaves are going to start getting yellow on the edges just like here and you will also start to see brown and dry spots on the leaf either on the edges or in the center of the leaf. This is actually very evident if you look at the newer leaves. With the new leaves, even before they unfurl, you will see dry and brown edges on the leaves. If you do identify these damages, most likely you will have thrips, but just to confirm because this can be for some other reason, you can look for the thrips themselves. I can tell you they're really really small, so you can also use a magnifying glass just to make sure, but if you really pay attention, they can actually be visible to the naked eye. So start looking at the bottom of the leaf, if you see very small white dots, this may be the larva. You can also look for the adults, they tend to be darker. In my case, the thrips that attacked my Monstera were black and about one millimeter long, so they're very small. But if you really look into the plant, you will find them. If not, again you can use a magnifying glass just to make sure that you do have those bugs. Okay, so now that we know that your plant is being attacked by thrips, let's just take a big breath, and not to worry, I'm going to share with you step by step what I did to tackle the problem in my house. The first thing that I recommend is that after watching this video, you look at all of your plants, and the ones that are being attacked by thrips, just separate them from the others, so they don't attack the other plants. The second very important thing is to understand their life cycle. This is very important because then we know exactly how to tackle the problem, and where to focus our solution. The whole life of a single thrip from the egg to the time that they die can be up to 60 days. So how does everything start? Thrips actually lay their eggs inside of the plant tissue. Once they hatch, they become larva, and they instantly start feeding. So they will feed on the leaves, stem, or buds. Then they become the second instar larva, so they become a little bit bigger, they have a little bit more color, and they may be a little bit more visible to the naked eye if you really pay attention. These are the small white dots that you will usually see underneath the leaf. Then they become the poppa, and this is important. When they become the poppa, they actually fall in the ground. So they will be either on the soil, or in the lower leaves of your plant. And then they become adults, and they have wings. Now, I can tell you thrips are not the best flyers, but they're so small that they can easily be moved by the air to other plants. This is why it is very important that you separate the plants that are being attacked from the healthy plants, so you prevent a bigger infestation. The first thing that I recommend you do is to shower your plant with high pressure water every week. This is going to make sure that you get rid of the adults on the plant, and some of the poppa and larva. If you have a big plant like the mostera that we have here, this may be difficult because you cannot move your plant so much, so then just go to the next step. And this is to use a solution with pure neem oil, rubbing alcohol, horticultural soap, and water. Then you want to spray your plant all the way, so top of the leaf, bottom of the leaf, even the stems, and really clean it every week. Now, here is my secret weapon. As I told you before, from the moment that they hatch to the end of their lives, they're always feeding on the plant. So something that has helped me immensely when targeting thrips is systemic pesticides. I have bought many of them right here, because I can tell you, thrips are very hard to get rid of, so I'm so happy that I found these. All you have to do is to stick them in the soil and then water. Your plant is actually going to absorb this pesticide through the roots, and it is actually a very good protection for the plant, because what happens is that when the thrips start sucking on the leaf, they actually suck this pesticide. This is great in many different levels. First, you target the thrips from the larva stage all the way to the adults, because they're all feeding on your plant. And second, it is very consistent, so you don't have to be cleaning the plant so much, because these are always going to work as long as you keep water in your plant and your plant can absorb the nutrients and the pesticide. Given my experience out of all the pests that I've had to deal with, thrips have been the most difficult ones to get rid of. So I strongly recommend that yes, you use systemic pesticides like this one, but at the same time always keep checking the leaves and if you can, wash them and really clean them every week or every two weeks, on top of using these pesticides. So you're really tackling the problem from all different sides. And now, very important, in order to prevent them from coming back, I recommend that you keep using these ones right here. What I love about this one is that it's a fertilizer, but it's also a pesticide. So it helps my plant grow and thrive, and at the same time it's a very good protection from thrips laying eggs again and again coming back to the plant. Another way to prevent thrips is to use nematodes. These are beneficial bugs and beneficial predators that actually go against thrips or other pests that may attack your plant. I can tell you I have not tried nematodes yet because I'm still learning about them and also still getting used to the idea of bringing more bugs, beneficial bugs to my plants. But you know, I've heard wonders about them, so if you would like to try them out, I'm gonna leave some links in the description below. I found the best ones in order to tackle the problem with thrips. So yeah, if you would like to try them out, I'll just leave the links in the description and I would love to know how it goes for you. Also, I cannot say this enough, always check your plants. In my case, I check them every week or every two weeks if I don't have time, and I try to clean them with my solution. So this actually has helped me so much prevent pests and also prevent really big pest infestations, so I would strongly recommend that you do that. And also it's a very nice time to just be with your plants and just be present with yourself and with nature around you. And my friend, if you found thrips in your plant, I am so sorry. I know that they can be the absolute worst, but I can tell you that there is hope and you've got this, so if you use any of the methods in this video, I would love to know your experience. So make sure to share in the comments below or you can also join me on Patreon where we meet every month live and we talk about our plants and plant issues like this one so we can support each other out. And as always, I will see you in the next one. Okay, adios!