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Thrips - organic ways to kill 'em?

PB

Thrips - organic ways to kill 'em?

by 8 years ago
3

Is there any organics ways to kill thrips - minus the neem oil - available? I'm wary of those chemical and they get used to chemical too quickly.

MM
8 years ago
Thrips unfortunately are tricky to kill even with conventional sprays. They prefer light coloured roses so plant those with darker flowers. Oils are probably the best bet especially as they will not be able to develop resistance to them. Apparently some weeds are attractive to them so try to keep the area around the roses weed free. Attracting as many beneficial insects into the garden as possible should help as hopefully some of them will predate on the thrips Regular watering and a good fertiliser regime will help them resist attack. Are the roses in pots or in the ground? if in pots it is even more important to make sure they are regularly watered. Michael
PB
8 years ago
Hi Micheal, Yes, I'm talking about potted rose. I didn't know they preferred light color rose though. I notice they are interested in certain kind of rose, but then the light color - my red baccara has a fight with them and it won. I don't have access to beneficial insect like lady bug, metrolife you know. I'd appreciate if you could suggest something else.
MM
8 years ago
I would think the best way would be cultural methods. So look after your roses as well as possible by feeding and watering really well and then by hygiene so get rid of your dying blooms as soon as possible or even earlier if they look horrible and cleaning the top layer of the pots regularly. So add several centimetres of loose mulch and clear that away regularly. Also any other places where you think they might breed. Do you have a photograph of the damage you can send me?

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