Mackys Guide To Thrips.
You see guides online with all the scientific names, in latin, like we care about that, lets cut out all that Bs and talk about what they are and how to kill them ay.
Thrips are tiny, between 1 and 1.5mm in length and are very hard to see with the naked eye. If caught early, these guy are not a massive problem, but if it gets too much, they can really cause a lot of damage to your crop.
Firstly, thrips go through different stages during their life cycle, one of which, is in the medium:
You can easily get thrips, from over watering. They like to live in moist soil, so if you leave the top 2 inches of soil dry out between waterings, it will reduce the risk of getting thrips massively, as they do not like the dry conditions.
How to spot them.
Well, maybe you'll catch a glimpse of them when they're older, but then its a bit too late, you want to catch them early, and to do that you need some go go gadget eyeballs or something, so its easier to look out for symptoms of them, rather then the bugs themselves.
You're not going to be looking for bite marks, but more bronze, silver, and shiny patches on the leaves. If you look close enough, you may see whitish looking worm creatures on the surface of the leaves, but they like to lay in the veins of the leaves, which makes it even harder to see them:
As you can see the leaves have dots and patches all over, this is because the thrips will suck the saps and juices out of the leaves rather than take a bite. The females will also lay her eggs on the patches after the sap has been sucked out of it. You will not be able to see these eggs, so make sure you're vigilant with what your plant is telling you, if you see anything like this, treat for thrips!
How to kill them.
First off, clean your plants, and grow room all over to get rid of any other potential infestations, and try and find the source of where they came from. Prevention is better than cure, keep your grow room tidy, and clean! Most bugs don't like the ideal condition that ganja lives in. A good breeze, decent temps and humidity, along with a healthy plant, should keep any risk of bugs to a minimum. It still happens of course, but it really helps to have the right environment.
Well, same way we kill everything! Nukes! But we wont go there yet, that's worst case scenario. Hopefully you catch them whilst in veg, then you can just find a nice organic pesticide, and give the plant a good spray. Neem oil will work too, but be careful with it, as it can be harmful to pets and people. If you're in flower, you're not really going to want to taint the flavour of your buds by spraying chemicals on them, so predatory insect are your best bet. They might leave their shit in your buds, but they'll control the infestation, and personally, I'd rather smoke shit from insects them chemicals from Monsanto.
There is plenty of choice out there, but any fatty acid salts or insecticidal soap will work. But of course, again, prevent getting anything on your buds. The choice of pesticide is all yours, depending on your location, or how much doe you have, will depend on what you buy. But I always recommend going for the most organic option! Google is your friend here, just search for your local garden centre or store, and see what is available. Whatever you choose, makes sure its safe for plants that bear fruit for eating, and wash the stuff off after treatment if over.
Predatory bugs:
Amblyseius cucumeris. I know I said no Latin names n shit, but this is actually what they're called! Mites, but good mites, they'll get in there and kick the shit out those thrip bastards, and you get to watch a free nature documentary! Good TV man. See this guy grabbing this thrips by the ass and chucking it out the door? This is what you want.
Parasitic Wasps; No, just no, really, who the fuck wants wasps!! We will leave that one, your choice though! Im not getting involved with wasps lol.
Orius: These are nice guy, let them move in rent free, they look after the place Remember, just because its a mite, doesn't mean its a bad guy, nature has a way of keeping things balanced.
See that! Stabbed in the neck! They soon get the message they aint welcome here and they all be gone
Don't settle for any bug that moves in, and doesn't pay their way! If they're just gonna sit around eating your plant, and not give you anything in return. Kill them, with no mercy.
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