Hi,
I would suggest that you spray everything, thrips can navigate from plant to plant.
Fred in NJ

Buy some of those sticky yellow no pest strips. Put one into a garbage back, then place all plants into the bag for at least 24 hours.

The yellow no pest strip should get all flying creatures, thrips and fungus gnats.

But other gnats could be developing in the soil so you may have to do this several times.

Nancy

Although thrips may be ocassionally found in the soil, they tend to flock around flowers to eat the pollon. Pinch off every flower for a very long time--2 months.

There is a forum on Yahoo which shows pictures of many insects. This will show you the difference between thrips and fungus gnats.

Nancy

I have already debudded my violets, it was so sad, they were blooming their heads off. One had been blooming since I first got it in October. I checked my plants last night, took one and tapped the flower over a white sheet of paper,and there was this little bitty bug. I had fungus gnats last year, a bit of cinnamon in the soil and that cleared up in a couple of weeks.
I have Schultz Instant Insect Spray that I read about on Rachel's Reflection to use on them. I can't find any of the sticky sheets, I am going to have to order them in. When I spray them, should I bag them for 24 hours?
This weekend I will be repotting them, it is actually about time for that anyways. So if there is anything hiding in the soil, hopefully this will get most of them.

Thrips and I have a love hate relationship :/

I love it when they're gone and hate it when they come back.

Here's the No Pest Strip that Nancy was mentioning,
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Violet growers need to share what works and what doesn't so that we can ban together against these critters. It seems like every time I get rid of mine and then get my flowers in a beautiful blooming stage, I discover a thrip and the cycle starts for another 5 months :(

Dora

I wouldn't recommend bagging plants that have been sprayed. True it might make the spray more concentrated, especially if you put the plants in the bag, then spray, but on the otherhand, that may be a problem. If the spray is too concentrated, it might damage plants.

You can also use tennis balls covered in vaseline. Messey, but I am told it works.

Nancy

seeking to understand.....
I can take tennis balls and cover in Vaseline and place that near my plants or in a bag with plants?

And this is to help with thrips?
Dora

Okay, looking through old posts, I can use neem oil to help protect my plants from thrips after I get rid of the little buggers, correct? Or pieces of garlic. Which do people find more effective? And will any neem oil work? I make soap on occasion and they sell neem oil at the soap supply company I go to, and cheaper than dyna-gro. I have ordered the pest strips.

IMHO the pest strips are more for monitoring than for eradication. And Neem oil is for prevention not for getting rid off.

They sell in HD and Lowes Bayer Rose care, Tree and Lawm care spray - you need to read the label and find the one that has Imidacloprid as an active ingredient - and use it to spray your plants with a 1/4 strength. It will work because imidacloprid has systemic action - it will last in the tissue of the plants for some time, be sure to soak the soil too.

Thrips are abundant outside in summer - so prevention is really hard. Do not bring any bunches of flowers from outside or florist - at least do not put them in a same room with violets - but remember - thrips fly and the window screen is not going to stop them.

Thrips infestation is recurrent - you got rid of them - and here comes another summer and they are back. Since they carry virus - you really need to treat a collection every time you see 1 thrips.

Good Luck

Irina

I wanted something to keep them off after I go through this round of debudding and spraying. I will look for the stuff you recommended. I am sure they will be back, coming through the screen on my backdoor. The one I saw was so very small, I don't think they make screens fine enough to keep them out.

The do make screen small enough to prevent thrips* from getting in, but I do not know where to get it. I just know another woman on a forum who has INSV last fall bought some.

*it's an odd word - it's got an s on the end whether you're talking about one or a million

More of it - if you see 1 thrips - it is usually a very pregnant one...

the tennis ball answer is a first for me i hope i never have to use it ill have to write that one down.... hummm.
see yall later
j.b's

Hello all
I haven't had thrips yet but have always been a bit paranoid about them. Dora, is the picture you posted for the poison insect strip and not the sticky insect card?
In the olden days people would put the poison insect strip in the garbage bag for 24 hours with the violets, right? That possibly could damage the violets?
Do people put the sticky cards and the vaseline tennis ball in the garbage bags now for 24 hours in hopes the thrips will fly off the violets and get stuck?
What does HD stand for?
Thanks for any clarification.
Sherry

Sherry -

Home Depot

Vaseline Balls... I would say if you see some bug attached to the the hanging yellow sticky ball - it is a good indication that you have an infestation. That's how big greenhouses monitor for thrips, white flies and what not. If the count is more than let's say 20 - they call the cavalry and douse everything with a very serious poison. They have an equipment, chemical protection suites and gas masks etc.

Yellow color attracts a lot of flying insects - but in a trash bag... I wouldn't think they will see it.

There are poison strips - if you put your violet in a garbage bag with this strip - you will gas the bugs. I am not sure if it will help to kill the eggs though.

if you have violets with purple blue flowers - you will see spilled pollen immediately - for whatever reason thrips always go for this color.

SO -

We need to love our violets and talk to them every day and check on them if they have problems. This way - you will see the problem sooner, you will treat them on time, you will remove spent flowers, turn the plants, save the plant from occasional root rot and enjoy the bloom more.

Cheers

irina

Thanks irina, now I understand.
Sherry

Sherry,
Please accept my apology on not replying sooner. I've been out of town on a business trip and am just catching up this morning on the forum.

i've put the link to the product we are referring to.
Blessings,
Dora

Here is a link that might be useful: No Pest Strips

Thanks Dora, for answering. My head is just a spinning now.
Nancy, your post July 19 at 21:59. Do you put the Hot Shot no pest strip in the bag with the violets for 24 hours? If you do, have you had any problem with it damaging your plants?
Thanks
Sherry

Just my personal experience with this...
I have been doing this as part of my quarantine procedure . Instead of a plastic bag, I first put the plants into a large plastic storage container I bought at Fred Meyers. That keeps the plastic from touching the leaves. Next I place the Hot Shot strip in the bottom and put the lid on. Last I pull some garbage bags over the whole box, to keep any vapors from the strip contained . I donÂt like the thought of breathing them.
I have found that drops of condensation can collect on some of the leaves, so I make sure they have time to dry before going back under my lights. Most of the plants donÂt seem to be bothered by their 24 hour stay in the box. A few have seemed sensitive to it though. I have never lost a plant doing this, but have lost a few leaves from a sensitive plant. A couple have been set back a bit by it, but all have recovered well. IÂve learned that they do better if I donÂt leave the box on the floor where it is cooler.
I have used this with other plants as well. Mostly miniature type house plants. For me, some of them were more sensitive to it then the African Violets. My box is about 3ft. Long, 17" wide, and 12" tall.
Have a wonderful day,
Raven

Like Raven, I also use storage boxes. The first time I used the Pest Strip I did have some damage to some of their leaves. I wick water and just pulled them out of reservoir and placed them in box. Too much moisture. Drops of condensation with Pest Strip gases on leaves did have some damage to some sensitive plants. Now, I line the bottom of boxes with newspaper, tape newspaper to inside of lid, and even wad up and lay in between plants. Excessive moisture no longer a problem. After 24 hrs. open box - newspaper is damp and no harmful drops on leaves.

The No Pest Strips DO NOT kill eggs. Wait a week and do it again. And then again. Three times - total. This will also curtail a spring tail population.
Missed you all - been a busy spring and summer.

Mac

Oh! Great idea. Thank you Minimac. I will try adding the newspaper to mine. Now why didn't I think of that..
Have a wonderful day,
Raven

LOL Raven, that's an age old "soccer mom" trick to help dry out the insides of stinky cleats.
Good growing,
Mac

Okay, I have the Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower insect killer spray. It says it is ready-to-use, do I need to dilute it any before spraying my violets?

KD -

I would try on 1 plant - disbud it, warm the spray - just put the container in hot water for 15 min - spray the plant outside, let it dry in a shady spot - and see how it works. You can possibly spot the leaves. Be sure that you spray all nooks an crannies and soak the soil. Wait several days - and if there is no burns - go ahead.

Good Luck

irina

This thread is getting very long!

To clear things up: I have never used the tenis ball/vaseline "cure". What I heard about it is that you slather vaseline on preferrably a yellow tenis ball and hang it up so flying insects are attracted by the color and get stuck on the vaseline. This is a home-made No Pest Strip.

There are several companies that make the Sticky yellow Card. This first was Chevron chemical company and I believe at that time there was a chemical on the card. Presently the Ortho Sticky Whitefly Trap made by this company does not have chemicals on it. It does say: Keep children away form traps. The adhesive is hard to cleanup or remove from skin or clothing. (Vegetable oil removes it)

The home made "cure" about putting a sticky card in a garbage bag came from my mother when the cards still had a chemical on them. Neither of us experienced any damage by the chemical. Presently there is no chemical on the card--at least not on those made by Chevron.

Nancy

Okay, it has been several days, and I am happy to say that the Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower insect killer spray does not damage leaves when sprayed at full strength, at least not on my plants. And I can get all my plants (not just the violets) sprayed with one bottle. And it doesn't cost as much as I feared it would, so I can always keep a bottle on hand.

For all of you not in the know, the singular of thrips is thrips not thrip.
Fred in NJ