Thrips have never been a real problem for us. We've seen a few, but very little damage. Out-of-the-ordinary weather sometimes spawns unusual swings in populations, and odd weather has been the rule the last few years.

Good news is, there are now very effective fungal based insecticides that are targeted for thrips. Benign and effective. We have used similar formulations targeted at whitefly with great success.

What are the names of these fungal based insecticides. Are they damaging to bees. So far I have heard that spinosiad "sp?" and seven are effective on Chili thrips. Seven is damaging to bees. They seem to be more resistant than other thrips or that is what I am hearing. My nursery experts still have not dealt with chili thrips and told me to spray insect soap on them. I think I heard the bugs thanking me for the peppermint shower.

Here is one we have used. No recommendation intended . . . insert legal language here.

http://naturalindustries.com/commercial/Docs/2012/noflylabel.pdf

It says for greenhouse use only? I guess I can't use this one because my plants are outside. I will read up on it further. Thank you