Is there anything I can do to prevent this next year? I take very good care of my roses; water 2-3 times a week use Bayer 3-1 spray regularly, alfalfa tea, etc

If the Bayer 3-1 spray has insecticide maybe it's killing off all your good insects so nothing to eat your thrips...I had minor thrip damage for the first time this year so need to learn more about them also...

I vote for thrips. grrrr! I bought a spray (Monterey) on amazon that helped. They are active through October and lo and behold, the three roses that survived the attack are now blooming and have healthy leaves. But now I know what to look for. I have some Indian hawthorn and Arbicola all around the rose area. Both of those are thrip magnets. I only sprayed at sundown and made sure to use the water hose on full blast other times. This year we didn't have much rain and it was very hot. I ended up losing 3 roses and 3 trees.

Check out this thread, Thrips are out of control this year. Seems like it was a bad year. Also, I agree with jim1961, the Bayer 3-1 has an insecticide that may be killing off the beneficial insects (insecticides don't care if the bugs are good or not good).

I don't know what I am going to do next spring. Maybe dig them out and grow vegetables. Don't look like you ever get rid of thrips!

Hang in there dmoore66! We only had minor thrip damage this year so I'll have to research and come up with a solution in case things get worse in the future. Best of luck with your thrip problem...

Thanks Zack for that article! I was recently looking at the blue stickies stores sell...

Marci Martin of the CT Rose Society suggests using blue plastic cups as thrip traps--spray the traps with cheap cooking spray.

http://www.plantersplace.com/community/entry/everything-roses/pesky-intruders#.Vh2DMCu6Kpo

I'm going to try the blue cups next year on those nasties. Just caught them on Augusta Luise a few days ago. Next, they'll be showing up for Thanksgiving dinner--the guests that never go away. Diane

Does the blue cup really work; any testimony?

The article mentions STP.. What is that? I only know it as automotive stuff. Does she put a cup by each rose bush?

Party city and those type stores might have blue cups all year.

Diane, I read on one of the university extension sites that there is a "season" for thrips. I remember they said ...through October. Individual milage may vary.

Just found a web site www.planetnatural.com which sells blue traps for thrips which I think I will order for next spring. They also sell a special wand to clean off bugs from on top of and under the leaves.

You can find other articles by searching "blue cups stp"

STP oil treatment can also be used to catch thrips attracted to blue cups.

Your probably talking about the bugblaster dmoore66...

Here's a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnl7Ur7PQKo

I've got tons of wasps roaming through my roses, and I have no thrips. Coincidence?? Maybe. :)

Carol