The Ultimate Guide to Thrips—How to Find Them, How They Live, and How to Get Rid of Them

Hey there, fellow plant lover! Have you ever looked closely at your favorite houseplant and seen strange silver streaks on its leaves? Or maybe you’ve seen new growth that was twisted and misshapen? Your magnificent flowers may have been ruined by ugly spots or they may not have looked quite right. You’re not the only one who has been scratching their head, trying to figure out what little, virtually undetectable bug could be causing so much trouble.

Are thrips hurting your plants? If you can relate to any of those symptoms, then yes, you probably have thrips, which are one of the more difficult and sneaky pests that can bother our gardens, both indoors and out. But please don’t give up just yet! To effectively fight these little pests and get your plants back to full, healthy health, you need to know how to identify them (damage signs), how they live, and how to get rid of them. This guide is meant to provide a complete, simple-to-follow map for you. We’ll learn how to tell thrips apart and what harm they do, as well as their complicated life cycle (which is really crucial for controlling them!). Most importantly, we’ll look at ways to get rid of them and keep them from coming back.

Don’t allow these tiny pests ruin your beautiful plants! Let’s learn more about thrips and how to keep your plants safe and get rid of these pests for good.

What are thrips, anyway? Taking off the masks of these little plant pests.

We need to know who (or what) our enemy is before we can fight them well! The order Thysanoptera includes thrips, which are small, thin insects. There are dozens of different kinds of bugs out there. Some are helpful because they eat other pests, but a lot of them eat plants and may be very annoying to our houseplants and garden plants.

So, what do these little troublemakers look like? They are incredibly little, usually between 1/25 and 1/8 of an inch long (1 to 3 millimeters), and their bodies are long and thin, like cigars. The color of thrips can change a lot depending on the species and stage of life. For example, common pest thrips might be yellowish, light brown, dark brown, or even black.

Their fringed wings are one of the things that makes them stand out the most. If you can get a close look (a magnifying glass is your best friend here!), you can see them. Adult thrips normally have two pairs of narrow wings with long hairs on the edges that make them look like they have feathers. They don’t fly very well, but the wind may readily carry them, which is one method they spread.

The mouthparts of thrips are very diverse from one other; they are not symmetrical. They utilize these particular mouthparts to puncture or scrape the outside of plant cells and then suck up the contents that leak out. This way of eating is what creates the damage we’ll talk about next.

The Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) is a common and very annoying pest that you might find on a lot of different ornamental plants and crops. But for the plant-eating variety, the harm they do and the ways to get rid of them are usually very similar, no matter what kind they are.

(For your team: A clear, close-up picture of an adult thrips, showing its long body and fringed wings, would be very helpful for readers in this section.)

The Thrips Are Here! Identifying the Telltale Signs of Infestation and the Damage They Cause.

Thrips are quite sly. You might notice the harm they do long before you see the bugs themselves because they are so little and often hide in tight places like flower buds or fresh leaf whorls. It’s really important to learn how to spot these signals so you can help early. This part is your guide to spotting the telltale signs of an infestation and the damage it may do.

These are the main signs that thrips could be bothering your plants:

How to Look for Thrips: Be a Detective

Because they’re little and fast, you need to be very observant to find thrips:

• Look for new growth and flowers; these are their favorite places to hang out. Gently open fresh leaves or see inside blooming buds.
• Look on the Undersides of Leaves: They can be found anywhere, but they tend to gather on the undersides.
• The “Blow Test”: Lightly blow a puff of air onto a flower or plant that you think could be sick. This can occasionally scare them into moving, which makes them simpler to find.
• The “White Paper Test” is to put a clean sheet of white paper under a branch or leaves that you think might be contaminated. Gently shake or tap the leaves. If there are any thrips on the paper, their dark bodies will be easier to see against the white background.
• Sticky Traps: Many types of thrips are drawn to blue sticky traps. You can put these near your plants to keep an eye out for adult thrips and catch some of them. Some thrips will also get stuck on yellow sticky traps, although blue is frequently better for keeping an eye on them.

Plants that Thrips Often Attack: Thrips can live on a lot of different plants, however some common houseplants and garden plants seem to be more likely to get them. When you’re indoors, keep a close eye on African violets, begonias, orchids, Monsteras, Philodendrons, Ficus species, citrus plants, and a lot of other plants with delicate blossoms. Roses, gladioli, impatiens, peppers, tomatoes, and onions are common targets outside.

If you learn these indications, you’ll be much better able to spot a thrips problem early on, which is always the ideal time to act!

The Life Cycle of Thrips: How They Spread and Stay Hidden.

It is very helpful to know how thrips live and grow in order to fight them efficiently. Knowing how they grow and reproduce helps us understand why they can be so hard to get rid of and why some control techniques work better at different periods. There are certain difficult stages in their life cycle that make it hard to get rid of them fully in one go.

The details may be a little different for each of the thousands of thrips species, but the general pattern of their life cycle is as follows:

How fast they grow: Speed of Development In warm weather, the life cycle of thrips can be very fast. The whole cycle from egg to egg-laying adult can happen in as little as two weeks when the temperature is just right (usually between 70 and 80°F or 21 and 27°C). This implies that several generations can pile up very quickly, which is why an infestation might seem to come out of nowhere and get out of hand so quickly.

Conditions that are good for thrips:

• Warm temperatures usually speed up their growth and reproduction.
• Moderate Humidity: Some bugs like it very dry, while many types of thrips perform well in moderate humidity. Some people can even be scared off by very high or very low humidity.
• Lots of Food: Healthy plants that are growing make a lot of food.

Why It’s Important to Know Their Lifecycle for Control: To get rid of these pests, you need to know following lifecycle details:

• Hidden Eggs: Most contact sprays can’t get to eggs that are deposited inside plant tissue.
• Sprays that just hit the plant’s leaves skip the pupal stage in the soil or leaf litter as well.
• Rapid Reproduction: Because the life cycle is so short, you need to keep treating the plants over and over again to catch all the new phases.

This is why you need to use a variety of methods, such using foliar sprays multiple times and sometimes paying attention to the soil, to effectively control thrips.

A clear, basic diagram showing the life cycle of thrips, with arrows pointing to where each stage happens (eggs in plant tissue, larvae on plant, pupae in soil or off plant, adults on plant), would be very beneficial for readers to understand these important aspects.

Your Complete Battle Plan for Operation Thrips Eradication.

Okay, you’ve found the adversary and know how they live their lives in a covert way. It’s time to attack now! To get rid of thrips, you need to use a mix of treatments and, most importantly, keep at it. A one-time treatment is rarely enough because of their life cycle, especially the protected egg and pupal stages. Get ready for a campaign that will last for weeks!

Here is your full plan for battle:

Step 1: Get rid of the plants that are infested RIGHT AWAY!

This is the first thing you should do with any bug. Adults of thrips can fly, albeit not very well, and crawlers can travel across plants. If you think a plant is infested, keep it away from the rest of your collection to stop the disease from spreading. A separate room is best.

Step 2: Trim and take off parts that are badly damaged or have pests:

Take a close look at your plant.

• Cut off any blooms, leaves, or new growth that are very damaged or have a lot of bugs on them. These parts probably won’t get better and have a lot of thrips in them.
• Be careful when you throw away this pruned stuff. To keep thrips from coming back, put it in a zipped bag and throw it away outside, not in your compost bin.

Step 3: Physical Removal (Not very effective, but can help lower the number of them):

Some physical removal can assist, but it’s not a complete remedy for thrips:

• Water Spray: Bring the plant near a sink, shower, or outside if the weather is nice. Use a moderately strong stream of lukewarm water to rinse the plant well, paying special attention to the new growth and the bottoms of the leaves. Some larvae and adult thrips may come loose from this.
• Lint Roller (for tough leaves): You can gently run a lint roller over the leaves of plants with smooth, tough leaves. This can catch some adult thrips. Be careful when using on fragile plants.

Step 4: Foliar Spray Treatments (Start with the least toxic and do them often and well!)

This is where the big fight happens. You will need to carefully choose and use the right spray.

• Insecticidal soap is a useful initial line of defense, especially against thrips larvae, and it can even hurt adults when they come into contact with it. It operates by breaking up their outer membranes.
  • You can buy insecticidal soap for houseplants or create your own by mixing 1–2 tablespoons of mild, pure liquid soap like Castile soap (no degreasers or strong detergents) with a quart of water.
  • Always test on a little leaf first, and then wait 24 to 48 hours to see if it is sensitive.
• Cold-pressed neem oil is 100% pure and is a great way to get rid of thrips. It keeps them away, stops them from eating, messes up their growth and molting, and can even make them choke.
  • Follow the instructions on the product label to mix (typically 1–2 teaspoons of neem oil and 1/2 teaspoon of mild soap as an emulsifier for every quart of water). Shake it up.
• Horticultural Oils (Summer or All-Season Oils): These refined oils can kill thrips at different periods of their lives. Make sure to apply it all over. Be careful when using it in hot weather or in direct sunlight.
• Spinosad is a natural chemical made by a soil bacteria called Saccharopolyspora spinosa. It works very well against thrips. It operates by eating and touching, and it has some translaminar activity, which means it can get through the leaf surface a little bit. Find items that are clearly marked for use on houseplants and to get rid of thrips. For more stubborn thrips infestations, this is frequently the first thing people try.
• Pyrethrins, a botanical insecticide made from chrysanthemum flowers, can quickly kill adult thrips. But they don’t stay on for long, so you typically have to put them on again and again.

Step 5: How to Apply—Saturation and Precision Are Key!

No matter what kind of spray you choose:

• Spray every part of the plant well. This implies that you need to get inside every leaf’s tops and bottoms, all of its stems, petioles, blooms (if there are any), and especially the new growth tips and leaf axils where thrips like to hide.
• Spray until the liquid starts to drop off the leaves.
• To keep the leaves from burning, it’s better to spray in the morning or evening when it’s colder and keep the plants out of direct sunshine right after spraying.

Step 6: Keep going! This is the most important rule for getting rid of thrips!

A lot of good intentions fall short here. A single spray won’t get them all because of their life cycle (for example, eggs are covered by plant tissue and pupae are commonly under the soil).

• You HAVE to do the spray treatments you choose every 5 to 7 days for a few weeks. I normally suggest at least 3 to 4 full treatment cycles, which might mean spraying every 5 to 7 days for 3 to 4 weeks.
• This constant repeat is very important to catch fresh adults and larvae that have just hatched from eggs before they can multiply.

Step 7: Dealing with the pupal stage in the soil (if foliar sprays alone don’t work)

Many types of thrips pupate in the soil or leaf litter, therefore focusing on this stage will greatly enhance your control, especially for infestations that last a long time:

• Some types of helpful nematodes, such Steinernema feltiae, are natural predators of thrips pupae and fungus gnat larvae. They are combined with water and used as a soil drench. This is a terrific choice that is also natural.
• Diatomaceous Earth (Food Grade): You might try putting a thin coating of food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) on top of the soil. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is formed from fossilized diatoms and works by scraping off the exoskeleton of insects, which makes them dry out. If it gets wet, it may not work as well indoors, and if it is disturbed, it needs to be reapplied.
• Repotting (More Drastic, but Can Help): If you have a really bad or hard-to-get-rid-of infestation, especially if you think there are a lot of pupae in the soil, you might want to think about gently taking off the top inch or two of potting soil and putting in new, sterile mix. In very bad cases, it may be necessary to completely repot the plant into new, clean mix and a clean pot (after properly cleaning the plant and roots), however this can stress the plant.

Step 8: Keep an eye on things with sticky traps

• Put blue sticky traps near your plants that are infested (and even healthy ones to keep an eye on them). The color blue often draws thrips. Some of them will also get stuck in yellow sticky traps. These traps won’t get rid of an infestation by itself, but they are great for:
  • Keeping an eye on adult thrips numbers (this can let you see if your treatments are working).
  • Trapping some of the flying adults, which lowers their numbers a little bit.

(Optional) Biological Control (More Common in Greenhouses or for Advanced Indoor Gardeners):

Adding helpful predatory insects or mites to larger collections or more controlled surroundings can be a good long-term plan. Some predatory mites, such Amblyseius cucumeris and Neoseiulus californicus, or tiny pirate bugs that eat thrips, are examples.

When to Use Systemic Insecticides (Only as a Last Resort and with Great Care):

If you have a very valuable plant that has a bad thrips infestation that won’t go away no matter how many times you use the procedures above, you might want to try a systemic pesticide as a last resort.

• When plants take in systemic pesticides, they make the sap toxic to thrips that eat it.
• IMPORTANT: You need to look for products that are clearly marked for use inside or on houseplants and for getting rid of thrips. Carefully read and follow all of the label’s directions about how much to use, how to apply it, safety measures (including wearing gloves and a mask, making sure there is good ventilation, and keeping pets and kids away during and after application), and how to get rid of it properly.
• If you apply systemic insecticides outside, be aware that they might also hurt helpful insects and pollinators. You should think carefully about using them inside and only do so when other measures have really failed.

(Writer’s Note for your team: Visual aids are really important for this section! Think of using pictures to show: 1) Spraying a plant all over, especially the undersides of the leaves. 2) Blue sticky traps are being used. 3) Putting beneficial nematodes or diatomaceous earth on the soil.)

Protecting Your Plants: Ways to Keep Thrips Away.

The easiest method to deal with most plant problems is to stop them from happening in the first place. You can’t keep your plants completely safe from thrips, but you can make your indoor garden a lot less appealing and your plants stronger.

These are the best ways I’ve found to keep thrips from getting a foothold:

• Check new plants carefully and keep them separate from other plants. This is the best way to keep thrips and other pests out of your garden.
  • Check out any new plants you want to bring home at the nursery or store beforehand. Check for any thrips damage or the pests themselves.
  • When you bring a new plant home, keep it away from your other plants for at least two to four weeks. A separate room is best. Check it often and closely throughout this time of quarantine for any signs of thrips that may appear.
• Regular, Close Inspections of Your Plants: Make it a practice to check on your plants at least once a week. Look closely at new growth, flower buds, and the backs of leaves. Use the glass to look at things! It’s much easier to deal with a few thrips early on than with a full-blown infestation.
• Get rid of weeds and trash:
  • When it’s warm outside, keep the space around your houseplants free of weeds. Many weeds can host thrips, which can subsequently relocate to your plants.
  • Take out any dead flowers, fallen leaves, or other plant debris from the tops of pots and saucers on a regular basis. These can be places where pests can hide or breed.
• Keep your plants healthy (a healthy plant is a happy plant!): Plants that are stressed are more likely to get attacked by pests.
  • Make sure that each of your plants gets the right amount of light, water, and nutrients.
  • Don’t water too much or too little, as both might induce stress.
• Don’t use too much nitrogen: Nitrogen is necessary for green growth, but too much can make new growth very soft and lush, which might attract thrips and other sap-sucking parasites. Use fertilizer that is balanced and follow the rates that are suggested.
• Raise the humidity (this can keep some thrips species away): This isn’t a sure-fire fix on its own, but some thrips species like drier environments. Keeping the humidity levels in your home at a moderate to high level (which many tropical houseplants like anyhow) can make it less tempting to them. Think about using humidifiers, pebble trays, or putting plants together.
• Put screens on windows and vents (if you can): If you open your windows or vents a lot, especially in the summer when thrips are busy outside, fine mesh screens can help keep them and other flying pests from getting inside.
• Reflective Mulches (Mainly for Use Outdoors or in Greenhouses): If you put reflective mulches, like silver-colored plastic, on the soil surface where you grow plants outside or in a greenhouse, some thrips species will get confused and stay away from the plants. This doesn’t work as well in most indoor contexts.
• Think about resistant varieties (if they apply to particular plants): particular types or cultivars of plants may be more resistant or tolerant to thrips than others. This is more frequent in commercial agriculture but can also be important for gardeners. If thrips are an issue in your area, you might want to think about this when choosing new plants.

By making these routines a regular part of how you care for your plants, you’re making them much less likely to get thrips and helping your indoor garden grow stronger and healthier.

Conclusion: Getting Your Plants Back from Thrips.

Well, diligent plant parent, we’ve made it through the frustrating world of thrips together! It’s evident that thrips can be one of the hardest pests to deal with because they come in quietly, do damage, and have a complicated life cycle. They are small, they keep coming back, and the damage they do can be very upsetting. But I hope this tutorial has taught you that they are not unbeatable!

The only way to really succeed is to know their Identification (Damage Signs), Lifecycle, and how to get rid of them quickly and thoroughly. You need to be careful when you check for them, respond quickly when you find them, and most importantly, keep trying to treat them. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but a consistent, multi-faceted strategy will work.

You need to be patient and perform some detective work to get rid of thrips, but don’t give up! You can definitely safeguard your favorite plants by using these methods consistently, paying attention, and following through on what you need to do. You can keep your indoor (or outdoor) garden healthy and happy, free from these sneaky pests, and give you all the beauty and happiness you deserve. Keep enjoying your plants, keep learning, and keep growing!

FAQ: Answers to Your Most Important Thrips Questions

You could still have some specific queries regarding these little terrors, even with all this information. Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get from other plant lovers who are dealing with thrips:

How can I tell if the silver damage on my leaves is from thrips or spider mites? They might look alike!

That’s a wonderful question because the first stippling or silver look can be hard to understand! The main differences are:

• Look for the little black flecks of frass (their poop) in the silvery areas to find thrips. Damage from thrips often looks like long, thin silver streaks or patches. The bugs themselves are thin and often move quickly.
• Spider Mites: The best method to tell if you have them is by the fine, silky webbing that is most common on the undersides of leaves and where leaves meet stems. Spider mites are arachnids, which are related to spiders, however they are more spherical or oval. A lot of the time, their damage seems more like a dispersed speckling.

Do thrips really fly? How can they spread so quickly if they’re so small?

Yes, adult thrips usually have two pairs of slender, fringed wings and can fly. But most people think they are bad at flying. They don’t fly long, straight paths like bees or butterflies do. Instead, they usually fly or hop short distances from one leaf or plant to another. Their small size and light weight make it easy for wind and breezes to carry them away, which is a big reason why they spread outside and can even get into homes through open windows. They also spread very well by hitchhiking on fresh plants, cut flowers, clothes, or even tools.

Why do my flowers typically seem misshapen or have unattractive streaks and patches when I have thrips?

Unfortunately, many types of thrips, notably Western flower thrips, like to eat flowers. They are drawn to the pollen and soft parts of flowers. When thrips eat flower buds or fragile petals, their mouthparts scrape and suck, which hurts the plants directly. This makes the cells not grow the way they should, which causes the coloring (streaks, white spots), browning, changing shape, and sometimes even dropping buds too soon that you see.

Do thrips hurt people or pets?

No, thrips are plant pests and don’t want to bite or infest people or animals. The parts of their mouths are made for eating plant material. People with sensitive skin, on the other hand, may have a little irritated skin when they touch plants that are extensively infested and thrips crawl on them. After handling plants that are contaminated, it’s usually a good idea to wash your hands. They don’t directly harm pets like cats or dogs, but pets shouldn’t be permitted to eat plants that have been treated with pesticides.

Is it enough to only spray neem oil on all the thrips stages to kill them and get rid of them?

Sadly, not very often. This is one of the key reasons why thrips are so hard to deal with! We talked about this in the section on life cycles:

• Because eggs are commonly placed inside plant tissues, most contact sprays can’t get to them.
• Many kinds of thrips go through the pupal stage in the soil or leaf litter, so foliar sprays won’t reach them.
• Most contact sprays, like neem oil or insecticidal soap, work best on the larvae and adults that they come into direct touch with.
• This is why a long-term, multi-application plan is so important. To catch newly hatched larvae and adults before they can reproduce, you have to do treatments over and over again (for example, every 5–7 days). To get rid of anything completely, you may need to use both foliar sprays and soil-directed treatments, like beneficial nematodes.

I hope this in-depth advice gives you the confidence to deal with thrips! Remember that you need to put in persistent effort.