Thrips: how to recognise damage?
Thrips cause silvery damage to the leaves of your plant. This is the result of the thrips sucking the leaf cells dry. They do this by scraping over the leaf. Thrips also leave their excrement on the leaves in the form of dark spots. You can also recognise damage caused by thrips due to deformation of the leaves or reduced growth.
How to prevent (further) damage
We always recommend biological control. To get rid of thrips this way, you can make use of the predatory bug Orius. You can buy these natural predators of thrips online and in most garden centres. Adult Orius tuck into any stage of thrips, while the nymphs prefer the larvae. Orius also take care of other insects like aphids, mites and whiteflies.
About thrips
Thrips are small, slender insects with fringed wings. They are greyish to brown in colour and at most a single millimetre long. The females lay their eggs in the plant’s tissue. They make an opening in the tissue in which they lay their kidney-shaped eggs. The larvae start eating as soon as they have hatched.
