Plant Pests 1: Thrips

infected leaf of ficus elastica

Plant pests is the topic I want to talk about the most. When you start keeping houseplants, it means you must deal with the plant pests as well. Plant pests are very annoying. The pests I must face the most of them are thrips and fungus gnats. I already wrote about fungus gnats. If you want to read, please go to the article. Thrips are insects that are usually up to 1 mm long. They are sometimes difficult to see. I use extra light. The thrips feed on leaves. They can be found under or on top of the leaves. Sometimes, the leaves will be damaged or even die. Usually, the affected leaves have dark, silver, red, or brown spots. It depends on the type of plant.

I inspect all my plants almost every day. Because if your plants are infected and you don’t realize it, they might die and infect other plants. I constantly struggle against the thrips. I try and give my best to make all my plants survive. The struggle is real!

Well, don't be scared! It will be fine if you regularly check your lovely plants. Of course, it takes a lot of time. I am experiencing plant pests from time to time since last summer. The air here is sometimes too dry. It makes it easier for the thrips to thrive. So, today I decided to write about this topic. In this article, I will tell you about my experiences dealing with plant pests and which plants are attacked by thrips the most. You will find some solutions on how to handle your plants when they are under attack by pests.
I don't have any pictures of thrips. If you want to see, you can click here.

Method for dealing with thrips:         

• Wipe off the thrips with a wet tissue. Repeat it every day!
•  Shower the leaves with cold water. Keep the substrate dry while you are showering the leaves by covering it with plastic wrap. Shower it three to four times a week.
•  Separate the infected plant from healthy plants.
•  Change the substrate if the thrips keep returning.

Monstera

monstera before get attacked 

monstera after attacked, the small shoot just came

I bought this specimen in August last year. Sadly, my monstera also was attacked. I just noticed in February after I finished my thesis. While doing my thesis, I had not much time for my plants. Before having been attacked, my monstera has always been very beautiful. I was very shocked because the thrips attacked almost all leaves. I used the method described above.

As you know, I don't have many rooms here to isolate the infected plants. I have more than 150 plants right now in a small apartment. I cannot believe it! Now, I use my bathroom for quarantining infected plants, like corona time.

The other method to drive away the thrips is using 1l water, mixed with olive oil (one tablespoon) and natural soap (a little bit). You can also shower your plant with this mixture. I have often used this method.

Now, my monstera doesn't have leaves anymore. See picture! However, I don't give up until the endpoint because I saw that one of the roots is still strong enough to enable its plant to regrow. Let's see how it develops. I will report it to you, guys.

Ficus

under leaf of f. elastica after attacked

the infected f. elastica now healthy

Ficus is easy to get attacked by the thrips. Still, mine always survived. Ficus elastica and lyrata often get this problem, but I have more success driving away the thrips compared to monstera. If they get attacked, I also use the same method I described in the beginning. Every day I work hard on this problem, but the thrips work harder. Lol!

My ficus elastica and lyrata also got an attack at the same time as my monstera.  I haven’t seen any thrips for two months. Please, don't return! You are the greatest enemy in my life.

Alocasia Wentii

my alocasia in April

my alocasia now

This plant got an attack by the thrips last December. I was so tired of these kinds of attack. So, I decided to cut off all the leaves. Luckily, the leaves regrew in February, as you can see in the picture. I separated the baby plant from the plant mother. It makes it grow faster with more space.

It's also a possibility to cut off the infected leaves. Although the thrips also stay in the stems of the infected plant. You can regularly shower or bath the infected plant with the same method I described before.

Dieffenbachia

dieffenbchia after attacked

dieffenbachia before attacked

I am so glad that this plant is still alive. I didn’t notice for a long time that my dieffenbachia got an attack by thrips because the leaves looked fine. I bought my dieffenbachia two years ago. The thrips spread from the dieffenbachia to its neighbors. In December, I also cut off all its leaves the same as I did to alocasia wentii. A month later, the shoots came out. I repotted it in February with new substrate. I made stem cuttings to propagate them. The stems rooted well, as you can see in the picture.

Some tips to handle plant pests:

• You should regularly check your plant’s leaves (don’t forget the undersides) for insects. If the leaves are infected, check the stems, as well.
• Separate the plants that are diseased or under attack by pests.
• Take care of your plant’s health problems immediately.
• Create more humidity in your room. You can use a humidifier . It’s not expensive.
• Repot your plants after one or two years, or you can check the bottom of the pot if the roots are visible.
• When buying new houseplants, choose healthy specimens.

I researched plant pests thoroughly. One of the other methods that I haven’t tried yet is using neem oil. You can mix one tablespoon of the cold-pressed neem oil with natural soap and 1l water. Next, spray or bath your plants. I prefer to bath my plants. I will try this method if my plants are attacked again. Lol, I hope I will not have to deal with this problem anymore.

Once you got this problem, you should take good care of your plants. They cannot struggle alone. Without our help, infected houseplants are going to die. Apart from that, the other houseplants will also get infected.

ficus lyrata after showered

No matter how many plants you keep in your apartment, watering is not the activity you spent the most time with when it comes to plant care. I just need five to ten minutes when watering my plants, because I don’t water all of them at the same time. I always wait with watering until my plants give a sign or look thirsty.

So, guys, taking care of pests takes more time, especially when you have over 100 houseplants.

Guys, these are the worst experiences I ever had with my plants. I hope these tips make you more aware, and your plants are healthy! See you in the next article.

Stay healthy! Xoxo, Rita

Disclaimer: This article contains affiliate links to products on amazon Germany. If you use the links to navigate to amazon and buy something (even if it is not the item, the link leads to) I will receive a percentage of the purchasing cost. It doesn't cost you any extra but really helps me. So, feel free to use these links for any purchases you might want to make. Thank you, guys!

Here is a list of the items that I have linked to in this article:

Bio soil ( Pflanzenerde) 40 Liter
humidifier
pests free (Celaflor Schädlingsfrei Careo Combi-Stäbchen 20 Stk)
5 nature plant pots (terracota)
COMPO fluid fertilizer for green plants 1 Liter
plant potting matt
plant potting mat
15 different of plant tools
3 different plant tools
plant spray bottle
Neemöl kaltgepresst 100ml
humidifier
perlite
10 x 650g - 90 l coconut coir (Kokosfaser/Kokoserde)
Pflanzstab Kokos 2 Stück