Dealing with Thrips During Flower

[electricbuddha]

Hi -

I am about 3.5 weeks into flower and am noticing signs of a thrip infestation. No webbing or anything but they're leaving their marks on the leaves and I have seen a couple crawling on the leaves so I'm pretty confident thrips are the issue.

What is the best approach for this stage of flower? I've heard spraying neam oil (or any foliar spray) may have a negative effect on the harvest / bud taste. Is it too late to spray? What is the best approach for getting rid of them during this stage of flower?

They also seem to be mostly focused on one plant (on the left side of the tent) but the plant on the right is starting to show signs as well. Should I just remove the left plant and salvage the right plant?

Any advice would be appreciated - don't want to lose this harvest!

Thanks!

[YYCannabis]

No need to throw away one plant to save another since all your plants are infested...that’s how thrips roll in a tent. Shitty break getting them during flower. Hopefully someone can chime in about what they have used during the flowering stage for the little bastards. If you can find some sticky traps (yellow preferably) you can set them up around the plants and hope to catch the mature thrips. The younger stage thrips are hiding in the grow medium.

Not sure if you’ve browsed the main GWE website, but they have a great guide for dealing with plant problems, including thrips.

https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-plant-problems/thrips

[electricbuddha]

Thanks - my local grow shop recommended spinosad since I'm not too far into flower...I just sprayed them down and they'll probably get another dose or two over the next few days to kill all the babies. And thanks for the link - most content I could find related to thrip management was in veg stage - since I'm in flower was just wondering what the best approach was.

[Cali]

Just so you know, Thrips are attracted to Blue sticky traps over other colors. Important to know to maximize pest eradication. Minute Pirate Bug is a great beneficial insect for the lil fuckers also Cucumeris, in that order.

[UndergroundFarmer]

I hate those things! Spraying them down with plain water (as they would get outdoors getting rained on) is the safest thing you can do in flower. It knocks them off your plants and drowns the more unfortunate ones. I used Lost Coast Plant Therapy to battle them for a while last year then I used Capt. Jack's Dead Bug to finish them off. Spinosad is great but I don't remember if it can be used in flower.

[electricbuddha]

Thanks. I hit up my local grow shop and they recommended spinosad since I'm only ~3 weeks into flower. I just sprayed them down...hoping for the best...

[dphipps1020]

I have issues with these guys as well sometimes. I haven't really personally noticed anything they've done except for cosmetic damage, like your leaves look now. Obviously it will get worse the longer it goes because they do multiply. I personally don't do anything if my plants are already flowering, mainly because I'm nervous about anything except water or nutrients getting on my buds. When they're in veg is another thing though. I use a spinosad product and it works good for the little guys. I usually spray twice letting it dry in between and then repeat a couple days later. First one usually gets most of them but you can never be too sure.

On another note, I also remember some people saying a 50/50 mix of ISO and water works pretty well too. Never used it but that's safe for flowering.

[electricbuddha]

Thanks. The guys at my local grow shop recommended spinosad since I'm only 3 weeks into flower. I have a whole bottle of it now so will be more proactive with pest maintenance in the future. Although the plants were fine when I flipped them into flower...just noticed the thrips the past couple days :/

[Cali]

Just keep in mind that they (hydroshop) is trying to sell so they will tell you here this and that will work even if it won’t. I do believe it says on the bottle safe till harvest but I wouldn’t trust it. Then again you are early into flowering may not be bad.

[grouchyoldman]

GWE veteran Rwise reports good results using 90% Isopropyl & water. Complete spray down every couple days to kill the live Thrips & the newly hatched. That worked for me.

One caution though: Be sure your lights are off after you spray until your plant is completely dry. I sprayed near-harvest buds and got really bad burn spots!

You could also consider Permethrin or Pyrethrin, they are listed as safe within one week of harvesting fruits & veggies.

Best luck on a bad break,

-Grouchy