Hey everyone! I recently brought home a monstera adansonii that was in rough shape, having lost its leaves and developing black new ones. After isolating the cuttings for a few weeks and seeing no signs of thrips, I thought I was in the clear. But I discovered that my workplace is now heavily infested with thrips, and unfortunately, I found one on my cuttings when I got home. My apartment is pretty small (only 15m²), so all my plants are close together. I'm not seeing larvae or other thrips on my other plants yet.
My main concern is how to thoroughly eliminate this thrip problem at home after just bringing my cuttings back. What methods can I use to treat my plants, given that I can't use systemic insecticides and I don't have outdoor access? I have 15 plants, 9 in potting soil and 6 in pons, all fairly small. Is it easier to deal with this since I've caught it early? Thanks for any advice! ?
3 Answers
Have you thought about using insecticidal soap or neem oil? If they're available where you live, they can be quite helpful!
Considering your workplace is infested, it’s possible that you could be reintroducing thrips at home from there. I suggest treating your plants at work, too. My strategy is to spray all the unaffected plants first, then introduce predatory mites in an area far from the infected ones. Giving your plants enough light and water helps keep them healthy, which can prevent more pest issues.
Do you have access to pyrethrin spray? It's good for killing adult thrips and larvae. Just follow the instructions for application because it doesn't affect the eggs. Make sure to wipe down the leaves occasionally to prevent oil buildup. And yeah, treat all your plants just to be safe!
I haven’t heard of insecticidal soap, but I’ll look into it! Neem oil is available in France, but not as an insecticide, so I wonder if it’s less effective for this kind of issue.