Thrip treatment that is safe around cats

[spinrah]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I am glad you can get pure Neem Oil. It is great stuff. Just follow the instructions for mixing.

I had fruit trees for many years and used pesticides and fungicides every two weeks, all summer long so, now that I no longer have fruit trees, I have been trying the organic approach. I have the Insecticidal soap, Neem Oil, isopropyl alcohol, coffee, and, in a pinch, Olive Oil (if you have a really bad infestation of stuff and nothing works, spray with olive oil and leave on for about six hours...that will smother everything...just a terrible pain to wash off). Every spring, I order lady bugs.

Yes, I'm really excited to receive the neem. I think I'll use it on a regular basis as a preventative as well.

[SundayGardener]

I have yellow spots on some leaves...if those are egg sacs, I am not happy.

Just signed in to say, be careful about the amount of neem oil that you use, and keep your plants in shade until they have dried. Oil on leaves can cause sunburn quickly.

How are thrips identified? I have these things that fly around, sort of like fruit flies, and they really like moisture. I had been thinking fungus gnats but maybe they are thrips. I haven't been able to nab or get a picture of one. They only come out in the winter, but unlike spider mites (I think), they tend to hunker down in wet environments. I'll be starting my own thread on them, because nothing seems to touch them.

[Clawhammer]

This is what I use on thrips. It kills them with ease and it does not shorten flower life when sprayed on flowers, which all other treatments I have tried (other than imidacloprid) have done.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bonide Insecticidal Soap

[estación seca]

Thrips crawl. You probably have fungus gnats.

[spinrah]

I actually haven't used the neem yet even though I received it days ago. I haven't seen any more signs of thrips on the one orchid that I had them on (it's been about 2 weeks now). I will eventually use the neem, but I just haven't been in a rush to do it as there have been no more signs of pests.

@sundaygardener - yes, I think you have fungus gnats
@clawhammer - thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately I can't obtain most of the products folks in the States use as I am in Canada.

[FairyInTheFlowers]

Originally Posted by spinrah

BUT, I did find what I think are a couple of egg sacs! They were hidden in a crevice behind one of the orchid flowers. I didn't think they could be orange.. but I guess so? They were glued onto the flower.

This photo is definitely orchid pollen! From what I've read thrips tend to go lay any eggs down in the potting medium.

[spinrah]

Originally Posted by FairyInTheFlowers

This photo is definitely orchid pollen! From what I've read thrips tend to go lay any eggs down in the potting medium.

I just googled it and you’re totally right! Thank you!

I still haven’t seen any thrips activity since I created this thread though. Maybe I just got lucky and caught it right away.