Have you been bitten by a tiny black insect about the size of a typewritten (i). The thrip is one of the few insects which feeds on plants and will also bite humans and animals.

Several types of thrips may seriously damage your plants by rasping buds, flowers and leaves of plants and then sucking the sap from them. This causes distorted and discolored flowers and buds and gray or silvery speckled areas on the leaves.

They cause tree leaves to twist and curl with small areas of dead brown tissue. Onion and gladioli stems will get silver streaking. Thrips will cause rose, mum and other flower buds not to open as well as causing distortion of the flowers. Look for the tiny insect when flower petals have brown edges or dark areas on the flowers.

Gladioli thrips also feed on the gladioli corms in storage, causing russeted areas and lowered vigor. This in turn results in retarded growth and smaller flowers. Treatment must be done when storing the corms.

Control of thrips in your garden or yard should be done when the insects become a problem. A spray of malathion, sevin or diazinon should give good control of this pest. Other insecticides labeled for thrips such as Tempo can also be used, but only for plants listed on the label. The active ingredient in Tempo is  available in Bayer Advanced Garden Multi-Insect Killer.  When using insecticide, mix and apply according to label directions. Repeat sprays may be necessary throughout the summer if thrips continue to be a problem.

This page was last updated April 2003

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