Thrips! Alternatives to Neem oil and Azamax.D.E.?

Lil Neutrino

New Member
Well poop...thought I had my last clone doing better (if it survives it will be yet another testament to the hardiness of this unknown bagseed strain lol) and when I went to inspect it this morning I noticed that now it has thrips. I'm 99% sure they are anyway...pics are on the last page of my journal (page 16 for future reference) for reference.

Anyway I went to the hydro store and was told that the neem oil itself won't kill them and that I need to go a dual-action route with neem AND Azamax to hit them in all parts of their life cycle. Makes sense...I was short cash although I could have purchased the Neem oil; I just wanted to come back home and do some more reading first and see if I had some alternatives.

Right now I don't see too many, I think I only saw about four or five different ones over three plugs (tossed one plug, have two left, probably tossing one of those too) and killed one with my finger. So they're not a major problem yet but I do not want to let it get that far and I'm quite worried about them spreading to my flower cabinet in the other room...if they haven't already, I can't check for a few more hours.

I found this thread on diatomaceous earth and thrips and it sounded promising. Has anyone else used just D.E. with success on thrips?

Aside from being able to treat the problem it would also allow me to make a protective ring around the flower cabinet to help reduce the chances of them spreading there...if they haven't yet. I have used D.E. before in herbal gardens and to fight fleas, quite effective stuff ime.

As that thread leaves off they are discussing what D.E. does to soil pH and consensus was it goes up...makes sense given what it's made of.

Can I coat the exterior of the plug my clone is in with D.E., like when you roll food in a flour mix before frying?

If they are in my flower cabinet can I use it as a foliar spray if they're in the leaves since I'm three weeks in to flower and my buds are just starting to get some body to them? I like the idea of wrapping the base of the stem with D.E. coated gauze.
 
Lil Neutrino.. I hope you have the bug problem under control! I spent the last year fighting bugs every several weeks, until now! I read about the Hot Shot - No Pest Strips that are $7 at Lowes, and you just hang in Garden (shade), and finally gave it a try. I didnt really think it was gonna be a cure all for bugs, as it DOES seem to be. I hope you give it a try!

Good Luck!
 
Those strips work well. I dont know about a cure for all, but they do work well. For thrips I hunt them down. Its a common pest. They like to hang out inbetween the stalk and the stems of your leafs. As for foliar, I don't really foliar past week 2, unless instructed by the manufaturer fo the product.
 
Thanks...the bug problem was solved by putting the remaining clone outside one night when the temps dropped in to the 20's. Unfortunately this was also done after deciding that the clone was going to die anyway and I was trying to figure out how to get it out of the house without potentially letting any of the little bastards escape. So, I filled the tray with about 1/8" of water to create a liquid seal around the base of the 2L bottle I had cut the bottom off of and was using as a "jail" (taped all the vent holes shut). Then I stuck it outside overnight, let the bugs get cold (didn't freeze, too close to the exterior wall), then brought it in and stuck it in the freezer for a week (forgot about it lol). Took it outside with a garbage bag and dumped the ice and "jail" in to the trash, tied it up and threw it away, then rinsed the tray out in hot water. SO...I think that took care of them.

However I'm playing willfully blind right now with the mother plant...when I watered her Sunday night I noticed what appeared to be those same little bastards on a stick in the soil. I haven't noticed any flying bugs, there's none on the leaves I can almost guarantee due to how much has fallen off or been pulled off due to a serious bout of nute deficiency/pH swing (I think) I am just getting under control...iow, I've been all over every inch of that plant daily for the past week and this is the first time I've noticed any bugs in that cabinet.

I'm close to harvest, day 42 of flower, so foliar sprays are out of the question and I'm thinking if they are thrips I'll just take my chances and hope that they don't become a real problem before harvest...and if they do I'll try some of those strips and at worst I'll have to harvest a little early.
 
Back
Top Bottom