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I just found both thrips and spider mites in my very dense indoor
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Iris

I just found both thrips and spider mites in my very dense indoor garden. I’m only a teenager, so all of my plants are in the same room. I have 30 plants very close together, and I feel completely hopeless at saving them, since I know how thrips spread and reproduce. Is it possible saving my collection or should I completely start over?đŸ„Č I’ve had my plants for 6+ years and would be devastated if I had to lose them. Another factor which makes this even harder is the fact that I live every other week at my mom’s, and every other week at my dad’s. I can’t keep an eye on my plants consistentaly. To make things even worse, I have thrips infestations at both places. Thrips have been a nightmare I’ve been dreading. And now I have them PLUS spider mites. I am already completely drained, and I don’t know how to keep treating them (possibly for months even). I feel like all odds are against me. If you’ve had thrips and spider mites at the same time - is it possible to get rid of? And how??! Please help me!!! I am panicking😖

4 Likes 21 Kommentare

21 Kommentare

  1. Rachel

    Try 70% isopropyl alcohol. Put it in a spray bottle and soak all plants. Not the soil, just the foliage. Make sure they are dry before putting in full sun or under grow lights.

    3 Likes
    • Iris

      Thank you!

      0 Likes
  2. HombreDelSuelo

    Also a tiny droplet of dawn dishsoap in a spray bottle with water. Do your best to avoid soaking your soil with the dilution and try to only target the leaves, specifically the underside where the little b@$#!&%’s live.

    2 Likes
    • Iris

      Thanks!!!

      0 Likes
  3. Dracula Spectacula

    Plant people are just dramatic dw <3 That other commenter is right with the alc. Give them all a good, thorough wipedown. Neem oil is awesome. Some ppl hate it but those ppl are usually growing things they want to eat. Neem oil is a natural pesticide that does not harm your plants. It acts by making your plant toxic to the bugs when they nibble on it. Only use it on things you will not consume. During the transitions from summer to fall, and winter to spring, all of the bugs from outside of the house want to come in the house. Tis bug season 😭

    3 Likes
    • Iris

      Tis the bug season😭😭😭 indeed it is💔 but thank you for the advice, I’ll have to try and find somewhere to buy neem oil! And yeah, i get really scared off by how dramatic people are about pests (thrips ESPECIALLY)

      1 Like
  4. Plantpa

    I've had Thrips for several years in the past it seems once you get them you can never get rid of them. I did away with the plants. I was tired of fighting them. 6 plus years of plants. I feel your pain?

    1 Like
    • Iris

      Awh that sucks â˜č I hope it doesn’t come to that

      0 Likes
  5. GreenIvy

    Spinosad can target both thrips and spider mites, provided the spider mites are not super severe. To cut a lot of the spider mite numbers down, rinse them off and spray with 70% isopropyl alcohol mixed with a bit of water and some mild soap. I spray that weekly for mites til they are eradicated. The spinosad just follow the directions on bottle when u spray them

    1 Like
  6. GreenIvy

    Also
a big help is also applying the alcohol soap water mix with a makeup brush on top and underside of leaves. The mechanical motion disrupts the webs.

    1 Like
    • Iris

      Thank you! That seems effective. It will take sooo long😣😣😣

      0 Likes
    • GreenIvy

      For sure but I turned it into a relaxing activity by putting the plant on my lap and watching a movie or show while doing my plants. You could try that and it’s not so bad

      0 Likes
  7. Sally Brown

    What about nematodes? Look for “beneficial bugs.” They are natural!! I just am switching over to that! I also use “Sexy Plant Spray”. This is a mixture of water, neem oil, castille soap and 70% alcohol. Just google it for the recipe!

    1 Like
    • Iris

      Thank you! I am looking into that, but it is getting hard to get your hands on here in Scandinavia as the weather has gotten cold. I think it has to do with the risk of the bugs not surviving transport due to frost sadly. I’m on the lookout for them though!

      0 Likes
  8. Rhus

    I am wondering if you might be better off with beneficial insects. They're more expensive and harder to get than the other treatments suggested here, but the nice thing is that they'll keep working while you're away, and they're completely safe and don't take much of your time to use. You just need to make sure that the box is delivered to the right location; they need to be let out basically as soon as you get them. If you're in the US, nature's good guys is a company that provides beneficials in the amounts and types that would probably help you.

    1 Like
    • Iris

      That does seem effective. Maybe a combination? It’s pretty hard to get your hands on in Scandinavia as it has already gotten cold during the nights. Frost could make it hard for them to survive transport. Also, since I have 30 plants I fear it would get very expensive to buy that many mites😭 Thank you nontheless! I’m trying to build up courage to let even more bugs into my plants lol

      1 Like
    • Rhus

      A combination could actually work the best; mites and thrips are susceptible to different things anyway. I hope you find some products that work! Good luck!

      0 Likes
  9. Kendra

    I just bought some predatory mites as I found spider mites on half of my plants which probably means the other half have them too and I just can’t see them yet 😭

    1 Like
    • Iris

      I fear the same for me😣 Everybody says that if you can see the mites and or webs, it means they have already infested more plants and have multiple generations of spider mites😭 I’m terrified and avoiding treating because it feels like such a big step to treat ALL of my plants at once, which isn’t any better lol. You need to target them fast, i just got so overwhelmed when I found them on those first plants😭 Do you get what i mean?

      1 Like
    • Kendra

      Absolutely! I saw them on one plant a few weeks ago and washed them off and kind stuck my head in the sand because same and now they’re everywhere so I went with the predatory mites. They were expensive so they better work lol I spent like 4 hours yesterday panic treating my whole collection đŸ„Č

      0 Likes
  10. Plantpa

    It's me again. What you could do is dilute neem oil in water then water your plant. The plant will absorb the neem oil through the roots up into the stems and the leaves which when bugs eat the plant, they won't like the taste of the neem oil. Only use neem oil in your watering very sparingly.

    1 Like