Bugs can bring a lot of pain to a plant parent, I know from experience. That’s why it is so important to follow the steps laid out in my previous blog, 4 Tips for Care for Your New House Plant, including checking your plant for bugs and repotting before bringing it in your home. Bugs can easily spread from one plant to another and could quickly infect your entire collection.

No one wants this to happen! And there is lots you can do to prevent and treat your plant for bugs.

Let's Talk Thrips

These past few weeks, I’ve been battling my first ever case of thrips. When I caught them, they were absolutely everywhere on my prized, 3 foot tall Monstera Deliciosa. I was horrified. I had no experience with any bugs except a mealy bug or two, and this was an entire army. Not only was this an infestation, but there were dozens and dozens of bugs on every single leaf.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is my first time battling thrips. Of all the bugs, thrips on houseplants (in my opinion) are like the cancer of the plant world. Thrips can sneak up fairly undetected if you don’t know what to look for, they spread like wildfire and they can kill your plant before you realize what’s happening.

They really are the worst.

What Thrips on Houseplants Look Like

Like any pest, it's important to know what thrips on houseplants look like so that you can check regularly for prevention. Thrip larvae are the smallest little white/tan specks that appear on both the top or bottom of the leaf.

Mature thrips lay their eggs on or within the leaf and can lay dozens of eggs at once. The thrip larvae then begin feeding on a plants’ leaf and stems, sucking its life and leaving them brown/pale (as seen in the picture).

If you notice your plant leaves starting to lose colour or see large spots forming, make sure to take a thorough look at your leaves and stems. Thrips damage monsteras and other houseplants quite badly, sucking the life out of them until the leaf completely dies off.

Adult thrips have wings and are much darker than larvae, almost black. Unfortunately, female thrips can reproduce even without a mate, so it’s very important that you kill both larva and adults.

When I noticed the thrips on my monstera, it was already late. Unfortunately I hadn’t been home so multiple of my leaves had died, including leaves that had yet to unfurl. Every leaf, top and bottom, was covered in thrip larvae and many of them had darkened spots from damage. I knew right away that it was thrips and that I had to act immediately.

How to get Rid of Thrips on Monstera Deliciosa

Disclaimer: I am sharing my personal experience in dealing with thrips and what worked for me. Others may use different products and techniques and I encourage you to continue trying new treatments until you find the one that works for you.

When I first discovered thrips on my monstera, I flew to buy Neem Oil and Insecticide Soap. I also made sure to ask my plant friends what they use for thrips and was introduced to Diatomaceous Earth. All of these items are available on amazon or most likely from a local store near you.

I felt confident that with this combination of items I would be able to fend off the infestation and make sure I don't have thrips on my other houseplants. I also knew that thrips were going to be a battle, and this would be no easy feat.

To begin, I combined one tablespoon of the insecticide soap with 4 cups of water in a spray bottle. I covered my floor in rags and began spraying each leaf with the soap-water mix. I made sure to douse both the front and back of each leaf and then with a rag soaked in the mixture again, wiped each side diligently making sure to remove all of the larvae. The soap supposedly suffocates the thrips!

Following the soap bath I filled a different spray bottle with neem oil and mixed it with water to turn it to a spray. Using this spray I re-covered the front and back of each leaf, making sure to spray down the stems so they were fully coated. The neem oil stunts the thrips growth and acts as repellent to keep them away. Lastly, using the diatomaceous earth, I covered the top layer of soil so that if any larvae fell, they would suffocate as well.

Return of the Thrips

Now, I knew that thrips would be a tough battle. I heard time and time again to just throw out my monstera and get a new one. But I just couldn't do that.

After a few weeks of treating my plants with the above mentioned 3 products, it wasn't enough. Unfortunately, the thrips were continuing to eat my monstera leaves and had even started to show up on my juvenile monstera deliciosa.

My next move had to be more  dramatic, as the thrips were not letting up.

I decided the best option would be to completely repot all of my plant collection, wash the leaves and roots down with safers insecticide spray, remix the top soil with dichotomous earth and finish off all fo the leaves and stems with a misting of neem oil.

This may sound extreme, and it was a lot of work, but it was completely worth it to rid my collection of thrips.

It has now been almost 2 weeks with no signs of thrips- my biggest advice is DON'T LET UP! I switched to safers because it has active ingredients, which supposedly work harder and better against nasty pests. Many of plant friends recommend the product and I can safely say that I do too!

Thrips Prevention

Fighting thrips on a monstera deliciosa as big as mine is difficult, so I am far from done my treatment. I’ll continue to switch between soap and neem oil for the next few weeks until I am confident that the thrips have been kept at bay.
Going forward, as the larvae don’t return, switching just to neem oil should act as a good deterrent for further infestations. Even for my plants that do not have thrips, I’ve now used the oil spray on all of them for preventive purposes.

As this is my first major thrip infestation on indoor plants, I now understand how much work it takes to clean up vs. prevent. I recommend all plant owners buy neem oil as a preventative measure and give your plants a gentle mist- you could save yourself a lot of trouble!

As always, if you have any questions or you would like to suggest a future blog please feel free to contact me by filling out this form or messaging me on instagram @syd.sprouts

Battling Thrips on Houseplants

July 20-21