CANNABIS PEST CONTROL: THRIPS

ORGANIC CANNABIS THRIPS CONTROL

While thrips can be really tiny cannabis pests, they can still be spotted by the naked eye. Some may have wings and some may not. Thrips reproduce rapidly, especially in tight places. That is what makes them hard to get rid of when using pesticides. They suck the sap right out of your plant with their piercing mouths, which makes the leaves look like they turned white.

You can tell when you have thrips by taking a look at your leaves – they will look as if chlorophyll has been ripped right off the plant. Plants that are damaged can’t be healed thus making it harder for them to absorb light.

If left untreated, thrips will kill cannabis plants. Damage also can be seen by the greenish-black specks of poop they leave on foliage. Moreover, there will be silver patches on the plant from scar tissue.

Depending on the severity of an infestation, thrips damage might initially look like spider mite damage. Sometime later the damage gets worse and you can confirm that it is indeed a thrips case when the greenness of leaves is replaced with portions of white patches.

Thrips also can cause viruses to the plants and any larvae infected will breed more infected pests! Adults have wings though they do not fly well but rather jump from leaf to leaf and from plant to plant. While they suck, the plants release honeydew which can contribute to another common problem in cannabis – molds.

There are different kinds of thrips and some are more resistant to chemicals than others. These marijuana bugs can also carry plant pathogens in their mouths and transmit these to other plants, increasing their chances of getting infected. If your cannabis plants are affected during late flowering or close to harvest, make sure you use organic pest control as it is safest for both your plants and your health.

SPINOSAD IS A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE, NATURAL AND ORGANIC BROAD-SPECTRUM PESTICIDE THAT’S GENERALLY HARMLESS TO PLANTS, HUMANS AND PETS.

It is produced via fermentation of the soil bacteria Saccharopolyspora spinosa and used both as a foliar spray and a soil drench. However, Spinosad is toxic to bees and caterpillars and its use has been banned in some places in an effort to save local bee and butterfly populations. Also, while it has generally been accepted that Spinosad is safe to use on edible crops, studies are still insufficient to validate its safety on humans during the cannabis smoking process.

ORGANIC THRIPS PEST CONTROL IN OUTDOOR CANNABIS GROWS

Unlike in indoor grow spaces where a cannabis cultivator has the free-hand in controlling and manipulating factors that affect pest populations such as temperature, light, humidity and airflow, outdoor growers are at the mercy of nature when dealing with these environmental conditions. For this reason, pest control for a thrips problem in outdoor cannabis grows may be more of a challenge compared to indoor grows. Luckily, these particular pests don’t invade outdoor cannabis crops as much as indoor grows and greenhouses. Still, outdoor cannabis growers need to keep watch as an infestation can significantly reduce yields if not eliminated early.

Much of my experience on thrips pest control has been with indoor cannabis grows, so I reached out to Nicholas Martin, the driving force behind Pest Control Hacks. Nicolas is professional pest fighter like I am—he is also an entomologist who has worked with several large cannabis growing companies and has dealt with thrips issues more than any other pests in outdoor cannabis grows. Here are his recommendations.

First, verify if you really have thrips in cannabis and not any other type of pests.

Why? Because at first, a thrips problem may resemble two-spotted spider mite damage. To check for both larvae and adult thrips on cannabis, hold a white piece of paper under an area of the plant and tap the plant several times. If the pests are present on the plant, this will dislodge the bugs onto the paper where they can then be seen more easily.>

Use yellow or blue sticky traps to monitor for adults. These same yellow or blue sticky traps will also work well for mass trapping if thrips pest populations are high. Special pheromones for thrips are available and can be used in conjunction with sticky traps.

When it comes to pesticides, recommended formulations should include the active ingredient, Beauveria bassiana. ANT & GARDEN ORGANIC PEST CONTROL also recommends any Spinosad-based pesticide if the use of this ingredient isn’t banned in your state.

Biological control is also another safe and organic option for addressing a thrips problem in cannabis. For the young larval stages of this pest, the predatory mites Amblyseius cucumeris and Amblyseius swirskii can be used. The minute pirate bug, Orius insidious, also works very well for adult thrips. For thrips that pupate in the soil, Stratiolaelaps scimitus (Hypoaspis miles) and Dalotia coriaria (Atheta coriaria) can be introduced to the grow area. Nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) can also be drenched into the soil to help control thrips pupae.

If you want to get rid of thrips and other common cannabis pests that have started invading your grow space, ANT & GARDEN ORGANIC PEST CONTROL in Beaverton Oregon can help you out. Don’t delay. Contact us today!

503-713-9590