Thrips (Thysanoptera) are common problems in greenhouses, houseplants and even in vegetable gardens.
The preferred vegetables for Thrips are onions, beans, squash, but these can often attack your tomato plants also.
There are over 6,000 Thrips species and they are really annoying because they will suck out the life of your plants. They damage your tomato plant by sucking out its juice on the leaves, flowers and fruits.
This will turn your tomato plant into a pale, twisted, silvery and disfigured plant and if you don’t treat the problem, your tomato plant will die.
So, what to do to get rid of these nasty pests, Thrips? The best is to prevent them, but if you got unlucky and your tomato plants got infested, in this article you can find some help on how to get rid of Thrips.
But first, to solve a problem, we have to identify it. So, let’s see, how do you know what to look for? Do you know what are Thrips? If not, no problem. I’ll help you identify Thrips.
What Are Thrips?
Thrips are very small and slender (1/50 -to 1/25 inches long) insects that are difficult to be seen without a magnifying glass.
Their colors can vary depending on the species. Some of them are yellow or brown some of them are black. But if you try to get closer to them, they will fly or leap away. Their wings are feathery, fringed and narrow.
The nymphs are similar to the adult Thrips but they tend to be lighter in color, such as light green or yellow, and they sometimes have red eyes. The wings of nymphs are also undeveloped, and they are even smaller as a whole.
Thrips are reproducing very fast and they can overwinter in plant debris, bark or other materials.
In early spring, the female Thrips start to lay eggs (every female can lay about 80 eggs) in plants. Depending on the weather, these eggs can hatch in 3-4 days or few weeks.
Thrips are extremely active and they feed in large groups. They are attracted more to white- or yellow-colored flowers, but they like other light-colored blossoms also.
Thrips can be extremely damaging to your tomato plants and they can spread tomato spotted wilt virus and impatiens necrotic spot virus also.
How Does a Thrips Damage Looks Like?
As I said, Thrips infestation can be very damaging to your tomato plants. These can be stunted in growth and become pale.
The leaves of the tomato plant will become wilt and twisted, with silvery speckling, small white patches and streaks. This happens because the insects suck the plant cells.
The flowers and fruits might get damaged also. Usually, this happens because of the virus that the thrips are spreading (tomato spotted wild virus).
If you don’t take action as soon as you notice these signs, your tomato plant will drop off all the fruits and then will die.
How the Get Rid of Thrips on Tomatoes?
If your tomato plants are infested with Thrips (Thysanoptera), you should take action as soon as you observe the first signs.
While prevention is the best, you can still have some problems with these insects on your tomato plants. When this happens, you can get rid of Thrips in many ways.
Organic Pesticide
I don’t like to use toxic pesticides in my garden, as these may be harmful to other beneficial insects as well, not only the damaging ones. So, I don’t recommend using any of the toxic chemicals.
Instead, you can use insecticidal soaps, if the infestation is moderate. These products can kill Thrips and will keep new ones away.
You could also use neem oil, which adds some more power to your insecticidal soap and will still remain environmentally friendly.
If the infestation is really bad and you need a more powerful option, you can use pyrethrin spray, which will poison Thrips.
Natural Predators
Another way of repelling Thrips is by using their natural enemies.
You can buy these beneficial insects, or you can grow in your garden some plants that attract these insects.
Thrips predator mite, minute pirate bug, ladybugs, lacewings or even Trichogramma wasp can all repel Thrips by feeding on them.
How to Prevent Thrips?
The best repellent is preventing the Thrips infestation. If you do few things regularly, you can easily prevent Thrips.
Keeping grass and weed-free your plant beds, will reduce the chance of infestation. Thrips can hide in grassy locations.
So, clean regularly the area where your tomato plants are growing and remove any plant debris also.
If you buy any new plant in a nursery, before putting it in your garden or greenhouse, you should inspect it if it is free of any pests or diseases. If it is needed, quarantine it for 1-2 weeks.
Another trick of preventing Thrips on your tomato plants is to dust them with diatomaceous earth or kaolin clay. These will keep away Thrips because diatomaceous earth is like blades to these insects, and kaolin clay coats the foliage with gritty dust.
Blue or yellow sticky traps are also available for us to trap Thrips or other pests. Hang these traps around your tomato plants and the pests will stick to them.
The pests will think that the yellow or blue traps are some lovely colored flowers and they will fly on them and then stick to the traps. So smart, isn’t it?
If the infestation is not very bad and only a few leaves are attacked by Thrips, you can prune the affected branches to get rid of the insects.
However, new growth caused by pruning can attract even more Thrips. So be vigilant and check your tomato plants regularly if there is a history of Thrips in them.
Wrap Up
Whether you choose to use insecticides or you choose to go all-natural, it is important to act as soon as you see Thrips damage.
If you keep your garden tidy and clean of weeds and plant debris, you will reduce the chance of infestation. But it can still happen.
TIP: Spider mites damage can look similar to Thrips damage, so, first you should check your tomato plant and see which insect is hurting it.
