Thrips are sucking insects that belong to a group of common pests that attack indoor and garden crops. Their body is small in size - 1-2 mm, and dark in color. Plants deprived of juices become depressed and, if left untreated, quickly die. Pepper seedlings at home are usually infected with thrips from indoor flowers. The sooner it is possible to rid the crop of insects, the greater the chances of obtaining a full harvest in the future.
Symptoms of seedlings being damaged by thrips
While there are few insects, it is difficult to notice them on plants. Thrips are very skilled at hiding. Certain symptoms will help you recognize the presence of a pest:
- the leaves become covered with light yellow spots, and over time the lesions grow;
- puncture sites look like white or silvery dots;
- over time, the leaves of the seedlings begin to fade;
- young shoots become bent;
- plants slow down their growth and look depressed.
Insects reproduce quickly. Female thrips are fertile and lay several dozen eggs on the leaves of seedlings, from which voracious larvae soon emerge. Having small wings, thrips are able to fly from one plant to another.
Pest control methods
To begin with, you can try to fight thrips with folk remedies.Such methods are completely safe, but are not effective enough and help only in the first stages of infection, when there are few insects. If thrips have multiplied, you will have to use chemical insecticides.
Folk remedies
The effect of using folk remedies will not be obtained immediately. It will be necessary to carry out several treatments in order for the thrips to disappear. Various decoctions and infusions are used in pest control:
- A decoction of dandelion leaves. Prepared from 50 g of fresh raw materials per 1 liter of water. The crushed leaves are thrown into hot water, brought to a boil and turned off the heat. Cover the saucepan with the broth. After 3-4 hours, the composition is filtered and used to spray seedlings.
- Garlic infusion. For 1 liter of water you will need 5-6 peeled cloves. Chop the garlic, add warm water and let it brew overnight (7-8 hours). The strained infusion is used to process peppers.
- Infusion of marigolds. A handful of dried flowers are thrown into 1 liter of heated water. The vessel is placed in a warm place. The infusion will be ready in 2 days. It is filtered before use.
- Chamomile decoction. Flowers purchased at a pharmacy (100 g) need to be brewed in 1 liter of boiling water and allowed to boil for 5-10 minutes. Then the composition is allowed to brew for 12 hours. The resulting concentrate is filtered, diluted with an equal amount of water and used for spraying.
The treatment must be carried out carefully, spraying the leaves on both sides. After 5-7 days the procedure is repeated. Folk remedies are completely harmless to plants and humans; they are used in residential premises without fear.
Industrial drugs
Thrips are affected by drugs from the group of insecticides.Chemicals quickly destroy pests and their larvae, but often have a pungent odor. In addition, insecticides are poisonous and therefore require precise dosage and immediate ventilation of the room.
To help get rid of thrips:
- "Aktara". The solution is prepared from 1 ampoule of the drug per standard bucket of water. The result of the treatment is visible the next day - the insects disappear.
- "Inta-Vir". An insecticide based on cypermethrin has almost no odor. To prepare the solution, 1 tablet is dissolved in 10 liters of water, first crushed into powder.
- "Karate". Economical drug. Only 2 ml of product is used per bucket of water. Effective against mass infection. Provides protection for up to 2 weeks.
- "Decis". Also copes with thrips larvae. Consumed in the amount of 0.5 g/5 l of water.
If you are afraid of using strong chemicals, you can use biological insecticides. Thrips are destroyed by “Fitoverm” (5 ml/5 l of water) and “Vermitek” (2.5 ml per 10 l of water). To completely get rid of insects, carry out 3-4 sprayings with an interval of 1 week. It is advisable to alternate medications with each other.
Prevention measures
It is advisable to prevent thrips from appearing on pepper seedlings; in this case, you will not need to persistently fight them. Thrips like dry and hot air indoors and dry soil. Seedlings must be regularly sprayed with a spray bottle. You can place several containers of water nearby.
It is also necessary to periodically moisten the soil surface. If thrips are found on other flowers in the same room, you can use glue traps to catch them.Preventive measures also include treating seeds and soil before planting peppers.
Considering the rate at which pests multiply and the amount of damage they can cause, it is worth resorting to preventative measures to avoid thrips attacking pepper seedlings. To detect the presence of insects, plants must be inspected regularly. If symptoms of the presence of a pest have just appeared, use folk remedies that are weaker but gentler. In case of severe infection of seedlings, repeated treatments with insecticides will help.
