Emotional Support + Advice needed 😭
#Syngonium My recent fb marketplace purchase is a pink #Syngonium, and I quarantined her for just a few days, obviously not long enough for the entire life cycle of pests, which I have now learned the hard way. I think she has thrips. I now feel like all hopes are lost and all of my plants must perish in a furnace 😭😭😭 I have separated the obviously infected syngonium and a few others around her each to a different corner. I wiped down the syngonium with an alcohol wipe and that removed visible bugs. There were on average about 3 bugs per leaf. Is that bad enough to spread? what else should I do?
11
yes, that can spread. I've heard neem oil does a good job of killing pests. I'm so sorry this happened to you. Start checking the other plants twice a day to see if they have thrips too. If they do, send them away from the others. Also, you're going to want to take the infected plants away from each other too. This will help with maximizing the survival of infestations that aren't as bad, because they're not getting more pests from the infestation that is awful
and don't stop just because you don't see them. They could still be there and it only takes 2 to start an infestation. I don't know how long you should continue treatment, but their life cycle is roughly 60 days from egg to adult at death, so you should probably continue for 2 months after you stop seeing them
@GroovyGraypine do you have photos of the infected plants/pests? Just to help confirm it's definitely thrips you're dealing with? I ask because some pests can resemble other pests, and treatment approaches can vary depending on the pest. Treatment can also vary depending on the species of thrips.
Thrips are a giant pain in the a$$ to get rid of...it can take MANY rounds of treatment. Before you completely sink into that pit of despair, I'd post a few pics to help confirm if they are in fact thrips 🥰
Thrips are a giant pain in the a$$ to get rid of...it can take MANY rounds of treatment. Before you completely sink into that pit of despair, I'd post a few pics to help confirm if they are in fact thrips 🥰
@GroovyGraypine also, a good first step when dealing with pests of any kind is giving your plant a shower. You want the water pressure strong enough to knock the little buggers off but not so forceful it damages the leaves 😉
@stephonicle Thanks! I didn’t take any pics yesterday before I alcohol wiped the whole plant but I will be sure to take them the next time I see these mf. One other tell-tale sign is little bits of sapped out leaves
2nd shower all plants at least once every 5 days, diluted alcohol spray (1/7 ratio alcohol to water when 70%) and add systemic granules to all plants — it’s a poison that plants sucks in and kills many pests including thrips. Treat your entire collection as a precaution if the plant was out near all of them.
@PugandPlantMom thanks. Systemic pesticide isn’t available where I live. I haven’t noticed thrips on my other plants just yet but fingers crossed. I will use the alcohol spray and some insecticidal soap for now! Thanks for the suggestions!
Must be thrips season - I discovered some on my Alocasia Stingray earlier this week. I washed off the leaves as soon as I saw them, then wiped down with a neem-based houseplant spray which I repeat once a day. Also dusted the soil with diatomaceous earth. I don't have the room to quarantine so I'm also treating nearby plants and redistributed my carnivorous plants to help catch any wayward pests. Best of luck! 💚🪴