Black spots appearing in thrip treatment process??
Why are the leaves getting these black spots on them during the treatment for thrips? I use systemica every 4 days to really attack the pests and get them to hopefully cease to exist. The black spots are soggy too, which I didn’t expect. #Monstera
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@SerenePoisonivy
Systemic in what form? Did you spray directly onto the leaves?? This is definitely not the result of thrips damage. Thrips damage tends to affect the youngest/newest leaves first. Thrips lay their eggs inside the leaves, and as they hatch they eat their way through them. The damage happens gradually, over time, initially looking like a bunch of pockmarks and eventually causing the leaf to wither, turn brown, and die.
I agree with @jkdykes that this is a chemical reaction, more specifically it looks like chemical burn. Systemic pesticides are meant for absorption via the soil and roots, so if you applied it directly to the leaves it could absolutely cause this type of damage.
Systemic in what form? Did you spray directly onto the leaves?? This is definitely not the result of thrips damage. Thrips damage tends to affect the youngest/newest leaves first. Thrips lay their eggs inside the leaves, and as they hatch they eat their way through them. The damage happens gradually, over time, initially looking like a bunch of pockmarks and eventually causing the leaf to wither, turn brown, and die.
I agree with @jkdykes that this is a chemical reaction, more specifically it looks like chemical burn. Systemic pesticides are meant for absorption via the soil and roots, so if you applied it directly to the leaves it could absolutely cause this type of damage.
@stephonicle it’s the spray from home and garden supply that’s meant to be sprayed on the leaves, at least according to the directions on the bottle. Maybe I’m spraying it too often?
Ok, I just looked up Systemica, it's actually not a systemic pesticide but an all-natural pest control spray with rosemary oil as the active ingredient. I noticed the instructions mention diluting with water first, did you mix it with water before spraying the leaves? Using it fully concentrated could also cause this level of damage. Just trying to rule out all possibilities to figure out what might have caused this ☺️
@stephonicle I did not dilute it. I must’ve missed that on the instructions. The plant also is not in direct sunlight as it’s isolated (as I can get it in my one space in the house where I can keep my plants) and isolation is very far from any light
@SerenePoisonivy undiluted it could definitely cause this type of chemical burn, even without any direct sun. Well, I'm glad we narrowed it down & figured out the culprit! 🤓 At this point, I'd go ahead and remove the most damaged leaves by cutting them as close to the base near the main stem as possible. Any leaves with more green than damaged area can be left attached, since they're still able to photosynthesize and provide energy for the plant. It won't look particularly attractive, but once new growth comes in you can lop off the ugly leaves as well.
Just out of curiosity, what symptoms of thrips infestation did you see on your monstera? They can be very difficult to spot compared to other pests, and on monsteras they usually only affect the newest baby leaves since they're a lot more delicate and easy to pierce with their little demon mouths compared to more mature leaves 😛
Just out of curiosity, what symptoms of thrips infestation did you see on your monstera? They can be very difficult to spot compared to other pests, and on monsteras they usually only affect the newest baby leaves since they're a lot more delicate and easy to pierce with their little demon mouths compared to more mature leaves 😛
@stephonicle I noticed the brownish colored damage on the leaves and then looked closer and saw the bugs crawling around. I have 4 monsteras total and there’s been thrips on all of them. My biggest monstera only had one leaf survive, I had to cut all the others off but it hasn’t had any bugs on it for several weeks and has like 7 new growths on it. This monstera with the damaged leaves has a few new growths as well so I can tell the systemica is working on that front, even if it is chemically burning the leaves
@SerenePoisonivy the tongue-in-cheek advice for folks with pest issues: should probably just BURN your house down! 🔥😂
Thrips are the worst. Definitely the most difficult pest to get rid of, in my experience. I have a large tradescantia collection, which are VERY susceptible to thrips. I found that out for myself...30 plus plants with varying levels of infestation. I knew I couldn't keep them in my bathtub for a month during treatment, so one by one I've been repotting them in fresh soil with systemic granules mixed in (completely different kind of thing). The granules are a last-resort option, a "well I tried everything else so I guess it's time to pull out the big guns" solution lol. I live in California where their sale is prohibited, so I had to get mine through other channels (eBay). But man oh man do they work! Three of my plants with the worst damage bounced back even more lush and gorgeous than when I first got them. So if all else fails, just know you have options 😉
Thrips are the worst. Definitely the most difficult pest to get rid of, in my experience. I have a large tradescantia collection, which are VERY susceptible to thrips. I found that out for myself...30 plus plants with varying levels of infestation. I knew I couldn't keep them in my bathtub for a month during treatment, so one by one I've been repotting them in fresh soil with systemic granules mixed in (completely different kind of thing). The granules are a last-resort option, a "well I tried everything else so I guess it's time to pull out the big guns" solution lol. I live in California where their sale is prohibited, so I had to get mine through other channels (eBay). But man oh man do they work! Three of my plants with the worst damage bounced back even more lush and gorgeous than when I first got them. So if all else fails, just know you have options 😉
@stephonicle I need to get systemic granules but I haven’t been able to find them in-store anywhere where I live (Florida). Thrips are the worst… I had some other plants get spider mites but those you can pretty much just wipe off and they’re gone
@SerenePoisonivy exactly. I'll take aphids and mealy bugs any day over thrips! Not sure if systemic granules are also prohibited in FL. I bought mine from an eBay seller in NC who either didn't know or didn't care about shipping them to a restricted state lol. I did a fair amount of research before ordering and his prices were the best. Here's the link for the exact product I got, the Bonide Systemic Granules:
https://ebay.us/m/Suzkb7
https://ebay.us/m/Suzkb7
@SerenePoisonivy oh, and I'd recommend getting two of those bottles. I went through mine surprisingly fast, and I was only using it on plants in 4" or smaller pots.
It looks like a burn to me :(