Identification ???

Anybody identify this please and if so a way to kill it on contact I have been using neem oil this past week but the more I inspect the plants the more I’m finding and I need this problem gone soon ??

Could be thrips.
I've got some.
Mine are fast movers.
I been hitting them with neem every few days.
Seems to be working.

Liamp1603 said:

Anybody identify this please and if so a way to kill it on contact I have been using neem oil this past week but the more I inspect the plants the more I’m finding and I need this problem gone soon ??

Click to expand...

I agree with @Wismo that it looks like it could be thrips.


CONSERVE NATURALYTE spray contains spinosad

Also as does MONTERAY GARDEN INSECT SPRAY (this is my weapon on choice) I have to import mine from USA to the U.K.

That is a western flower thrip. Looks to be a 1st or 2nd instar larvae.

So heres the deal, unless you use a systemic insecticide on all your plants, (please dont, jury is still out on health affects of smoking bud contaminated with said chemicals), or fallow your crop for a couple of months you will never be rid of them. Little bit of background, I worked in a commercial greenhouse as a propagation grower for a few years before transitioning into the cannabis industry. In the greenhouse we were just growing ornamental plants (think flowers n shit) so we could spray all the nastiest shit we wanted, from neonics to Pyrethrins, to even (and only in rare occasions, super toxic to mammals) Organophosphates. In short the "good stuff". Even with alllllll of that, including regularly rotating different modes of action, we could only control them, never eradicate them.

We obviously cant use any of that in the cannabis industry, so we rely entirely on biological controls to control our thrip population. We use a combination of swirskii mites and parasitic nematodes in combination with a vigorous IPM program of regular scouting and mass sticky card trapping. Very expensive, but effective with out the need for chemicals or insecticidal oils.

Here is the good news! They are very tame on cannabis and dont attack the flowers like they would in regular flowering plants. I have a theory that they get stuck to the tricromes and die, almost like they would on a sticky card for monitoring. They will really only be a problem in veg and only if you let them get to a high enough population.

I would not recommend neem oil to kill them with. I believe that the active ingredient is the same as the products azatin and azamax, which is azadiractin. Thats an insect growth regulator and prevents the insect from molting into its next instar, it wont kill them right away but will stop their development. Also as a side note if you ever want to spray neem oil, just remember to wear PPE. It might be organic but that doesn't mean its safe, one of the main side effect of coming in contact with those neem products is apparently depression fyi.

Mildew cure will likely keep that population at bay, at least until you can find another solution. and that has the added benefit of being really effective at dealing with Powdery mildew!

lots of growers have thrips, and it doesn't hold them back one bit!

good luck!

lukedaduke said:

That is a western flower thrip. Looks to be a 1st or 2nd instar larvae.

So heres the deal, unless you use a systemic insecticide on all your plants, (please dont, jury is still out on health affects of smoking bud contaminated with said chemicals), or fallow your crop for a couple of months you will never be rid of them. Little bit of background, I worked in a commercial greenhouse as a propagation grower for a few years before transitioning into the cannabis industry. In the greenhouse we were just growing ornamental plants (think flowers n shit) so we could spray all the nastiest shit we wanted, from neonics to Pyrethrins, to even (and only in rare occasions, super toxic to mammals) Organophosphates. In short the "good stuff". Even with alllllll of that, including regularly rotating different modes of action, we could only control them, never eradicate them.

We obviously cant use any of that in the cannabis industry, so we rely entirely on biological controls to control our thrip population. We use a combination of swirskii mites and parasitic nematodes in combination with a vigorous IPM program of regular scouting and mass sticky card trapping. Very expensive, but effective with out the need for chemicals or insecticidal oils.

Here is the good news! They are very tame on cannabis and dont attack the flowers like they would in regular flowering plants. I have a theory that they get stuck to the tricromes and die, almost like they would on a sticky card for monitoring. They will really only be a problem in veg and only if you let them get to a high enough population.

I would not recommend neem oil to kill them with. I believe that the active ingredient is the same as the products azatin and azamax, which is azadiractin. Thats an insect growth regulator and prevents the insect from molting into its next instar, it wont kill them right away but will stop their development. Also as a side note if you ever want to spray neem oil, just remember to wear PPE. It might be organic but that doesn't mean its safe, one of the main side effect of coming in contact with those neem products is apparently depression fyi.

Mildew cure will likely keep that population at bay, at least until you can find another solution. and that has the added benefit of being really effective at dealing with Powdery mildew!

lots of growers have thrips, and it doesn't hold them back one bit!

good luck!

Click to expand...

Nice post. I agree with everything except the use of neem.

What do you think of sesame and clove oils? I read labels and I've noticed many of the organic products these days are using sesame oil.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17385497

I also use mildew cure once in a while.
Didn't know it was effective on thrips.
Here's mine maybe the same type.

Here’s some better photos if they help

I disagree with you can't get rid of them opinion because I did get rid of them. Neem works wonders. bunch of good product out there that work well. Just keep it up and don't get lazy.

Wismo said:

I also use mildew cure once in a while.
Didn't know it was effective on thrips.
Here's mine maybe the same type.

Click to expand...

Yeah those a WFT larvae. If your interested, there are actually many different species of thrip out there. Most had their population wiped out decades ago when people where using Organophosphates all the time (super broad spectrum insecticides) and only the WFT was really able to adapt and thrive. In fact, that is why it is such a pain for commercial growers to deal with, they are resistant to a lot of modes of action and adapt quickly to new ones. But since most growers have switched to more selective insecticides other species of thrip like the onion thrip and Echinothrip americanus are actually starting to make a come back... just cant win lol.

And that is kind of why I dont recommend Neem to people... yeah it will work but are you rotating it with another mode of action? if not it will just help the population gain resistance to that mode of action too. another reason is that (and im generalizing here) im guessing most people dont have their commercial applicators licence here. If you aren't aware of the risks associated with spraying these chemicals and dont wear proper PPE you could hurt yourself or someone else trying to deal with a simple nuance pest.

Physical modes of action, like insecticidal soaps (kinda like what mildew cure does, and neem to and extent tbh) are much harder for an insect population to adapt too vs a chemical one, and its generally safer, which is why I like to recommend food grade stuff like mildew cure.

P.S. turn off your lights when you use insecticidal soaps, will help prevent leaf burn.

hope this helps and good luck!

Luke