Thrips

[.ilUli.]

I’m a bit disheartened. I used to have a large collection of tropical hibiscus and eventually gave up on it because thrips was ruining the blooms.

Now I notice thrips running around my cacti. What can I do to eradicate them?

[ohugal]

I don't know if you have a seller for beneficial insects, but where I buy them (Belgium, Europe) www.biogroei.be offers the following predators:
Neoseiulus Cucumeris (https://www.biogroei.be/roofmijten-tegen-trips)
Chrysopa carnea (https://www.biogroei.be/chrysop-tegen-s ... en-wolluis)
Amblyseius cucumeris (https://www.biogroei.be/kweekzakjes-tegen-trips)
Orius Laevigatus (https://www.biogroei.be/orius-roofwantsen-tegen-trips)

You could use a translation app to translate the text into English. I had a small outbreak last summer and employed Chrysopa carnea (which also takes care of a lot of other pests). I think it worked. I'm employing them again this week as a preventive measure. It is not cheap. They recommend one card to three cards per plant. I don't exactly how many eggs there are in a single card. 40 cards are €73. One of the advantages is that it is not time consuming, such as applying a foliar insecticide. Especially if you have a lot of plants indoors and if some are too large to move out into the garden or the shower.

[.ilUli.]

That is a great suggestion, I hadn’t thought of introducing beneficial insects. In the past I had lacewings in my yard, so they might be a good option seeing that they like the environment. I just wonder how it looks when I have the larvae crawling on the cacti, whether that would bother me?

[ohugal]

The ones I use, Chrysopa carnea, are very small and practically unnoticable. Lacewings are off course bigger. The other predators I recommended I have no experience with. I don't mind bugs around the house if I know they are beneficial. I also don't mind spiders. They are not as big as in the U.S. though. Chrysopa cannibalizes if there is not enough prey. Also, the predators I suggested are endemic to Europe from what I've been told. So I'm not sure if they are available where you are located. There are probably alternatives.

[jerrytheplater]

My friend that owns a commercial greenhouse uses predatory mites in his plants while in the greenhouse. He's been using them at least for 15 years. I will ask him where he buys his.

Search results:
https://biocontrol.ucr.edu/western-flower-thrips
Arbico Organics, source for biological control of thrips. Sounds like what my friend uses. Packets on a stick inserted in each plant. He says they breed in the packets. https://www.arbico-organics.com/product ... ips?a=2017

Arbico sells Lacewings too. I didn't look at the site extensively.

[.ilUli.]

Thank you @ohugal and @jerrytheplater. I think I will get some lacewing eggs from Arbico. $30 for 5000 eggs.

Still open to other suggestions though. I went to the local Armstrong nursery yesterday but left without purchasing anything. I definitely need to do mor research there…