Thrips are tiny insects that eat like plant vampires, sucking out fluids from leaves to get their nutrition. Cannabis growers either currently have thrips, have dealt with them before, or will be have them soon. They're one of the most common pests we deal with in indoor gardens. They're hard to photograph, but their leaf damage is distinctive, so I've taken some photos and closeups to help raise awareness.
Note... My friends @Futuremind and @Jonyoudyer both tried to photograph their thrip damage recently, but the images can be hard to see. My attempt might not be any better, so if you have some great pictures of this topic, please share!
Silvery patches of irregular shape in random locations on the leaf. Some leaves are untouched, others increasingly affected.
Same shot, zoomed out. The spots never go away. Usually, they spread.
You may notice there are no visible insects. This baffled me, too. What's doing the damage? Is it inside the leaf tissues? Or just too small to notice on the surface?
Same shot, zoomed in. Now we can see little black dots on the leaf surface, near the silvery damage. The dots don't move. They almost look like ink.
Some leaves have dead spots that turn brown, as seen here. They're different than the silvery patches, but seem to have started about the same time. Before this, all my leaves were pristine (no spots, discolourations, deformities, etc).
In this shot, I think there's finally a thrip visible - that little light-green cylinder thing. It's not perfectly focused on that part of the leaf, so it's hard to be sure.
Same shot, zoomed in. We can see the black dots and the green cylinder better.
Same leaf, flipped over. There are those black dots again, and the silvery damage looks spread out more on this slide.
I've been removing some of the affected leaves. Here's the back of the worst one I've found so far:
And a zoom:
Another of those cylinders (thrips?), plenty of black dots, and lots of diffuse silvery damage.
Not good
Thrips aren't like traditional vampires, which often kill their hosts after draining some liquid nutrients. They like to keep the fun coming, by letting the plant live. Thrips 'merely' take sugars and nutrients from the plant's fluids, robbing efficiency, but not killing the plant. They also tend to avoid buds, focusing on fan leaves.
But they're not good. You don't want thrips.
One partial remedy is diatomaceous earth, which is powdered fossils of diatoms (tiny corals). As long as you don't breathe in large amounts, it's safe to handle and use. It just destroys insects on contact. I mix some into my soil, and then sprinkle some on top as needed. I rarely apply directly to leaves, but that can be done.
There are products available that can help control thrips, but I'm keeping these plants totally untouched by anything but air, light, water, and soil. Some people use ladybugs and other carnivorous insects. Outdoor plants generally have spiders and other predators on them, so thrips get taken care of naturally out there. Indoors, adjustments to humidity and temperature may help control these pests.
If you have more information, photos, or remedies, please comment.
Hopefully these photographs are helpful to the blockchain canna-community!
Grow in peace.
DRutter
Nice write up and photos bro.
You certainly are able to capture some really good macros.
The spots I have look a little different but in some ways look pretty similar.
I'm still having some minimal issues with them, and have applied the d-earth like 3 times now lol. At least it's working to keep the population low.
I hope you're able to get clear of the pests man, they seem to be a real pain this year.
Thanks for the feedback and info bro!
I agree. I wonder if the weather's got anything to do with their populations? It has been warm and dry here. Perhaps thrips like it warm and dry? Maybe I won't have the same issue during winter. Even though my plants are indoors, they can be affected by outdoor weather and outdoor pests. You probably know what I mean.
For sure, I've been wondering the same thing about the heat and humidity levels. It's been rough here but not as bad as where you are.
The tent allows me to manipulate the humidity somewhat, because if I keep it all zipped up with damp soil, it will create an environment that is pretty hot and humid. Not sure the temp because I don't have a thermometer in there, but maybe its not a bad idea to get one.
If I open the tent while the soil is damp, the humidity is reduced drastically (given that it's not a humid day here..)
But I'm just not sure if they like more or less humidity, I've been trying to figure that out.. but man.. last night I killed like 10 of them on the leaves by hand, and I can't really see anything aside from bugs on leaves. My vision is not bad at all but I just can't see things in the soil really.. I could go magnifying glass on it, but at this point I'm not even stressing it... When I can afford to buy some neem oil I'll probably get that.. but funds are so tight right now that I'm almost considering saying "f-it" and just letting them feast, if I can't remedy it with what I already have that is.
I hope you're able to get rid of them man.
I have upvoted and reHived this important canna-information!
Nasty little buggers!
Good photos considering your camera is decades old.
I can make out the thrip damage in these shots. Could be worse, but I imagine in a few weeks it will be!
True. It's about to hit 1.5 decades old.
A nightmare for growers that should be dealt soon.
diatomaceous earth I need to find some here in the netherlans. nice post
Keep looking, it's worth it.... make sure you get the cheap bulk kind, don't pay $10 for a little bottle.
I use lacewings and diatomaceous earth.. but great photos.. I've never actually seen as thrip either.. blood sucking bastards.
Well, sugar. Same thing
I wonder if you got something different going on. I can usually see the Thrips, and there little yellow specs. Sticky traps are also a good thing to have, especially on top of the soil so you can catch their eggs.
Are you sure you are not thinking of aphids?
I originally thought what you said for a second. But i have thrips eating everything but the weed right now so I can tell
Im almost positive there trip's, of course me being an amateur I can be way off, wouldn't be the first time lol.
Here is damage from a old leaf
Just a reminder that you live in a agricultural area that has arguably 100s of thousands predators and could be anything.
Also the damage in your picture looks more like mite damage and perhaps that is a apple tree moth hanging out watching her babies
Yeah there a bitch whatever they are. I use Doctor enzymes, and green cleaner. However i stop spraying 17 days into flower, even though the best grower i know on IG says you can use Dr. Zymes till end of flower, and people even use it to bud wash. But as of now I only see a few of them here and there. I sprayed 5 days in row, alternating sprays right before flip.
Being the best is a matter of opinion.
Following a method based on specific scientific data that can be followed easily will always be best imo.
Imo buildasoil is the best grower on ig.
Enzymes will cause a microorganisms colony collapse if your not careful.
Try captain jacks dead bug. It works the best indoors.
For heavy infestations use every three days for 14-17 days. Foliar.
Yeah I stay away from spraying in soil. And I agree buildasoil guy also rocks. I’m talking about Rust Brandon. Dude is rocking it, and he loves data as well. Actually saw Chris trump chilling with him, who is another guy I look up to, thanks to you.
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Helpful link, thank you for the promotion :))
Yeah man great pictures! I dont like using it but during the summer ill sneak in a treatment of captain jacks dead bug. It also, as I'm sure you are aware, helps kill the moth eggs that causes those worms to eat the buds.
Beneficial Nematodes, I love to use when my soil temperatures are more ideal outside of summer.
What did you use to treat?
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