How to Get Rid of Thrips on Monstera: Signs, Control, Recover
Monstera plants are beautiful and relatively easy to care for (for the majority of kinds, at least), but like most houseplants, they are prone to pests like scale, mealybugs, spider mites, and thrips. Everything you need to know about thrips on monstera plants and how to get rid of thrips on monstera will be covered in this post.
What symptoms of thrips do monstera have?
Monstera leaves and plant tissue are harmed by adult female thrips by having holes punctured in them. the eggs are then laid on the leaves.
The nymphs emerge from the egg and start feeding on the sap right away. The monstera plant loses its ability to distribute nutrients and water throughout the entire plant when its sap supply is cut off.
The following are warning indications of thrip infestation that you should watch out for:
- Look for indications of death. The thrips are probably depriving your plant of nutrition if it is becoming drabber and weaker every day.
- Look for leaf deterioration that is brown and yellow.
- Black spots on the underside of leaves are another sign of thrip-caused harm.
- Look for withering, curling, and drooping in the leaves.
- A magnifying glass can be used to see thrips crawling on the top or bottom of the leaves.
Use treatment and preventative measures if your monstera plant exhibits any of these symptoms.
Read more: What are Thrips? How to get rid of Thrips on Monstera
How to Get Rid of Thrips on Monstera?
There are many ways in which to get rid of thrips that have inhabited your monstera plant. These include:
1) Use of bug traps
Thrips are one of the several insects that are drawn to the colors yellow, blue, and white. You can take advantage of this by positioning colorful bug traps next to your monstera plant.
The trap would draw the thrips, which would then become impaled on it. Your trap would eventually catch every thrip, ridding your plant of pests.
The bug traps can be purchased in stores, but they can also be created at home with colorful paper, glue, or honey.
2) Manual or Lint Roller Thrip Removal
If the thrips are apparent enough, you can also remove them manually from your plant one at a time or using a lint roller.
Due to the lint roller's adhesive properties, it would be possible to capture thrips by gliding it over the leaves of your plant.
3) Insecticide use to eradicate thrips
There are numerous pesticide soaps on the market that contain potassium fatty acids, which are known for their capacity to penetrate the bud, dehydrate it, and ultimately kill the thrips by breaking their shell on contact.
Soaps containing pesticide can be used to kill thrips. The thrips would then either fall off or be washed off.
Remember to hydrate your plant before using an insecticide soap, and spray the plant at night to prevent the mixture from drying up too rapidly.
Do a test patch first to make sure the insecticide soap spray won't burn or harm your monstera plant's foliage.
4) Using Natural Thrips Predators
By introducing thrips' natural predators to the plant, which will devour the thrips without harming it, you can get rid of thrips from leaves in an environmentally responsible approach.
Although simple, this method could take some time. Ladybugs are one such natural predator that is frequently utilized to get rid of thrips. Ladybugs consume thrips without endangering your prized plant.
5) Trimming Leaf Damage
Once the thrips are gone from your monstera plant, try cutting or clipping the damaged leaves. The damaged leaves are removed, which accelerates new growth.
Read more: When to plant monstera cutting in Water or Soil!
Thrips on Monstera: Can it Heal?
The amount of harm a thrip infestation has caused determines how quickly you can recover.
1) Restoration When There Is Little Injury
The key is early detection. If you have recognized the thrip infestation when the thrips haven’t caused much harm to the plant, then your monstera can recover quickly in no time.
Your monstera will immediately begin growing back in its healthy form if you provide it with the right temperature, humidity, sunlight, water, and fertilizer after you remove the thrips.
2) Restoration When Damage is Only Partial
If only a portion of your plant is harmed and the remainder is unharmed, you can wash the healthy portion to remove any thrips before saving it and using the cuttings to grow a new entire plant.
3. Recovery from Significant Damage:
Sadly, if your plant has sustained significant thrips damage, it may seem severely and extensively discolored and be unable to survive.
To avoid the infection spreading to your nearby healthy plants, it is advisable to dispose of the plant.
Read more: [Answer the question] When to plant monstera cutting
Final Reflections
Known for its gorgeous holed leaves and charming appearance, monstera is a stunning plant. Although resilient, it can become a thrips target if it is weak.
The monstera plant is harmed by thrips, which are wingless insects. Don't worry too much; you may get rid of bugs from your monstera by using insecticides and adhesives.