skip to main content

What to do: 'Thirps' on my arrowhead

17 years ago

Hello. I have noticed some black bugs on my arrowhead. They do not move, but upon contact (with my finger) they do. Their bodies are very thin and long (about 2mm). They don't seem to fly, just crawl slowly. Are these thirps? Most of all, how do I deal with them? Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

mr_subjunctive
17 years ago
Well, on the "Are these th[ri]ps?" question, you can check the photos at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrip

As for what to do about them, I'll leave that to someone who's dealt with them before, though just off the top of my head I'm going to guess that soapy water and/or insecticide of some sort is going to be in order.
frank.flynn
Original Author
17 years ago
Yes, they're thirps. What's a good recipe for dealing with them? (I've tried the soapy water once, already.)
Related Discussions
(JOE)Parlor Palms, Arrowheads, Scheffs, Pothos..? (Joe)
Q
Comments (23)
Tiff LOL dont be silly lady, im just gonna jump on all Your threads, post MY pics, get my answeres, and let You look like the bad guy! hehee seriously we're ALL learning, from Each Other, thats whats soo cool bout this joint (i think) ...and the Fun along the way. btw i dont (Hate) Anybody. or anything,, cept Stink Bugs! dem im goin to War on hehe oh may bad (5.1.1) of course,, hmm I'll try it on something to get a reference (perspective), heck ive got like every soil ammendment ingredient known to Man! lol ..been wantin to anyway :) yea big plants Are impressive, but i really like 'miniatures' in Lots of things, not just plants,, plus i dont have the space,,, i actually enjoy picking up each plant (on weekends, when ive the time) and taking to my lighted magnifier Lamp, giving em the once over before taking em to the sink,,, its kind of a bonding thing sorta,, Not like breast-feeding acourse! lol oh wow, yea i wasnt aware he was strugglin a bit, and the expense, Sorry to hear that Tiff, i'll definitely put you n your family on my Prayer list. :) hmm ive never married, thus no kids, so i dont know the 'joys',,, but man, talk about 'taking-the-good-with-the-bad' your probably thinkin (somedays) 'is this Really what i Wanted'? hmm,, wow really Nice sentiment Polly :) dang Polly? you type soo much younger than that!? hehe :)~ shoot its too late 4 pics, tomm maybe,, you kids in bed then, now? i gotta learn military time lol Night all, Tiff,, 110 oz's?? really, im not even gonna ask hehee i can still catch a cpl mins of Avat...rrr...zzzzzz
...See More
Best soil mix for an Arrowhead Vine in a self-watering planter?
Q
Comments (12)
Petrushka that information was so helpful! Thanks so much for taking a look at the link for the soil mix and weighing in. I went ahead and ordered three bags of it based on your assessment. I have three 3-foot plastic window boxes that I will place side by side across the ledge. They will definitely be heavy once full, but the reservoir is refillable from the top so hopefully I can just use a watering can to do that and it won't be necessary to move them. The ledge is simply a visual divider between by living room and dining room which both have 2-story ceilings, so there will be open space on both sides of the planters as well as lots of open space above them. While I know I'm pushing my luck with 12 feet between them and a light source, there are large windows on both sides of the ledge (a large one in the dining room and two on the opposite wall in the living room), so at least they will have light coming in from both directions. There is also a very large wall-sized mirror on my dining room wall adjacent to that window, and my walls and ceiling are a pale cream color so that all helps reflect natural light and make the room a little brighter. To give you a better idea of how much light I'm working with, throughout the day it stays light enough near the ledge that one could read comfortably without switching a light on, but there are never any spots of concentrated light on the walls at any time during the day... It is all very filtered (and dim enough to feel slightly gloomy, so I always have lamps on when I'm in there even though I can see fine without them.) After doing some more research I'm now leaning toward buying Philodendron hederaceum (which I had thought was called Philodendron scandens until I read more of that very informative blog you linked to!) instead of the Syngonium I originally asked about. The sunlight issue is my biggest concern at this point, but I've been encouraged by several anecdotes about P hederaceum thriving in conditions even dimmer than mine, so I'll give it a shot (and probably have my husband remove the solar screen from the dining room window for an extra light boost). Cautiously optimistic!
...See More
Syngonium (Arrowhead) leaves keep dying
Q
Comments (2)
The pot has a good drain hole, and when I water my syngonium I don't let it sit in excess water for more than 10 minutes. Whatever it hasn't absorbed after that period of time, I dump into a different pot. I don't have it on rocks (I do have some other plants on pebbles though) but do have a humidifier going in the room.
...See More
Need advice for my arrowhead vine (Syngonium podophyllum NOID)
Q
Comments (8)
Yup yup, I have an orchid and I'm doing the same thing. Pretty ceramic pot in purple, coordinates nicely with the mauve orchid. But the orchid itself is potted in a clear pot, which is something I'd never heard of till recently, but I LOVE it! So nice to be able to just, look at the roots, and tell if it needs water. The purple pot is actually a pot designed for orchids, though, so I'm thinking that unless the orchid needs a bigger pot, I might report directly into the decorative ceramic one next time. With the holes, I'd still be able to see some roots and air would get to them. Orchids are so pretty. =)
...See More
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years ago
Commercial insecticidal soap, applied according to directions will eventually control them. Soapy water (dish soap) is not only marginally effective, but can cause problems for plant tissues.

Neem oil is also said to have very promising results.

Please know that, whatever you use, one application won't do the job.
jean001
17 years ago
Hmmm. Thrips are often quite speedy characters.

Perhaps the plant is instead infested with aphids?
greenelbows1
17 years ago
I, too, question if they're thrips. Generally anyway, the damage done by thrips is what you notice rather than the pesky little monsters themselves. They are very tiny! But I'm not sure it matters an awful lot what they are if they're doing damage, and if they're not why kill them? Maybe they're just some lonely critters that came in from the cold. Well--I'm not entirely serious about that--as my mother used to say, a bug in the house is a bad bug. Just don't call out the heavy artillery unless you have to. A good shower--water, that is, even in the shower--will often solve the problem, repeated of course. And Neem oil is safe, a point I consider quite important after nearly killing myself with a systemic (really safe stuff--the bug has to bite the plant to be killed, and you won't bite the plant, will you? Wrong!!)
frank.flynn
Original Author
17 years ago
Yeah these bugs are fairly stationary. Maybe they're not thRIps if all of you say that thrips move quickly. I've given the arrowhead a shower yesterday. Haven't noticed any bugs today. I have a bottle of "Safer's End-All" - which I won't use until I see the bugs return.
live-love-laff
17 years ago
I've tried all my local stores that sell house plants and the local nurseries as well, if any of them carry arrowhead plants its either the green leafed, varigated or copper leafed arrowheads. What I'm looking for is what I was told is a "White Veigned" arrowhead plant. It has dark green leaves with white marbled markings throughout the leaves...not the 2 tone green leaves, which are referred to as the varigated leafed arrowhead.

I would like to find a place where I can order a flat of started plants or seeds to grown them from seeds myself.

If you email me I can send you a picture of the plant I'm looking for, as I can't figure out how to get a link on this site so you can click on to see what it looks like.

Thank you for any help you can give me to locate this plant.

0

Sponsored

Kuhns Contracting, Inc.

26 Reviews

Central Ohio's Trusted Home Remodeler Specializing in Kitchens & Baths

More Discussions

Alpine Violet Cyclomen

13

Philodendron Birkin

2

Indoor Gardenia

1

My hoya plant was very nice,till

1

What’s wrong with my plant?

2