Oh, you people in Florida!!! Are you bragging? LOL
Sorry, but I had to say that. It has been so cold here for so long. I cannot even walk my dogs their usual mile - it is just too unfomfortable. And I will be the first to say that people in Michigan and Wisconsin won't feel sorry for me. Our weather should break in a month or so.

I don't know about the chili thrips, but we have plenty of regular thrips, and I only spay the blooms. Do you put the Conserve in a small hand spray bottle that you can use for the light colored blooms? I also have used the Ortho in the hand spayer. It has changed names, but "thrips" is on the front of the container. Sometimes if it is necessary, we have put Conserve in the tank when we spray for fungus, but usually we need to spray for thrips more than for blackspot.

Do you have so many light colored roses that it would hurt your hand to spray with the quart container? I have many roses and blooms, but I don't have that many that attract the thrips, and I don't spray them all at once.

I understand that chili thrips are so much worse than our thrips so it will be interesting to read what others say.

Sammy

Well I was not bragging about my roses doing great, giving me huge blooms and all, I was referring to the thrips LOL!! but I do have light colored blooms like Memorial Day which is a MAGNET as well as JFK, and I have more light colored that I have not seen any thrip damage. I have the 2 gallon pump and yeah Im all confused right now plus its late, ummm. . ..

I don't know you and should not have joked about the weather -- sorry.

Many of us don't want to spray unless it is necessary, and then we only want to spray what is needed. The thrips are usually controlled by spraying the blooms and buds. I have 260 rather large (non mini) roses, and sometimes I must put the Conserve in with my fungus spray. Usually I just squirt the buds and blooms that are infected or tend to be infected with the little hand held sprayer.

We can purchase insecticidal soaps that will kill them, but they have not residual. So the things will come back immediately. The more powerful products will keep them away for awhile.

Have you tried Isotox by Ortho? Also you could call your local rose society. The Master Gardener can give you their number. The Consulting Rosarians take their training for the purpose of being able to teach good rose growing techniques to the community. They will be happy to advise you, or even Ortho can tell you exactly which product will work.

Good luck.
It is very possible that in the next couple of days someone from south Florida will see this and give you good advice.

Sammy

Last spring I used one of the Bayer pesticides. Not the pre-mixed one that is marketed for roses. I think this one was for soil and turf. I mixed it up in a small spray bottle. I sprayed into the slightly open buds, filling them with the solution. It will kill the thrips. But you have to go back and do it a few times. I also had some success forcing blooms open. Once the sun hit them, the thrips disappeared. DO NOT spray when bees are present.

I'm goihttp://wwwng to do dormant oil spray this year on the roses and the soil to hopefully kill any thrips overwintering.

Link

I use the expert brand insecticide, and I find it at Walmart. It's got pyrethin/imadaclopid. I add it to my spray routine because the one time I skipped a few weeks, I started having a massive chili thrip infestation again.

Chili thrips do not just make the petal edges brown. Left unchecked they'll kill a plant.

The bad thing about thrips is that they evolve and become immune to the pesicides, even with alternating them. We do have a real problem with chili thrips, as well as the "regular" ones. I know in a few months I'll be tearing my hair out over them again.

I sure wish there was a biological control that could be found for them. Something that would either eat them or make them unable to reproduce.

Sandy

The Chilli Thrip not only targets the bud and bloom but it also goes after the stems and foliage. In essence it goes after the ENTIRE PLANT!

It's almost 70 here today, Brrrrr! :) Haven't seen the thrips yet, but I'm waiting for them, and they always show up. I have now limited my light colored roses since my first year planting roses, and the thrips attack my Pristine rose with a vengeance. Pristine is my sacrificial lamb. They leave all the others alone and eat her up, which I live with.

I have a question. Do you have a big problem with spider mites after having to treat for the chili thrips? Are these things migrating north of Florida or are they staying put??? I've seen the photo's of the damage they do and it looks pretty awful. I do hope you find something that works.

Carol

For regular thrips Orthene is very effective and it is not expensive. It has an awful smell so I rarely use it and if I do, I use a spray bottle and spray only the buds in the evening. Orthene (Acephate) supposedly is dangerous because it can kill beneficials and promote spider mites.

Last year I didn't use Orthene or Bayer against thrips at all - despite these facts I noticed not many beneficials in summer but I had awful spider mite infestation first year ever.. Ladybugs showed up late fall in my yard way after when the spider mites were gone.

Well 2 years ago I did have a problem with the spider mites, which was for a short period of time, last year I didnt have any problems with spider mites just that the chili thrips were driving me crazy

Orthene (Acephate) is very effective against thrips. It is alos inexpensive. But, it smells so bad that I really have to see no other solution to resort to using it. The real danger is that Orthene could lead to spider mite infestation because acephate can kill the beneficial insects, too. So if I use it I use it in a spray bottle misting the buds of the roses the thrips are after.

At least that is the common knowledge/observation is about Orthene. Well, last year I didn't spray anything against thrips or JBs but I had, first time a very heavy spider mite infestation. I saw no beneficials getting to the spider mites. ladybugs showed up only late fall seeking shelter for the winter.

I believe the active ingredient in Conserve is spinosad. In Central Florida it has been the most recommended chemical to use. It has very low toxicity--not very harmful to birds or the water and is very effective at killing chili thrips.

As noted above chili thrips will kill the entire plant. They have been the most destructive insect to roses in Central Florida in recent memory. What worked for me is to spray the entire plant and then the ground around the rose also.

Below there is a link to an interesting article regarding the efficacy of different chemicals in killing chili thrips. Apparently a chemical called chlorfenapyr is the most effective in treating chili thrips. I don't know any common insecticide that has this as an ingredient, however.

Here is a link that might be useful: interesting article

I feel your pain Jorge. I've never had them last this far into the winter. It hasn't stayed cool long enough for them to die or go away or whatever they do. I use Avid (from Rosemania). It's crazy expensive and works well but you have be in a suit of armor since it's so toxic. I'm not sure it's worth it.
Nancy

Well after I sprayed about a month ago, I noticed a week after the thrips were back, thats when I wrote here, but I noticed that all my blooms are clean. . . . . and I was like whats the catch??? I looked into the open buds and no thrips, and no one else sprays in this neighborhood could it be that something is eating the thrips or they want to take a trip somewhere else??

Hi Jorge,

Below is the link to another discussion elsewhere on the Rose Forum that cites GREAT information from the Univ of FLA. If you download the PowerPoint about "Ecology and Management of Scirtothrips dorsalis," check out slide 26. It details exactly what chemical control options are available...

Me personally, I'm sticking with Neem Oil. The active ingredient--Azadirachtin-- disrupts the molting cycle; so it's a potent weapon that non-toxic too. Neem oil is great for a host of things, but be sure that you are getting the full strength Neem oil--with the Azadirachtin listed as active ingredient, not the Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil (not half as potent.)

And, like any other horticultural oil used to spray with--be careful about time of day. You also need to mix it as such: 2 Tblsp of Neem + 2 tsp of liquid soap for emulsifier per gallon of spray mix.

The Chilis have made their way to St. Pete, so I feel for ya, Brother!

Here is a link that might be useful: Chili Thrip info

I don't have any blooms yet, but seem to have thrips on the leaves of my meyer lemon. The tree got transplanted from its original container about 6 weeks ago. So far, no leaf drop, but some leaf curl on the lower leaves. The upper leaves are huge! But that's where the black dots are for the thrips.
Since it is not blooming yet, how do I get rid of them? I have been wiping the leaves with a damp towel.

Where would I find Conserve? I made a very bad mistake of planting 4 trees for privacy that are famous, I later learned, for attracting thrips. I am considering pulling them up. It's that bad. They are 9 ft. tall, at least, so I hate to to do it. None of the regular sprays or systemics have worked. I wanted to plant some roses nearby, but am afraid they'd migrate from the trees to the roses. So far they've stayed on these trees, but there's not much else nearby to attract them. Yuk!

leahcate, can I ask what trees you planted that attract thrips?

Yes, I'd love to 'tell the world', especially as I've also learned they are "pest" trees ( invasive). They looked so lushly green, and the nursery tree & shrub "expert" recommended them : Myoporum laetum 'Carsonii'. Reading my (older) Sunset book I saw no big problem with them. Being fire retarding was a big plus, too. Strangely, one of the 4 is untouched. This one grew faster ( now 12 feet) and has always been the best looking of the bunch. Am going to look into a spray treatment for dormancy (?)...prevent the berries and spread??