I'm so sorry to hear about your thrips, brittie. I got regular thrips here from my recent purchases, they are big and juicy when I smash them.

Sticky trap might work, I never try that. Hopefully someone else will inform if that work. I tried STP on a red plastic cup (homemade version of sticky trap). That didn't work.

I was thinking of trying something like that. I wonder, do you have to specifically use that oil?

That oil thing really stumps me.

I can't figure out how sticking motor oil in a garden ever caught on with the same group of people who declare all "inorganic" or non-chemical methods to be world-ending sins.

I hope hyperbole is not a totally lost art form.....

It does sound pretty weird. lol

Guys,

You must know that Chilli Thrips and 'regular' thrips are very different in the way they affect roses.
What works for regular thrips won't help with chilli thrips.

Further, chilli thrips aren't specific to roses but can happily move to other plants in your garden and then back to your roses. They are that bad.

The best internet resources for chilli thrips are webpages maintained by folks in Florida who have been dealing with CT for several years. TAMU also has pages (that I can't get to open).

Doing nothing is the worst thing you can do. Allowing them to reproduce and further infect your roses and spread to roses grown by other folks is really bad.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Texas A&M chilli thrip pages

Hi Brittie: STP stands for Scientific Treated Petroleum . There's various viscocity, or thickness. The one I used was pretty thin, so it didn't work.

A better trap would be thick Petroleum Jelly, mixed with some fruity flavor, painted on those used popsicle sticks. Thrips are attracted to the fruity scent like Golden Celebration. They also prefer pink, yellow and white color roses. They don't care for red or purple, that's why the red plastic cups I used didn't work.

Someone in another thread mentioned that the sticky-traps sold at the store WORKED really well.

Thanks, Ann, for pointing out the difference. The traps work for regular Western Flower Thrips (big yellow with black bands), but I don't know about Chili-thrips. Here's a link to large-scale traps to catch trips. After reading it, I think the best one is the big yellow plywood board, painted with sticky petroleum jelly... some fruity scent mixed in would be great. Thrips go nuts after my Honey Bouquet rose (yellow, with floral honey). See the link below:

"Yellow sticky boards. To use, place 1 to 4 yellow sticky cards per 300 square metres field area....To make your own sticky trap, spread petroleum jelly or used motor oil on yellow painted plywood, 6 cm x 15 cm in size or 30 cm x 30 cm."

Here is a link that might be useful: InfoNet Biovision on traps for insects

Spray a spinosad product and cut off all new growth and dispose of in a bag. You can do that or you can wait until the cooler weather arrives.

I ended up spraying Monterey Insect with Spinosad today, and did cut off the worst looking parts. I guess I'll go ahead and cut off the rest of the affected area. I haven't noticed anything else (plant wise) that looks bad, but I'll be more vigilant now. I did know that chili thrips were a different beast than regular thrips. Thank you for the help!

What is the proper spelling for these thrips, chili, chilli, or Chile? I thought they originated in Chili and that it should be capitalized. Are they unlikely to overwinter in cold zones? I have worried about importing any to my garden. I have seen some very distorted looking leaves on other plants in big nurseries and wondered where they came from and if it was Chili thrips. You have to check leaves on plants you buy..these thrips don't just like roses as said.

Chili is yummy and better not have thrips. (If you buy Ray's brand, it's made here in Illinois and intentionally mispelled on the label as "Ray's Chilli".)

Chile is a place I've never been.

Chilli is a type of thrip.

I have to admit to have worried more about the problem than the proper spelling and capitilization.

What is the 'season' for them? do they leave when cooler days arrive? I just don't remember...but surely they are not going to be here year-round, my no-spray garden is looking pretty ratty right now, I hate to think I'll have to start spraying again.... unless they are 'seasonal' like other 'normal' bugs, and go away soon! sally

That's exactly what I was wondering Sally! Looking at pictures I took from 2010, it looks like I had a bit of it during August then also (but didn't know what it was). The messed up growth had disappeared by the October/November set of pictures. Yay for having such a long growing season! I'm hoping that their 'season' may be hot, dry weather and that they will move on soon.

They like hot weather. I've never had a problem with them in the winter. Those two really cold winters seem to have killed them off for a couple of summers too, but now they are back.

That makes me feel a lot better. Thank you!