Nickl, the article to which I posted the link does not say that spinosad is intrinsically safe for pollinators. It agrees with your comment. What it does say is that the risk can be minimized with appropriate handling, that being to spray when bees are not present; to make sure that the product has at least 3 hours to dry before bees will be present; and to use the least amount of product to do the job. I'm glad you brought that up since it gave me a chance to summarize for people who will not go to read the actual link. It is always a risk given that not everyone will go to the source for the full story. Rosefolly

Well, I hesitate to share this because it is un proved and purely my own idea: Ever since I began my rose garden and introduced a large number of roses I began to have a significant problem with thrips to the point of never getting bloom on some and on others deformed growth and small damaged blooms.( there are several other factors but thrips are definately part of it) anyway after doing alot of reading about it I found that an old cure was to use nicotine( Iknow I know) Anyway, I grew my own Nicotiana sylvestris and began to mulch some of the worst roses with the large leaves. The roses growing next to and mulched with it have improved to a great degree. the ones not mulched with it and having problems are still having problems. Just a thought. roseberri

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

Much appreciation for all the responses. I'll call around for the Fertilome product containing Spinosad, the active ingredient in Conserve. Oh, I just found I have an almost full bottle of "Bull's-Eye Bioinsecticide" containing Spinosad as the active ingredient. It's a Garden's Alive product purchased several years ago for thrips with one of their coupon deals, but I stopped using all insecticides a short time later. (As an aside I'll pass along that within a couple of years of not spraying insecticides I've not had thrips in the rose blooms nor spider mites.) WHAT IS THE SHELF LIFE OF SPINOSAD? This bottle is probably 5 to 6 years old. I googled "Shelf life of Spinosad" and found this: "It has a pH of 7.74, is stable to metal and metal ions for 28 days, and has a shelf life of three years as formulated material." Does "forumulated material" mean after it is mixed with water for spraying, or as it sits in the original container? Another question is wouldn't waiting until there were symptoms allow any Chilli thrips that might be present to spread? How DO they spread? Wind? Infected plant touching a clean plant? Do they fly at some point? I have skimmed several articles online and haven't found a definite answer. Maybe they don't know. One article said this: "Prevention To prevent the introduction of chilli thrips into new landscapes it is important make sure that material is not infested prior to planting. New plants being planted could be infesting in a number of ways. The most common method would be to purchase infested plants. However, another overlooked method would be for infested plants removed from the landscape and brought back to a holding area to infest clean plants. When moving plants between properties make sure that they do not have chilli thrips. Infested plants can spread an infestation to holding areas and new landscapes into which they are planted." But this doesn't tell me HOW they spread. Do you think I should I keep them in a large cardboard box covered with clear plastic (in the shade of course) for a couple of weeks? An article in a Houston newspaper suggested that Ike's winds spread Chilli thrips much further inland than the Houston area. This article also said: "Control of chilli thrips is not difficult but requires persistent treatment. Though the pest is easily killed with insecticides, we have not found any insecticides that provide long-term preventive control." Another article said Chilli thrips were thought be deveoping immunity to Spinosad and a variety of insecticides should be used against them. Of course, I would have to believe that the grower of these roses has kept on top of the Chilli thrips problem and my treatment would be simply a precautionary measure. I didn't ask them if they'd ever experienced Chilli thrips among their roses, but when I emailed about what to spray with to forestall a possible problem they suggested Conserve. Any other suggestions will be gratefully received. Hopefully, this is much ado about nothing, but as Kathy indicates, better to be safe than sorry.