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Subject: Re: Thrips on roses! Help!
From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@gte.net>
Organization:
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 99 11:53:05
Message-ID: <MOD$991014.11472@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



MsPeach in Los Altos asks:
>Is there a way to control thrips on roses without buying
>or killing) predator insects?
Preventing or controlling thrips on roses is the weak link
in environmentally friendly gardening. Thrips are so small
and so neatly and completely tucked away inside the blossoms
and buds, that predators have no real way of getting at them.
So to your original question, No!

They are also out of harm's way relative to washing or
contact poisons, up to and including malathion which is
essentially a poison gas.

Different roses have different susceptibility to damage by
thrips but our experience is that they are all subject to thrips
to some degree. On a practical basis, there are three ways
of dealing with thrips on roses: 1.) Select those roses that
are the least effected; 2.) Keep your roses and your garden
environment as healthy as you can to support the natural
defenses; and 3.) Work at Christopher Lloyd's sage advise,
"Learn not to see those things, you don't want to see".

We have an article on the control and prevention of thrips
on roses on the Rose Garden's WebPages at:
http://victorian-rose.org Pretty pictures, etc. but at bottom
line thrips are a real problem with no easy answers.
You either minimize their damage or go to systemics and
ruin the garden's environment. We follow the three steps
above and, for the most part, it works for us.

Bill

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