Will ladybugs eat thrips?

[Get_Blazed]

I have an indoor grow and I want to release a pest controller that will eat my current thrip infestation and also hang around to act like a guard dog for a while after they all die off.

The box is in my room, and I can stand a few ladybugs flying around my computer desk, but anything that will start to inhabit my house and pose a problem with infestation of anything outside the grow box is a no-no.

So, will ladybugs eat thrips?

I'm also going to do a garlic/pepper spray.

 

[Babbabud]

Just spray neem oil and water 3 times in two weeks and thrips will be gone/

 

[the couch]

Natures control recommends; nematoads in the soil, and green lacewings. If its a small grow and spraying the plants isn't too large a job, I'd stick with neem or another spray.

 

[sproutco]

Lady bugs will eat thrips according to this website.

The most common of all beneficial insects, these voracious predators feed on aphids, adelgids, chinch bugs, asparagus beetle larvae, thrips, alfalfa weevils, bean thrips, grape root worms, Colorado potato beetle larvae, whitefly, and mites, as well as many other soft-bodied insects and eggs

http://www.biconet.com/biocontrol/ladybug.html
One trick, courtesy of Verite, is to spray the ladybugs with a 50/50 mix of coca-cola and water before releasing. This will stop them from flying but still allow them to crawl about. Ladybugs are usually thirsty. Best to give them plain water in their container and occassionally spray the plants as well while they crawl about. Refrigerators work well for hibernating unused bugs. Loose ladybugs that escape into your house may crawl about on the ceiling but usually end up dieing in windows and flying into lit lamps in the evening and perishing. Sprays of neem or safer soap may be a better option. Interestingly, Neem only affects larval stages of the thrip and has little if any effect on the adults. http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/gh-thrips.html

 

[Grass_Lover]

I used to have ladybugs in my dorm last semester... they didn't bother me. I guess the only downside is vacuuming them up when they die.

Also, the box is small. I only have 9 plants that I'm going to treat, and they're all under 5 nodes. I guess by the time I get the neem oil they'll be large enough to handle whatever I spray on em (pepper/garlic spray - neem oil - safer soap, etc...)

 

[Verite]

If its a bad thrip infestation the ladybugs wont hang around long enough to kill the larvae in the soil. Besides that the general ladybug is kinda stupid. I used 1500 of them to kill of the mites on three plants in my room with little success. They killed the first bunch ok and after a few days they lost interest and flew into the light which left the straggler mites and eggs to hatch.

 

[BLunTeD4LifE]

lol.. thats a funny new avatar verite!!

 

[LEGI0N]

Best results with BioNeem and or 100% pressed neem oil. Not Green Light.. that won't do shit.

 

[Grass_Lover]

I purchased safer soap because neem oil only works on younglings.... so hopefully this will do something.

I have one plant in flowering that was very badly infesed... thrip shit all over the pot and everything... a few holes in the leaves and its just horrible how bad they ran that plant over. I think it was only a few adults. I recently took this plant outside and shook the hell out of it, hoping to shake off the adults who fly away if they get bugged.

I also have 10 seedlings. One of them had small thripes/thripe shit on it... but I washed that under warm water 3x to flush/kill the thripes and that seemed to have worked. I got the safer soap just incase.

 

[Hammerhead]

resurrection...Im using LB in my garden. I always end up with most dead but that tells me there's nothing to eat which is good.

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

Thrips are controlled best with Amblyseius cucumeris predator mites but you must be sure to get ones that work under short photoperiod, most don't, same with most Orius they diapause under short photoperiods.
Lady bugs are a poor choice, great for aphid control though!
-SamS

 

[punkenstien]

Monterey garden spray. Spray once and trips are long gone

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

Never used it but seems efective and safe.
I will try it if my bio control prevention is not working.
How late inb flowering can you use it?
-SamS

Monterey garden spray. Spray once and trips are long gone

 

[rme]

I have used many o ladybug, and it is true. They are quite silly and fly into the lights and die.

I have had 100% success with SPINOSAD

 

[vostok]

Lady bugs are a great defense but lousy attack troops, and take way to long to get sorted, use Neem as is great for all bugs and at preventing Mold

 

[Greenheart]

Neem oil as has been recommended. I'm sure Sam knows what he is talking about as well.

I have had success with the inexpensive Greenlight Neem mixture on both spider mites and thrips. Whatever neem you go with use as directed every other day. Front and back of leaves, stem and surface of soil. Thrips will be gone in a week as stated. You can't be lazy though don't miss anything and stay on em until they are gone.

I also have ladybugs. I use them as a control measure. I have never seen them full out eradicate any pests but they do keep them from getting out of hand until you deal with the problem. When establishing my colony I purchased a second batch about 5-6 weeks after the first batch. This helped boost the health of the overall population allowing it to have more success in becoming a permanant colony. I have better success keeping the ladybugs around in the bloom than the veg. It works out well because veg gets neem or other foliar sprays and after about the 3-4 week of bloom I would rather not spray. I tend to drip small amounts of water around on surfaces for them to go drink other than that they fend for themselves. True they are not the smartest bugs but they are full of love almost like rabbits. lol

 

[Hammerhead]

I wont put anything in my garden that has mite in its name weather there good or not. I have never had mites.. The ladybugs work fine for thrips. Every where I have looked says they will eat thrips. Everyone I have asked says they work fine for a non infestation which I dont have. These are strictly preventative sometimes I see a few thrips in 20 plants. They always come in from the soil. I do use a Diatomaceous mixed with sevin-5 on top of the soil. I leave it there for a few days no watering. Then I vac off the powder then water ..

So far what im doing has worked for a very long time 10+ years with some tweaks here and there .

 

[MJBadger]

Neem is a far better option , nematodes will be a better bet than ladybugs as they have a different life cycle but you will basically lose any biological control to a fair extent when your plants/pots are down .