Where are all the parasitic wasps to control the thrips? Seems like
if the thrips are so common in your area, so would be their predators.
A very pertinent question, and one that I can't answer with authority. However, I have translated a few manuscripts on related subjects, and combined with my own observations I can give you my opinion and assumptions.
Many pests (thrips, aphids, white flies, mealybugs, mites) follow the seasonal rhythm of dry and rainy season. They don't usually thrive in the rainy season, which at times can be really violent compared to your PNW drizzle and showers. My urban setting doesn't strictly follow this general "rule" because it is protected by a roof: plants are protected from the heavy rainfall, but so are the critters. Rainfall is less abundant during the Dog Days (a dip in the rainy season), and this is the first time that many pests begin to manifest. Rainfall increases again and peaks in September. Pest pressure is reduced but becomes very high in November as the rainy season ends. When I walked through the city in October/November, I noticed most of the trees were covered by mealybugs - not just a few leaves, but the whole crown. But now they're gone. And also in my own urban garden, pest pressure is now very low (in relative terms). There are a few ornamentals with mites, but nothing that is out of control. Natural enemies are quite abundant in the region as well, but if you consider the pest-natural enemy connection as a cause-effect relation, then the solution will come only when the problem has manifested itself. The time necessary for the natural enemies to eliminate the threat might be too long for my plants...
Some additional problems are of my own fabrication: plant diversity on my roof terrace is not high (essentially monoculture), and I (now) also believe that sowing at the end of the rainy season is not a good tactic for my specific locality. I should either sow earlier or, still better, in late November/early December. Especially the latter would avoid a series of pest-related issues.
I also noticed that certain pepper varieties are more attractive to pests than others. I think Jaloro is one of them, but I'm not absolutely sure. I'm more confident to say that Antep Aci Dolma has acted as a pest magnet so far (don't forget that I'm always speaking in relative terms here). Plantlets were placed at random among other varieties and thrips as well as white flies gathered on Antep Aci Dolma.
I have placed three plants on my work bench so I can better review and follow up on them. The plant on the left was sown in August, whereas the plants in the middle and at the left were sown in October. The oldest plant was hit by thrips when it was flowering and has been in recuperation mode ever since. The younger plants were affected early on and their journey to adulthood was delayed. They'll arive there, eventually.
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Beautiful nervature so far.
The plant is also developing new growth and I spot some flower buds anxious to become peppers. My first subjective impression is that the peppers look like (X)L cayennes, and I really would like to see their size once the plant has matured.
