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Thrips!!

So my douglah finally popped open a flower. Its been setting buds but they have been dying off due to me being a noob and over-ferting and just being a noob....Anyways, ive been having Thrips roaming, and sometimes slightly munching on my leaves, nothing bad and i could deal with it. They have been in small numbers, up until this flower popped open. They wasted no time in attacking the petals, so i ran to wally world and got some Garden Safe Insect Killer. Im cool with a slight leaf much, but you dont f with my flowers!

My question is, can i actually spray it into the flower itself and it still be able to carry on its business and make me a pepper? I usually just squish every bad bug i see, but these guys are so small, and they are hiding in the flower its self. They have went too far and its time to die.

Thanks for any help and info w these little basterds!
 
Careful! An insecticide applied to the flowers MAY cause more stress to that part of the plant than the thrips themselves. I would wait and see, thrips love flowers, but I don't believe they damage developing fruit. Those buggers do a number on young seedlings though!
 
Thanks so far.

I would buy some ladybugs, but ive got a total of 2 plants, as i failed miserably at my first attempt at growing. So i doubt any would stick around long enough to help.
 
if you don't get control of the thrips immediately, you won't have to worry about flowers because they will strip the plant and it will die....
 
if you don't get control of the thrips immediately, you won't have to worry about flowers because they will strip the plant and it will die....

I've never had problems with thrips stripping plants. The species that I have dealt with concentrated on new leaf growth and flower petals. The tender new growth of seedling plants was most affected. They caused the new leaves to develop deformed, sometimes severely. Once the plants got past a certain stage (and put outside) the issue seemed to resolve itself? My habaneros developed normal fruit despite having thrips in the flowers. I believe they prefer to feed on the tender flower petals, at least the thrips I've had.
 
I've never had problems with thrips stripping plants. The species that I have dealt with concentrated on new leaf growth and flower petals. The tender new growth of seedling plants was most affected. They caused the new leaves to develop deformed, sometimes severely. Once the plants got past a certain stage (and put outside) the issue seemed to resolve itself? My habaneros developed normal fruit despite having thrips in the flowers. I believe they prefer to feed on the tender flower petals, at least the thrips I've had.

This is exactly what they are doing to my plants.If the plant still sets fruit even with them munching on the petals i guess i could deal w that, but im still gonna squish every one of them i see lol.
 
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