Some of my gessies are getting thrips and the cinerarias too, right now they are still looking *ok* but it keeps getting worse and the buds are starting to come out deformed. They don't seem too interested in the AV's but are loving the Kohleria Also most chemical insecticides are banned in Ontario so any suggestions would be a great help!

How 'bout those sticky squares the greenhouse people use? They have some kind of attractant on them and the thrips stick to them...can't think what they're called though..

I've read that those help, but where do you get them? The Kohleria leaves are so pretty and silvery, I hate to see them disfigured

Maybe a garden centre would have them? Walmart...

I found a peice of bright yellow plastic so I smeared it with some corn syrup, it was done really quick as I have to get to work but it should hopefully catch at least something

that oughta work! something sweet to lure the devils...let me know how it works!

I left it there for a day and a night and nothing Apparently you can see thrips on the leaves but I don't see anything.......I've picked off the infected leaves and am going to try washing the plants off with a sprayer and put them near a fan to dry. Lets hope this works!

are you sure it's thrips then?

You know, I'm not so sure now........I've picked the deformed leaves off, washed some of the plants and added a few drops of lavender oil to my mister bottle to help repel bugs and its seems to be working so far! Can deformed leaves come from irregular fertilizing?

yes! they can...

*cough* then that could be part of the problem.............there is zero bugs visible and it doesn't look like mites so maybe the problem is my own doing Do you fertilize with every watering or every two weeks? I tend to feed every two weeks.....or try to....

I'm lucky, or my plants are anyways, if I feed once a year!! but then they get watered weekly directly out of the aquarium...nice fishy water

When I *used* to water on a regular basis, I fertilized 1/4 strength every watering, any stronger than that and you're looking for trouble.

Maybe I'm fertilizing too strong then.......I tend to not measure ferts properly.....there has never been any problems...untill now. The mini sinningias all have defomed blooms but overall the plants look quite healthy. So I will weaken the dosage from now on.

That fishy water must be great for your plants, but sadly my fish have always died of unknown causes.

As a btw, I have successfully used bright-yellow poster board smeared with Vaseline for bugs, both in the house and outside in the gardens. I cut the poster board into page size pieces and hung it with string or propped it near the plants that were infested. The ones hung in the white fly infested gardinia had to be scrapped off and re-greased after the first couple of days I used the same ones for 2 years and passed them on to another gardener when I moved here.
I am in the "Weakly Weekly" fertilizing group and have never done it any other way (parental influence there). I use less than a ½ dose in summer, a ¼ dose in fall and winter and full strength when they are growing so fast in spring. My SIL uses lake water and has never fertilized her plants or lawn...

Great idea June, Thank-you! Its also cheap which is a bonus. Washing off the plants with warm water has also been a big help. I will try the yellow poster board too