I’ve used ladybugs and spinosad with success in the past but can’t source anything now.
What’s my best option in Canada for flowering plants(few weeks until chop) I sprayed the mothers down with a mild insecticidal soap but don’t think that’s a good idea for the plants in flower.
I’m really missing doing rdwc have had nothing but issues growing in sunshine mix.
you’re the 5th person I’ve seen in the last few months using Sunshine Mix and having Thrips…
How bad is the infestation? Do you think they’ll make it to the end without any intervention?
I don’t think I’ll make it and I was counting on these two flowering autos for enough bud to get me by until my next big harvest. I’m dry for at least 7 weeks if I can’t stop this.
Sunshine mix is trash. Never had so many problems with a medium in my entire time growing. What’s freaking me out is I have two 5x5 scrog nets filled out with plants in 7 gallon pots filled with the same sunshine mix just repotted a couple of weeks ago.
Really sucks I can’t find ladybugs.
I use btk I spray the plant and put it in the ground.
Sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately, I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have thrips running ole faithful sunshine mix #6, stopped using it in 2004 lol
For your planted pots in situ already. Get a big ole bag of Diatomaceous earth and some better soil, scratch out the top layer of soil in the scroged plants, replace it with a solid layer of DE and a fresh layer of the new soil and water it in, set new sticky taps to track how effective the treatment was. If they are relatively early into flower something like careful application of Safer’s Soap on the most mid and lower canopy isn’t unheard of.
For your finishing flowering plants unless they are falling over dying/deeeeep fade - thrips aren’t going to take a healthy plant down over a couple of weeks IME. Thrips are leave cutters and will be attacking lower canopy growth which your plant is hopefully metabolizing/cannibalizing at this point to finish anyways. Moreso the issue is how to mitigate having these lil bastards in your space moving forward.
It would be easy to tell what you mean if you provided some pics of the extent of your problem but until I do I would say ride it out.
U can buy spinosad to canada, or atkeast a few minths ago I got from these guys.
I ordered lady bugs and another type of bug from these folks for aphids last year . Was very happy with the experience of purchasing from them.
One thing I can say about lady bugs is it is key to have them be able to reproduce in your space as the larvae are the real eaters and killers compared to the adults.
I wondered what the trick was…
They are processing the orders in the US.
So getting it through customs might be a crap shoot. Well, probably better odds than a crap shoot as they only physically check 3% of the time and it would be just another UPS order.
Cheers
G
Ladybugs are sold out in Canada about 11 months of the year from what Ive seen.
Seems like theres an opening for someone to make a killing if they can breed lady bugs year round
It was this time of year I got them last year. Maybe a month earlier. But ya I didn’t need any this year. Mine were successfully breeding in both my flowering and veg tents.I even made them little houses with raisins and a wet sponge lol It just took a bit , but man once those larvae started coming it was impressive the amount of aphids they were eating and how fast they grew .
A. Swirskii is the most lethal thrip hunter. Though they take a couple weeks to work. But perhaps they could be a part of pest management to rid yourself of these.
Arbico organics sells them. Not sure if they do in canada or not
Going to try diatomaceous earth, put up some sticky traps and keep applying insecticidal soap.
Thanks for the heads up on the spinosad @Craigson15
Next cycle I’m going back to hydro or maybe coco so I can control for everything.
Thanks for the replies everyone.
DE doesn’t work once wet, you can use it diluted in a foliar spray, stays once water is evaporated. I would heavily defoliate so they don’t have places to hide and even shower them so they go down the drain … 
Thanks for the heads up.
If it doesn’t work while wet how would it work as a foliar spray?
I guess I would spray it on it would dry and stick to the plant?
Because it dries up again and it’s able to cut them so they deshidrate and die, at least that’s what I read …
When used as top dressing you must water from the bottom to avoid losing its properties, it’s more used that way to fight fungus gnats …
whatever you do, don’t use banned substances on your weed.
I had thrips one time ,it was a pain in the ass to get rid of them I sprayed the plants with dish soap under the leaves for a few days it worked
You could get one of these,people are starting to put these bad boys in their tents lol or bad girls praying mantis will eat all bugs and lady birds lol
I wouldn’t say the DE becomes inert by any stretch when it becomes wet but it does clump making the sharp shards compact. As the creatures crawl through this layer compacted or not it is very sharp and sticks into the joints of anything with an exoskeleton, slowly immobilizing and cutting them up. DE also works as a desiccant and for some creatures who breathe through their skins making it difficult to pick up water as the DE on their skin takes it away. All of which has better action in dry conditions but DE still works very effectively if a solid layer (1cm thick) is placed near the top level of soil and then top dressed with another 1 cm of fresh soil. The fresh soil will distribute the water gently through the layer of DE leaving it intact and only compacted in small areas ensuring that anything wanting to come from the soil onto a plant has to run the DE gantlet. This strategy as well as employing sticky traps and running soil that doesn’t have bug related issues has kept me completely organic since the early 2000s.
Would you happen to know how much DE to use to how much water for using as a foliar spray?
I’m afraid it’s recommended only for vegetative stage, missed the OP has them in advanced flower, sorry for that. Here is the recommended dose:
“One method of application for Cannabis plants is to create a spray from four tablespoons of food-grade DE per gallon of water. Be careful to measure the diatomaceous earth with a small scoop or spoon in order to reduce airborne dust particles. Shake the mixture to combine, don your spraying mask and mist the plants with a thin, evenly-distributed layer on both the top and undersides of leaves – aim for wet, but not dripping, foliage. This method is only suitable for plants in the vegetative to pre-flower stages, as those in the flowering phase will absorb the spray and it could potentially be consumed when the plant is smoked. Once the spray dries, the diatomite activates and becomes effective.”
It just loses its properties, at least from I have readen:
" When moistened, the pores on the diatom exoskeleton fill with water, and are no longer able to absorb fats and oils from insects. Splashing water can also wash this light dust away. Diatomaceous earth requires reapplication after each rainfall and after any overhead irrigation"
It has also a lot of Sylicon and other minerals, you can use it as a fertilizer mixing one tablespoon per gallon …
