I sent you an email Roselee :-)

For anyone who lives in the risk area for chilli thrips be sure and read my post about them which is on the first page below this thread. Especially scroll UP on the link below and look at the damage they can do to many plants; not just to roses. These are not the same as flower thrips whose early season damage before the beneficials show up I can live with. Chilli thrips are a very different species of thrips.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll up above the 'Management' section to see photos of the damage of landscape plants due to chilli thrips.

In looking again at the photos of chilli thips damage on the link I'm pretty sure they are on my fire spike, pomegranate and root beer plants. I saw curled leaves on the boneset, but close examination showed the damage was due to aphids. Chilli thips are too small to see without magnification. I'm going to try using my 10 power jeweler's loupe tomorrow.

A friend in Houston has them on roses, tall cuphea, David Verity cuphea, cape plumbago, Aralia, citrus, and pomegranates. When I talked to an officer of the San Antonio Rose Society he indicated that many but not all members had them on their roses. So don't invite them before they blow in.

In looking at the map it seems that Smith and Gregg counties have them identified, as well as Harris County. Check out the county map below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Texas County Map

This is sad to hear, but I can understand if the Chilli thrips are attacking other plants. It seems they can destroy an entire garden.

So far the roses in my yard, including the ones you shared in the past, are okay.

Lin, thanks for the link to the map and identifying the counties that are known to have chilli thrips. There are probably many more counties that have positively ID'd them now.

Shirley, that's so good to hear! I guess time will tell how damaging chilli thrips will prove to be over the long haul. It's kind of hit or miss whether they'll show up in certain areas. Even in Florida where they are rampant some folks on the rose forums haven't seen evidence of them yet.

The San Antonio Rose Society officer I talked to said he didn't have them in his yard, but other society members do. It may depend on how much insecticide they regularly spray. I just don't want to have to do that. What I'm hoping for is a few cold winters that will knock them back, but they will probably come in again slowly after warm winters.

As the saying goes "It's always something", but we just keep doing the best we can.

This was posted on the Antique Rose Forum to my thread about chilli thrips.

"Posted by malcolm_manners 9b C. Fla. (My Page) on Mon, Oct 15, 12 at 22:32

I cannot claim to be an expert on chilli thrips, but I know how we control them, and how most successful programs work -- they are based on soil-applied imidacloprid as the primary control measure. Then supplemental sprays with unrelated chemicals help prevent any build-up of resistance to the imidacloprid. It works very well.

"There appear to be a few roses that at least tolerate them, if not being actually resistant -- 'Mrs. B. R. Cant', 'Trinity', 'Smith's Parish' 'Tausentschoen'. Probably lots of others. Unfortunately, some of the most otherwise carefree roses (Belinda's Dream, all of the Knock-Out series, Don Juan) are unusually susceptible."

When questioned Dr. Manners said in a subsequent post that the systemic imidacloprid doesn't transfer to the petals and pollen of roses so isn't harmful to bees and unfortunately doesn't protect against flower thrips, but when I looked it up online sources said that it is very toxic to all insects including bees and other beneficial insects, so I wouldn't use it.

Incidentally, my Don Juan by the front door has not yet shown evidence of chilli thrips. It's good to hear the one of the very best of the antique roses, Mrs. B. R. Cant is tolerant of them.

Oh no! Knock-out, Belinda's Dream, those are the basics in my garden.

Just wanted to let y'all know that someone in San Antonio who is willing to try to treat for chilli thrips will be taking the roses when they become semi-dormant. I'll be keeping about 10 rose plants for the time being in hopes that the chilli thrips invasion will lessen.

I wrote on the "Chilli thrips in San Antonio" thread about seeing them up close this morning using a 10x jeweler's loop. Check it out if interested.

I *think* that the north Texas counties are Erath and Somervell. Tarleton is in Erath and may have been the university that provided the positive ID.

Pam, that's probably the case. Thanks.

Just found the little creatures on the Henry Duelberg salvias in the front yard. Looked at the ones in the back and they have them too, but not as bad as the front. Maybe that's because the ones in the back yard are growing beneath the roses that were sprayed with spinosad.

It seems like neem oil or horticulal soap sprays would affect them, but the literature says they do not. I just wish there were recent articles online about whether any organic means are working orther than spinosad.

Will the Pharoah please release the children of Isreal from Egyption bondage so this plague will stop? ;-)

I know y'all are tired of hearing about it. Me too! LOL