We love monstera plants for their beauty and their relative ease of care (most varieties, anyway), but, like most houseplants, they are susceptible to certain household pests like scale, mealybugs, spider mites, and thrips. In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about thrips on monstera plants and how to get rid of them!
Thrips are tiny winged insects that can be difficult to see with the naked eye because they’re so small. They can look like miniscule white, brown, or yellow dots moving around on your monstera’s leaves. These little buggers might show up on the tops, undersides, or even the stems of your plant.
The larger species will only reach between 1.5 and 3 mm long. On a monstera plant, you’ll probably see mostly yellow or black thrips, though there are thousands of different species of thrips in the world!
Thrips are especially persistent because they reproduce quickly and feed on the sap in your monstera’s leaves. Mature female thrips lay their eggs inside the leaves by digging a little hole in the leaf tissue, which damages the leaves straightaway. To make matters worse, the babies, or nymphs, will hatch after a few days and start sucking juices out of the leaves, which damages them even further.
Thrips can lay eggs over a dozen times in their 45(-ish)-day life cycle. That’s a lot of bugs! This is why it’s important to recognize a thrip infestation early on and nip it in the bud.
Let’s talk about how to recognize thrips and thrip damage, and what to do when you see these signs so you can save your plant!
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What Does Thrip Damage Look Like on Monsteras?
Because thrips suck the sap out of your monstera’s leaves, damage can show up in a lot of different ways, from spots left behind from the initial punctures when thrips lay their eggs, to longer-term damage caused by lost turgor pressure and lack of nutrients and water from disrupted sap flow.
Here are the main signs to watch for that can indicate a thrip infestation on your monstera plant.
Yellow or Brown Discoloration on Leaves
You probably know that yellowing or browning leaves can have many different causes. But if you notice this discoloration occuring around a certain area of your plant, clustering in the middle of the leaf instead of concentrated on the edges, and your monstera’s light and water conditions seem to be in order, insects might be a problem.
Black Spots on Leaves
Tiny dark-brown or black spots can show up when thrips have been burrowing into your plant’s leaves to lay eggs! If you see these dots, check for the presence of actual insects or others signs that you might have an infestation on your hands.
Wilting, Drooping, or Curling Leaves
When the nymphs suck the sap out of the leaves, this can lead to a reduction in turgor pressure, or pressure from the inside of the leaf and stem tissues that help your plant maintain its rigidity.
If you notice your leaves are flimsy, wilty, droopy, or curling (and especially if you also see spots or discoloration), you might have a thrip issue!
Can Leaves Recover From Thrips?
Unfortunately, once leaves suffer damage from thrips, they generally won’t recover. Spots and discoloration won’t fade; droopy or wilted leaves may perk back up, but that’s the best you can hope for. Once spots and discoloration occur, it’s only downhill from there.
What Do Thrips Look Like?
Thrips are tiny, and usually look like little white, yellow, or brown dots on the tops, undersides, or veins of the leaves. You may need a magnifying glass to see them clearly. You can also hold a white sheet of paper under a leaf you suspect may have thrips and give the leaf a good shake. Some insects will fall on the paper and become a lot easier to see!
Where Do Thrips Lay Eggs?
Thrips typically lay eggs in the soft tissue of the leaves rather than on stems or in the soil. That’s because leaves are rich in sap, which is the food source for the nymphs.
How to Get Rid of Thrips on Monstera Plants
Thrips can be tricky to get rid of because even after removing the actual insects from your plant, there may still be eggs waiting to hatch. Once that happens, you’ll have a whole new generation on your hands!
The best approach is multi-pronged and involves getting rid of mature insects and preventing eggs from hatching. It might take several rounds of treatment to get rid of thrips completely, but if you catch the infestation early, you should be able to remove them and save your plant!
Using Insecticide to Get Rid of Thrips
Insecticide is often necessary to get rid of thrips for good. You can purchase this online or at gardening stores, or you can make your own!
If you’re using a store-bought insecticide, make sure to follow the dilution directions on the bottle, erring on the side of over-diluting, just to be safe.
It’s also a good idea to test any insecticide on a small leaf or smaller section of your monstera to make sure there aren’t any adverse effects before you go spraying down the entire plant! Make sure to wait a full day and then check the spot you tested again before using the insecticide on the whole plant.
When you spray, take care to get the tops and undersides of the leaves as well as the stems, but don’t soak the plant. Do this every 4-7 days as needed until the thrips are gone.
How Do You Get Rid of Thrips Naturally?
There’s a variety of ways to treat thrips the all-natural way, ranging from homemade insecticides to introducing natural predators.
Homemade Insecticide
There are many homemade insecticide recipes out there, but our favorite is a simple soap-and-water mixture.
To make this easy DIY insecticide, just mix 1.5 teaspoons of gentle liquid soap into a quart of water and use immediately. Again, it’s a good idea to test it on a small section of your monstera just to make sure your plant isn’t going to scorch or have any other unwanted reactions.
Make sure to apply the spray in the morning or evening, because insecticide is only effective while it’s wet. If you use it during the warmest part of the day, it may dry out before it can really get to work on your plant’s leaves!
Repeat this process every 4-7 days until you don’t see any more thrips and your plant’s condition stabilizes.
Neem Oil
Neem oil is a standard treatment for insect infestation on plants! Follow the dilution directions on the bottle and you can also add in a little liquid soap. Then spray down the plant and let the mixture dry. This is also an excellent preventative measure to stop insects from taking over in the first place.
Again, it’s not a bad idea to test your mixture on a small bit of the plant before jumping in and spraying the whole thing.
Neem oil does have a bit of a funky smell that goes away when it dries, so you may want to do this outside (only if your monstera is protected from the elements) or in the garage if possible. Or consider our Leaf Armor spray, which is a natural way to help rid your plant of pests.
Neem oil only works to eliminate pests while wet (much like insecticide), so it’s best to apply the spray earlier in the morning or in the evening instead of in the brightest, hottest part of the day. This prevents the spray from drying out too quickly.
Blue, Yellow, or White Sticky Trap
Thrips are attracted to the colors blue, yellow, and white, so you can use this to your advantage and set traps!
You can buy these traps at garden stores or online, but you can also easily make your own by spreading some honey (or other sticky substance that will stay sticky) on a sheet of blue, yellow, or white paper and placing it near your plant. Sticky notes can also work in a pinch!
Lint Roller
Sometimes you don’t have the patience to wait for the thrips to fall into your sticky traps. So you can use a lint roller and essentially bring the sticky trap to them!
To remove thrips with a lint roller, simply hold a monstera leaf flat in your palm and gently run the lint roller over it. Make sure to get both sides of all leaves, and maybe give the stems a very careful once-over as well.
Introduce Ladybugs
Ladybugs will be happy to snack on your thrips!
If you order ladybugs online and release them into your monstera’s soil, they’ll quickly locate a food source—the thrips—and get to work. This is especially fun to do if you have kids!
The ladybugs will probably venture outside your monstera to your other houseplants—which can be a really good thing—and even other areas of the house. Ladybugs are completely harmless, so if you don’t mind having some cute insect friends around, this might be a great option!
Removing Damaged Leaves by Pruning
If a thrips infestation is advanced, sometimes the best course of action is to simply prune off the affected leaves. This will get rid of any eggs still waiting to hatch as well as mature thrips that might be hanging onto those leaves. Removing damaged leaves also prompts your monstera to redirect energy toward healing the surviving leaves and creating new growth.
To do this, sterilize a pair of scissors or shears with alcohol or soap and hot water. You might also want to wear gloves because your monstera’s sap can bother your skin.
First, it can be helpful to use the lint roller trick to remove as many thrips as possible from the leaves. Then carefully cut the stems of the leaves you want to remove. Be careful not to jostle the leaves too much, and drop a bunch of insects onto lower leaves or the soil. You can also simply cut off the damaged areas of the leaves if your goal with pruning is more about aesthetics and healing than about treating the infestation.
If your infestation is severe and you’re going to lose a lot of leaves, you may want to consider propagating the healthy leaves and starting from scratch with a healthy young plant.
Read our guide on propagating monstera plants from cuttings here.
And don’t forget to use Propagation Promoter to encourage your cuttings to root as well as ward off infection!
Frequently Asked Questions About Thrips
FAQ Why are thrips so hard to get rid of?
Pest infestations are never fun, but thrips can be particularly tricky to get rid of because they are constantly laying eggs in the leaves, and those eggs are constantly hatching, and the cycle starts all over again. So you might find yourself dealing with several generations of thrips at a time!
This is why you might need to do several rounds of treatment to get rid of thrips completely, and why it’s so important to catch them early.
FAQ How can I prevent thrips?
As always, prevention is the best treatment! Here are the best ways to prevent a thrip (or any insect) infestation:
Quarantine new plants.
Make sure to isolate new houseplants before placing them next to other plants. Pests can often ride into our homes on other plants, so it’s best to separate new arrivals for a week or two so any potential insect problems can manifest and be dealt with. And it goes without saying that if you notice signs of insect infestation or damage on a plant at the store…don’t buy it!
Clean your leaves.
Keeping your leaves clean can also go a long way in preventing pests and other issues, such as clogged pores from dust and dirt (which can interfere with your monstera’s respiration and abilities to convert sunlight into energy—not good!). Dust your leaves once a week and wipe them down with water and a soft cloth at least once a month.
Use neem oil.
Spraying your monstera’s leaves with neem oil every once in a while can also prevent insects from moving in, as well as killing off any pests that are already present.
Fortify your leaves with Leaf Shine.
Using Leaf Shine regularly can ward off pests as well as dust, debris, fungus, and bacteria. It also nourishes the leaves and makes them healthier, stronger, and better able to withstand environmental threats. And last but not least, it gives your monstera’s leaves a beautiful glossy sheen!
Monitor your monstera’s condition.
Finally, make sure to inspect your plant regularly for signs of pests and other health problems. We recommend giving your monstera a once-over at least every time you water. Just take a quick look at the leaves and stems to make sure nothing is amiss. If you see signs of issues, take action immediately.
You’ve got this!
Pest treatment and prevention is a skill every monstera owner needs to have, because if you own monsteras or other houseplants, you’ll probably end up dealing with insects at some point. The trick is to keep a close eye on your monstera to catch potential problems early, and take great care of your plant overall to prevent insects from moving in in the first place.
We’ve got all the products and resources you need to take the best possible care of your monstera!
Remember to check out these resources to improve your monstera care skills and knowledge and grow the most beautiful monstera plants around!
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