The SECRET to get rid of plant pests

[@KillThisPlant]

Guess what, thrips can go through parthenogenesis. A single female thrips can switch from sexual to asexual reproduction. So a single thrips can start an infestation. Cool 😭 Check the description for written instructions, safety tips, and more info on beneficial bugs.

[@KathyGallagher01]

Oh joy, not! 🙄

[@princesspretty4520]

Whaaaaattt?!??? 😮

[@marciajohnson1825]

Hey there, relatively new subbie here from London, UK! Yesterday afternoon I came across this channel for the first time - '@Evermore: Eden Restored' - and in his video this chap claims to have found the solution to eliminating thrips, and he has been pest free for 5yrs now. He claims a solution he makes by soaking neem cake, also called neem meal, in water for several hours, then saturate his plants' soil in the strained off tea/water solution has kept him pest free for the last 5 years. I immediately purchased some, and am now awaiting my delivery. Here's hoping 🙏🏾

[@laschlein9470]

this is how you know satan is real and she hates cute houseplants. thrips, u don't need to be able to asexually clone yourselves like damn

[@radugrigoras]

Bugs are bugs, beneficial meh. The one place i bought one of my orange trees was like ohhhh we are organic, we dont belive in pesticides so we topped off your plant with these beneficial mites that will eat the evil other mites...Great so now instead of one bug i have 2, cool. I gave it a shot, why not right? The red mites, im not sure but they are semi-retarded, if there happens to be a white mite infestation on the same leaf they will slowly eat them, but they arent stupid they wont eat the ones that reproduce, just the juveniles which makes sense why would they kill off their only food source. BUT what if your red mites are on one leaf and the white are on another....NOTHING HAPPENS, the reds just die of starvation, looked like they were eating their own young to survive for a little while, and the whites just reproduce like nothing ever happend. Don't waste your money on this mumbo jumbo eco friendly build your own eco system story. There is a reason why it doesnt work in nature and we now have GMO and pesticides, you think you will be the one that figures it all out in their home? Nah, buy some poison, kill them all and move on with your happy life.

[@simonesicard4347]

Not pest related. ---- I love how much you engage and have cameos from the plant community. 😉

[@KillThisPlant]

😊 thank you

[@EverythingPlants]

Great video, Lee! Thrips are the absolute worst....I sure hope there isn't too much damage on your beautiful Monstera. Thanks for the shoutout!

[@KillThisPlant]

Thanks for the great tips, Jeff.

[@mabonniejungle....7851]

Seen this video ages ago and since then this has been my one and only pest treatment. I now spray down every plant at the end of each month and I've been pest free for just over 1 yr 🌱 good luck and happy to have found your channel, Jeff is fabulous to watch, love his channel too 💚

[@agneslazarenko2653]

That's a commitment. I'm so lazy though, let's hope the thrips don't eat all my plants, my cats, and me

[@KillThisPlant]

it is. but I'm not above throwing an entire plant in the trash and cutting my losses.

[@martynkal.1248]

As someone who lives in a home with damp & mould issues I'm always so nervous when I see plant people talking about raising humidity in their home 😅

[@JR-wm9yn]

I find keeping my soil "living" helps prevent pests. So I do a rotation of soil enhancement. Not in any particular order: top dress with biochar/humates/glacial dust/worm castings, inoculate with bacteria/fungal spores (meant for plants), fertilize with compost tea and liquid seaweed (supposed to increase cell wall thickness to make more resistant to pests, and adding bios nutrients. No pests for 4 years now *fingers crossed*

[@offplanet740]

Is it still working?

[@noconawolf]

You are so funny. I love watching your videos. Entertainment while absorbing information. Brilliant.

[@luemun]

You're so right about thrip extermination being all about time and effort. Just when you start to relax and think they're gone, they reemerge on a completely different plant 😤 The only thing I found worked on them is pyrethrum. I bought the concentrated version and mixed it a bit stronger than what they say on the packaging, then sprayed every plant (whether I saw signs of thrips or not) 1-2 times a week for 2-3 months. Now I haven't seen any thrips for a long time, but I still spray the plants about once a month just to be safe, and I've started treating every new plant I bring in and quarantining them for a few weeks as well. Still haven't gotten rid of the fungus gnats but at least they don't cause as much damage 🤷‍♀

[@abbytonyardor3701]

Great video. I have always thought that when I bring plants in for winter they are pest free but sometime around February some sort of awful medieval spontaneous generation takes place lol. So this year I started soaking every plant with a neem oil, castile soap solution every seven days and so far it has been fairly effective. If I get a major infestation I repot the plant and dispose of the old soil and scrub the pot. My big problem right now is the mamalated stink bug and I am certain we have a few spider motes. My formula is 1 ounce concentrated neem oil. 1 teaspoons castile soap per gallon of water. Sometimes I add a few drops of peppermint oil and thyme oil. I have found you have to soak every part of the plant. I wish you much luck Lee. You are so good with house plants and I have learned so much from you. Thanks as always.

[@ididit36]

Thank you. I used the mentioned solution for as preventive measure last growing season once every 5 or 6 weeks with minimal to no outbreaks. I did get mealybugs in a plant section that I didn’t treat. I’m getting a little anxious now because I have almost double the amount of plants. I’m going to start now and see how it works out for me.

[@KillThisPlant]

Best of luck!

[@eurydice00]

New to your channel, my 8yr old daughter and I love you! 💚💚💚 We keep rewinding at about the 03:00 min mark and crack up at “What?!” Every time 😂🤣 also appreciate your plant tips 🪴

[@aiai-j7i]

That's very sweet 😊

[@Anjfyi]

I've managed to get pesticides from America, that aren't available here in Canada that work well with Thrips. (Note: I'm using these for indoor plants so bees are not in danger, and I'm using it responsibly.) Spinosad with insecticidal soap + Imidacloprid granules have rid me of all my plant problems. Realistically these are the only way to do it if you have hundreds of plants like I do unfortunately. Showering works well, but would take too much time for the plant enthusiast with a ton of plants.

[@mynameis999]

Thrips (and spider mites) are torture to anyone with plants. 🙏 to you.

[@plantfrand132]

Absolutely agree, these two are definitely the worst.

[@laschlein9470]

if only i'd known of this secret concoction a few months ago. damn near drove my partner to move out with the foul smell of neem oil filling the house every week after discovering billions of thrips covering my previously thriving purple velvet. weirdly none of the many plants around her seemed to be hit with a thrip infestation, they just love those juicy fuzzy purple leaves. they will all be getting a nice tea tree-peppermint-alcohol-peroxide soil drench though, and with that and my soon-to-be crafted portable plant shower replacing just accepting that the walls/floor around my plants as collateral damage when spraying (hi lazy), my marriage AND plant collection will be safe

[@martynkal.1248]

Love that you give credit and get other creators involved in your videos!

[@mishy.]

Omg thank you!! I was just stressing about potentially needed to get rid of my schefflera yesterday because it has spider mites, and I was thinking there's no feasible way I could clean all the leaves individually, and I didn't want to use anything that smells bad on it. I am going to start doing this ASAP! Thank you! ♡

[@KillThisPlant]

Hope you can save it!

[@ildikojones7073]

Thank you for sharing your experiences with thrips. I came across the clip about the homemade insecticide last summer and I have been using it. It works, and it smells wonderful! I hope you win this battle with the thrips really soon!

[@KillThisPlant]

Thanks for sharing! Is it similar to the one I'm using now?

[@ildikojones7073]

@@KillThisPlant It is identical. Yes! I’m using the same ingredients, in same, suggested quantities. One thing about it is, the “inventor” says to use up the whole batch freshly made, immediately. Otherwise, if it sits around, it loses its effectiveness.

[@KillThisPlant]

Yes my dad mentioned that, I've added it to the description. Thanks for the reminder.

[@healthyfitmom]

That plant shower is awesome! That is my main problem is committing to spraying consistently because of the mess it makes and because of how many plants I have in my affected room. I was spraying a mixture of dish soap, neem oil, peppermint and blended a few cloves of garlic ( sulphur is a bug killer) that I made tea of. It worked but the thrips came back a week later. The plant shower is a game changer!

[@Steeze365Daily]

The best way to prevent pests is to treat the soil with mosquito bits tea & spray your plants with Neem weekly. They only “pests” I ever see are little beneficial mites in the potting mix. Been two years planting & haven’t had thrips or any other leaf bug 😩

[@TheGangsterousG]

@@Carl-qi9iq How do you stop pests getting into your house? Do you always have the windows closed?

[@winniebabez3851]

How can you tell which mites are beneficial?

[@ingagud]

I have thrips since two years. They keep coming back every spring. It’s terrible!!! I have had the flies before, which is way easier to get rid of. I will try the tips you have. They are killing all my plants over time.

[@LoreenMew]

Love the good infos the humour and the cameos with others, your videos are great, thank you so much !

[@GoldMiningGermany]

I am huge fan of neem oil, but my personal secret was vinegar, soap and a pack of high nicotine tobacco cooked and used in a spraybottle, really effective!

[@KillThisPlant]

I'm sitting here thinking your about your plants chain smoking cigarettes 🤣.

[@GoldMiningGermany]

@@KillThisPlant I think the challenge would be to grow your own tobacco plants for this :D Keep on creating Videos! Regards!

[@ot7stan207]

As I sit down at my desk this Saturday morning in San Francisco and sip my coffee, it is with great pleasure that I forgot you upload today. Ive decided to save it for later in the day when I return home so that I can enjoy it like fine wine, the edumacations is to be savored with all the senses. but no really lol ill be back

[@snt9518]

I had a bushy laniata mildly infested with thrips. Didn't want to deal with attempting to keep its shape, so I cut up every vine into cuttings and sprayed with a strong insecticide. Repeated once in a few weeks, if I remember correctly. The original leaves have some yellow spots from the treatment, but new growth has been just fine. Also, the cuttings were rooted separated from all other plants to be safe.

[@DesertBloomsGarden]

what ive found to be true while gardening and house planting is: you will have pest now and then no matter what. just wash your plants often and keep them happy and healthy. pest are apart of the process unfortunately. its not as much about keeping them totally gone, as it is always keeping the upper hand. 🕉 i actually tried this exact mix myself and it like all other things are not full proof. also, here in our garden we are obssessed w the soil health for our plants root systems which in return give us happy and healthy plants. even a perfectly healthy plant will get a passer by pest and thats ok 😌 showers every 10 days in my home. 🙏🏼🕉 bloom vibes from Texas

[@KillThisPlant]

Wise words! I think people underestimate how important soil health is to assist plants in remaining healthy even with active pest problems.

[@colleennisbet3727]

Great video Lee! I have been researching thrips for a while and like you, realize it’s a combination of tool to get rid or these pests. A few things I suggest you could add to your toolkit…. Blue Sticky pads do help catch bugs also I lightly shake a dusting of diatomaceous earth on the soil to prevent the adults from developing. The lint roller is a fabulous idea too - glad you included it. Keep the videos coming!

[@KillThisPlant]

I actually did use blue stickies throughout filming this video but they seemed to be the least effective. I really only noticed the occasion fungus gnat getting caught. DE can be great. I do use beneficial soil mites so I worry it'll affect them. When you use DE do you feel you need to reapply after waterings? how often? Thanks!

[@colleennisbet3727]

@@KillThisPlant I hear ya’ about the blue stickies. Mostly gnats and soil bits but a few pests. They make me feel like I’m doing something at a minimum 😊 As far as the DE…I try to water strategically so I’m only disrupting part of the soil area. Once it dries a bit I reapply. I only do it for 2 -3 weeks until the cycle is interrupted although there is usually lots of residual DE in the pot and it can’t hurt! I’m game to try anything. I have a copy of your mix with peppermint soap and will give it a try when I am next under siege 🦟 thanks!!

[@LeNuKillSwitch]

You are amazing... my favorite videos to watch and have inspired me to be a plant mom...i watch hundreds of videos, but only follow your advice.. trying this concoction now because I've tried everything else. Thrips destroyed my prized monstera, now looking my other 2 and killing my prized BOP now

[@Zalyplants]

Try bonide sulfur. It will help with thrips spider mites and other pests. Try systemic granules for the dirt. And lastly mosquito bits will kill the larvae.

[@whitneygagnon8010]

You are my plant-hero 😍 I can’t believe I have all of these things in my home already and haven’t combined them yet. Pests better watch out next season! Thank you for sharing 💕🌿🍃

[@MysteryViv]

This was such an entertaining and informative video. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be using the wonder spray in my own bug battles.

[@xXxDinEnesteEnexXx]

I do this in combination with setting up traps to catch the flying thrips. The trap is just water with honey and dishsoap. The honey lures the thrips in, and the dishsoap traps them so they drown >:D

[@KillThisPlant]

great idea!

[@JennieZ42]

OMG these are great ideas. I've been battling aphids on my hibiscus which currently lives indoors. I need that plant shower

[@KillThisPlant]

Go for it!

[@aliceradstromthornblom2207]

I had a massive thrips infestation, I spray the leafs with a mixture of water, soap and neem oil. It helped to keep the infestation in check but I haven't been very consistent with it. I have also found that having fewer plants has helped a lot, to only have plants in your collection that you love and bring you joy as there is no need in having too many plants which makes it so much harder to kill pests and care for them all.

[@ot7stan207]

after my first bout with spider mites, I realized I enjoy cleaning my plants and killing pests. I shall try your mixture out for the sake of it on one of the suss looking plants I got recently

[@KillThisPlant]

its great! Seems to kill on contact, smells nice, and deters them from returning.

[@aquajuwel7098]

Personally having had plants for 25 years now, I don’t do the natural way when I get thrips and other stuff on my plants, i almost never get it anymore, but when I do I just use insecticide in the soil so it works systemic. Here in Norway we call it provanto, it’s tablets you put in the soil, and it has Flupyradifurone as active ingredient. Neem oil and all of that natural stuff don’t work long term in my opinion….. Flupyradifurone is considered safe, follow the label and use gloves, don’t breathe in the spray version and your plants is insect free and healthy.

[@kisikisikisi]

I really love your sense of humor

[@Schoenmann3]

Subbed immediately xD I laughed so hard at the plant shower lmfao I've got a dozen or so plants now, mostly aloe and some bamboo. And my prized blueberries!

[@KillThisPlant]

Thanks for the sub!

[@katieflorse5961]

I absolutely LOVE your sense of humor! Lol & I really love ur videos! They've been SUPER beneficial for me and my house plants. I use a similar mixture, minus the castel soap. Instead I've always just used the original dawn soap. Lol either way it does work but yet again, I've not really had any bad infestations thank you Jesus! Just spider mites but it took care of them and that was including me wiping down the leaves front to back with alcohol. So my question is, what exactly does the castel soap do, smother them out or something? Just curious. Thank you for all your videos! I watch every time you upload. Hope you have a great day!

[@zawjahsultan]

Thanks!

[@rebeccahenderson7761]

Great channel, I love your natural humour!

[@plantypittsburgh]

Lolol. Oh, man. Your humor and editing are on point.

[@karigarcia5930]

I LEARNED SO MANY THINGS!! I learned that I need to go buy soup. I also want that pump thing you got there.

[@KillThisPlant]

Link is in the description! My favourite soup is chicken noodle 🍜

[@qaphqa]

I usually use neem, with washing liquid as emulsifier. ♡♡♡

[@DesertNebula]

I have neem! What washing liquid do you use

[@5280MTM]

I love your videos so much! All the spraying and that will do wonders. Neem, dawn, hydrogen peroxide, iso. etc. You mentioned in your video how they fly and transmit and can sustain freezing temps for a long amount of time. They are in the soil. I've kept known contaminated soil in -20* sustained temps all winter and they would survive. Have you tried diatomaceous earth? I mix it in with all my new soil for transplanting or new plants from seed. If I bring a new plant home, I dust in it the DE. For additional support I will use mosquito bits in the soil and also top dress. I haven't seen a thrip, gnat, or another pest in a long time since I learned this. DE is like flour, you'll make a mess the 1st few times but its harmless to pets, and humans.

[@KillThisPlant]

I haven't used DE before but I do have concerns about it losing it's effectiveness after being water. Do you reapply? What have you noticed?

[@5280MTM]

@@KillThisPlant I haven't had to reapply at all. I pretty much hit all my plants in a afternoon with a dusting, top layered, and replanted a few plants that I found had the main infestations. Repotting those with a mix of the DE made a huge difference. Any new plants I will add DE to my soil mixtures. If you lay down a bunch of DE around your plants. A bunch is not a lot. Put some in your hand and blow it into your plants. Then make a spray bottle of Dawn dish soap- lightly spray your plants and the undersides. If that doesn't kill them, the DE will finish them off. For extra- the mosquito bits will stop any chance. I hope this make sense. Its worked for me for over 3 years. The mosquito bits work pretty well, but I found were much for effective making a tea out of them then watering with that once every 2 weeks. Get a few fish filter bags and put the mosquito bits in there and make a tea.

[@aiai-j7i]

Please make sure you wear a mask as DE dust is very damaging to one's lungs!

[@CalmingSoundZZZ]

I don't even have house plants bc of pests and having a teeny home but I love everything about Lee so I watch his content. This video might help though so maybe I'll try a house plant...

[@KillThisPlant]

Let me know what plant you get!

[@CalmingSoundZZZ]

Lee, I trust you. Do you have a recommendation?

[@KillThisPlant]

@@CalmingSoundZZZ something inexpensive you like the look of! (Not a succulent or a cactus). Maybe a pothos, peperomia, a dracaena, or a Brasil philodendron

[@mscd6174]

Love your channel! Newly discovered for me. A learn so much and laugh out loud. I love that you give kudos to others channels too. Thank you. 😊

[@KillThisPlant]

Thank you for watching!

[@sailyx3jupy]

I've been lucky enough to never had thrips. Pretreat most of my plants with neem. I had one thrip run opposite direction of the plants when it came in from a rescue plant. Never saw it since.

[@Thr3atlvlmidnight]

Glad I found your channel man, I like your sense of humor and you provide great information. Definitely subscribing. ✌🏽

[@KillThisPlant]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Thr3atlvlmidnight]

@@KillThisPlant I just purchased my first monstera from Walmart recently. It seems healthy, just needs a bigger pot. I was wondering if I should prune the short, smaller leaves. There's a lot of small leaves, I thought it would possibly grow faster if I prune them but they're healthy so I wasn't sure. Any advice would be appreciated.

[@CapysGardenShop]

I cut Harris brand clear sticky sheets into 1” strips & lay a few on the edge of the soil to combat fungus gnats. The lg. yellow ones work as well, but are more unsightly….not that anyone cares too much about yellow things when we’re fighting a gnat war. 😂

[@HipyoTech]

I uh.... wiped down my Alocasia with Lysol wipes when I had a spider mite outbreak. Killed all the mites and none of the leaves. I really don't know how smart that is but hey it worked?

[@KillThisPlant]

This is so surreal. I just spent the last 3 weeks binging your videos to build my first keyboard. 🤯 I went with: -keychron v3 -gazzew bobagum silent linears Thanks for the videos! (And to your comment, it might be fine, I do worry about the other chemical ingredients listed on the wipes especially if they're scented. Glad it worked though!)

[@HipyoTech]

@@KillThisPlant Brilliant build! And that's hilarious I've watched so many of your videos lately

[@KillThisPlant]

That's wild! Can I dm you somewhere? I have one KZbin question about one of your video formats I wanted to try and adapt for my channel.

[@HipyoTech]

@@KillThisPlant Yeah! hit me up on twitter or Instagram and we can exchange discords!

[@KillThisPlant]

@@HipyoTech appropriate it! I messaged you on Instagram (hopefully it didn't go into hidden messages).

[@miawl9]

THANK YOU SO MUCH - I feel like this tip is so helpful, definitely remembering this video whenever the next infestation happens. Also, 3:26 was hilarious 😂

[@tarantellalarouge7632]

For the moment, I don't have thrips, the only pests I have are fungus gnats but with yellow traps and BTI (bind torture incinerate or bacillus thurigiensis israelensis) I am almost get rid of them.

[@kristian.sacco.]

Hey lee! Would love a video on preventative measures for pests

[@twinfin8571]

I just found your channel and was thrilled to see the recommendation for pest control since that is the exact one I use! I do have a question, however about a cast iron plant I bought online. I sprayed it and put it in isolation. Then I bottom watered it and saw two small (very small) caterpillars in the remaining water. The bigger one was dark green with white dots in a line down the top. I just sprayed the plant again and put it out on the patio. I guess I should repot it or do you think more spraying will be enough. I also noticed a few (less then 10 in the last week or so) small moths in the house lately which at first thought might be coming from flour or something like that….but I freeze those products and store little in the cupboard. No moths in the flour. I couldn’t figure out where they came from till I saw the caterpillars in the water. What would you do for this plant now? Thanks

[@princesspretty4520]

I need to learn more about thrips. I keep staring at my monstera leaves 👀…shaking them…spraying them with water. My spider mite infestation last summer traumatized me. Their infantry decimated my beautiful elephant ears. Not this year pests…not…this…year!

[@KillThisPlant]

You can do it!

[@M.nivalis]

10/10 informative and hilarious! Thank you!

[@EinLauchAmLimit]

After trying all kind of recipes and insecticides i have found to love Neem oil in variying deletions. It's simply magic. Gets ride of all kind of nasty buggers even shield insects. As far as I know it works different on different pests. From blocking their breathing. To make them unable to eat or reproduce. It even helped (together with scrubing) to get rid of a nasty shield Investitions where you couldn't see the green of the steam anymore because their where so many of them

[@jessicapayne8622]

I love your videos. Cheers for them!

[@holhant]

Spider mites are the worst:( Thank you for tips, will try for sure!

[@wafflesofmaxconsupmption7145]

Can alcohol/peroxide be used in a soil drench to control fungus gnats? Would alcohol or peroxide be detrimental to a living soil? Can it be safely used to lightly spritz the top layer of soil to control fungus gnats (versus a soil drench)?

[@okmo88]

Smart work, thanks for this ! 💪 i got close to a million pests ( think they trying to smoke tabaca )

[@ShayyButter]

ive been using neem oil, distilled water, a few drops of soap, and I spray my leaves down & take a cloth and wipe the tops and undersides of my leaves. this is supposed to be a pest prevention method, kills the eggs & once the bugs ingest this - kills them too :p

[@itsmeeandrea]

This video brought me joy after I found out about my thrip infestation 😭 I think my case was too far gone though so I am just getting rid of them 😭

[@lalathelemonllama]

I literally just noticed an infestation of thrips this video was perfect thank you 😭

[@KillThisPlant]

Oh no. I hope you can get rid of them quickly

[@radugrigoras]

I never had these Thrips, spider mites galore, never on the monstera though. Main source of infestation was i've been trying to grow orange and lemon, same as you i live in ontario canada...Very difficult. Most of my citrus trees came infested with mites, they didn't really show their tiny dandruff looking faces until a couple months in. But god when they did, it was like a rave, i was debating charging them rent. Also one of my trees had scale bugs, those are much harder to kill and more evil than mites. My quick advice from my experience so far. #1 Spray your stuff down with some horticultural oil mix when you first get the plant. Don't care where you got it - could be from the garden of eden itself, there will be bugs. #2 When you spray, wipe the leaves down with a microfibre cloth with a thick pile and then re-spray right away. #3 This is a hard one, and will take some commitment. Will this be an outdoor plant or an indoor? Unless you want to go through all that every time you bring it in (treating bugs that lay eggs in your dirt = jedi level) you have to make a black or white choice, outdoor (stays there) or indoor (stays there). I know your monstera probably loves it when you take it out on the balcony every summer, but honestly all those gains could be gone with one infestation. Plus they could get on your other plans. I would just keep it indoors, outdoors i'll just keep some potted tomatoes or something that i don't really care about and i can replace quite cheaply and quickly. My 3yo orange tree aint ever seeing the outdoors again. Knats, mites, scale, thrips, ear wigs in the soil, no way it's worth the risk. Grow lights have gotten pretty cheap, with a canadian tire 20$ oscilatting fan and a couple humidifiers you can grow some beautiful plants indoors. But ALWAYS treat newcommers like infested scumbags, just like you would in an aquarium, you don't just plop your new fish into your 1000$ tank, you isolate, monitor, treat with antibiotics etc before introducing to your tank.

[@KillThisPlant]

Wise words! Absolutely a great strategy to keep the rest of your collection safe.

[@Trazynn]

This concoction is overwrought btw. It's the mint oil that does all the heavy lifting. What you basically do is submerge the soil, let the larvae float to the surface. add a few drops of mintoil (with a bit of alcohol for dispersion) and you see the larvae die. Then drain the water and repeat after a few days. Make sure you don't add too much mintoil like in that video because it's quite harsh on the plants. Just a few drops each time is more than enough to kill all the larvae in the pot.

[@KillThisPlant]

Interesting! Might try that on some smaller plants.

[@hamelot400]

gonna have to try this, nothing worked and i ended up losing or getting rid of like 70% of my plants and taking healthy ish cuttings from the ones i could/really loved. worked to reduce the numbers but I've seen more show up since. I'll need to stay vigilant and try this on top of the diatomaceous earth i've been applying

[@littlemuisje]

I have trips every year thanks too the nearby corn fields which attracts them. I use actual pesticides on heavily affected plants. And a mix of natural soap(currently an all-cleaner), alcohol and hydrogen peroxide 3% to keep them in check throughout the season. Trips are the worst.

[@KillThisPlant]

🌽🙅🏾‍♂️

[@laura6874]

i'm on such a thrip hate journey right now. feel like they've taken so much from me. i hate thrips

[@iulialepinzan5841]

I also use neem oil with soap and warm water, it works ok mostly

[@sheshaliyanage8204]

I just found your account and i love it! I think I may have overwatered my monstera 😭 but I’m genuinely not really sure what’s going on! I don’t know if I need to start over or replant it! This is my first plant! Any advice?

[@KillThisPlant]

Pull the plant out of the pot and inspect the roots. feel to see if theyre firm. Smell to see if theyre rotting.

[@philipstewart4470]

Thank you so much for this helpful video! Just got back from my vacation and found half my plants fully infested with thrips. What is the peppermint soap for? Why would I not only use the insecticidal soap?

[@KillThisPlant]

Peppermint is supposed to be a natural repellent.

[@philipstewart4470]

⁠@@KillThisPlantInteresting, let’s go safe my plants then. Thank you for the quick reply Lee, appreciate it!

[@dacielattz1242]

First time watching your videos and you have me laughing to much. Thanks fot the information very helpful

[@KillThisPlant]

That's great. Glad you enjoyed it! 🌱

[@barbaraowens2299]

I had a monestera for two weeks, it was in quarantine. Went to check it, yep thrips. I cleaned all the leaves, put it outside away from all my plants. Sprayed it down good with Captain Jacks's Dead Bug. I was very angry. Cut away all of the damaged leaves. Thrips are gone, so are most of the leaves.

[@TylerSmithMusic1]

This is the best plant page ❤️

[@KillThisPlant]

Thank you!

[@SMILEY-eo4hj]

Ive looked at all my plants, I dont notice any pests but I do notice those small long marks as if something scratched the leaf, Does neem oil do the same job?

[@Erin_in_Austin]

Hi Lee! Dos that spray work on mealy bugs too? I’ve been using neem oil & water, but the smell is awful and isn’t really working. 🤪

[@KillThisPlant]

Yes, the alcohol in particular would be the main killer. You can even increase it to a 90% alcohol solution.

[@LilSayo]

Thank you for the video!! I lost only a few plants to the thrips because I had a friend smuggle thermonuclear insecticide that required me to wear a full body suit and a mask. I had to seal off a room too. Now I have a cat and I can't risk it. Now Im struggling with false spider mites and since we don't have any stuff at all I have to get creative. But I did lose 40% of my collection and now in the process of losing another 30%. Hope I can find some castile soap

[@KillThisPlant]

That's a huge chunk of your collection! Sorry to hear that.

[@LilSayo]

@@KillThisPlant I FOUND CASTILE SOAP!!! YESSSSSS. Thank you for the great and practical advice too, you make my life so much better. But yeah, losing so many of my favorite plants that I put so much money and time into made me so damn miserable. Especially all the hibiscus plants I had. I had diff varieties and they were so hard to come by.

[@brittanymolnar7230]

I have a combination of plants in a heavy decorative bowl. It sentimental since i recieved it as part of a close family members funeral. Ive found a few tiny bugs on the leaves recently. Of course the bowl has no drainage hole. Im upset about the idea of trying to take the planta out and repot, and worried if i dont i will drowned the plant truing to treat it. I also have no confidence in my ability to seperate the plants. Any suggestions?

[@YouCallThataKnife253]

Gimme dat sweater, bro... And that sprayer, too

[@KillThisPlant]

Sprayer is in the description.

[@tamasd8]

I tried this method today for the 1st time, we'll see how it works out! Thanks man! (Had to convert freedom units to metric though :D )

[@Sylphadora]

How did it go? I tried it for the first time today too

[@tamasd8]

It didn't work out for me, the soap leaves a white residue and the pests stayed... So I went with some poison (Mospilan) and got rid of 98% Smells good though and it didn't hurt the plants, so no regrets. They got some nice showers at least :D

[@Sylphadora]

​@@tamasd8 Thanks for your honest review. How often did you spray your plants when you tried this method? I made a big batch and I want to use it up, and luckily the thrip pest in my plants is not out of control so I'll give this a go and see if it helps, but I don't know how often I should spray them. I saw Mospilan is sold in my country so I'll get it if the concotion doesn't work in the end. Some other insecticides people recommend online are not sold in Europe. I agree the smell is really nice. I would spray my plants every day with it if they could take it just for the smell XD

[@tamasd8]

Oh sure, try it as soon as possible, maybe it will help in your case! I'm in Europe too (Hungary) and I think Mospilan is not sold anymore without a permit. So we must find an alternative. But I didn't look because 2 spraying solved my issues almost fully. Also you shouldn't overuse it because bugs get used to it. Unbelievable :D I sprayed my plants weekly for about 2 months. Maybe I should've cleaned the leaves with a paper towel, but it is honestly too much. Pests were all over, pretty nasty. And I didn't like the top of the soil turning white of the soap. Anyway, don't give up! Let me know how it goes!

[@Sylphadora]

@@tamasd8 Thank you for your tips! I got off to a bad start already because I made a big batch and you’re supposed to use it immediately after mixing it. I didn’t have time to watch the whole video yesterday and wanted to treat my plants ASAP so I just got the recipe and that was it. Now I am stuck with 4 l of useless homemade pesticide. Serves me right.

[@Sylphadora]

Can you spray on a peperomia caperata? I’m afraid to ruin the leaves.

[@tranquilitywithdd]

Do you have any vids on how to grow these plants from a stick? I have purchased three so far and they are not doing well... well at least this last one had two pretty leaves so it is sitting in dirt, but the leaves eventually started dying so I cut them off. HELP!

[@KillThisPlant]

I have a video about growing adansonii wet sticks. Might be helpful.

[@tranquilitywithdd]

@@KillThisPlant None for Delicisiosa? The stick I have at least had two leaves but they died. I don't want to waste anymore money on these, but can't find large form in stores.

[@KillThisPlant]

@@tranquilitywithdd sorry. Not specifically but the process would essentially be the same. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f4KTpX-Cf8dph6c

[@tranquilitywithdd]

@@KillThisPlant Ok, thanks

[@linedebaveye9889]

Is it bad for the plant if the mixture is also sprayed onto the soil? New at removing thrips, so just looking for some advice 😊

[@KillThisPlant]

A little is fine. As it is rubbing alcohol, it is not good for your roots.

[@parkay]

Anyone know if the secret concoction can be used on outdoor plants and vegetable gardens?

[@carolstuff]

Hey Lee, I’m going to try that solution for possible the mites that I can’t see without a microscope. Do you rinse the leaves after the treatment or not? Also, can they tolerate light after treatment? Always appreciate your vids; thanks Lee!

[@rahrahgobg]

Hi-I’ve been using the concoction in the liquidirt video he referenced since last fall. I’ve had spider mites, thanks cat palms, aphids outside, and just discovered mealy bugs on only one outside plant yesterday. I was spraying my plants weekly outside for preventative, but missed a few weeks. I lost my cat palms because I sprayed the guest one outside middle of day, which is a no no. I spray all my outside plants at night and let the spray sit on the leaves. I spray the soil too. I see no aphids on my African violets, spider mites were gone from additional plants, and we’ll see about the mealy bugs. I did lose my cat palms-I just can’t have those I guess. I do have some small palms (I saved those with this spray as one has the mites). And OMG, it smells sooo good. Liquidirt guy recommends Dr. Woods Castile soap vs Dr Bronners because it’s thicker.

[@laribergantin7097]

This is so damn useful. Thank you very much! How long without seeing thrips is a good sign that they're definitely gone? Coincidentally, I found thrips in my monstera just a few weeks ago I showered her to get most of the larvae out and Neem oil seems to have finished them, now I'm consistently keeping an eye on her but I don't know for how long to quarantine her. Thanks!

[@KillThisPlant]

Honestly, I would monitor for an entire year. New generations tend to come out in the spring.

[@laribergantin7097]

@@KillThisPlant oh boy, I'm in Brazil so we're in summer right now, this is gonna be a long year thanks for the info!

[@HeronFly]

When you were at your shower and you said, “WHAT!?” Good times.

[@gushanana]

How do you feel about neem oil? For treatment and then for prevention?

[@KillThisPlant]

I dont use neem oil.

[@marciajohnson1825]

Hey there, relatively new subbie here from London, UK! Yesterday afternoon I came across this channel for the first time - '@Evermore: Eden Restored' - and in his video this chap claims to have found the solution to eliminating thrips, and he has been pest free for 5yrs now. He claims a solution he makes by soaking neem cake, also called neem meal, in water for several hours, then saturate his plants' soil in the strained off tea/water solution has kept him pest free for the last 5 years. I immediately purchased some, and am now awaiting my delivery. Here's hoping 🙏🏾

[@KillThisPlant]

Let me know how it goes!

[@marciajohnson1825]

@@KillThisPlant certainly will!

[@AammaK]

Instead of bying multiple bottles of castille soap, I'd recomment buying peppermint and teatrea essential oils and using a neutral soap like plain castille soap, grated marseille soap or pine soap instead. If you're iffy about buying EOs, I hate to tell you but that's in those recommended soaps anyway, and in a great portion of all your cosmetics. It's just a compound of a plant. Just don't buy from a pyramid scheme, obviously. It'll be way more cost effective and lasts many times more than the pre-scented soaps. I brought the mf's to my apartment a while back on a rescue plant that had been abandoned. I was cautious, but didn't know well enough what to look for at that point. Still dealing with them. Not a single tradescantia has survived them in my care yet, so finding them in my triving Zebrina was devastating. Doing everything I can to save her now. My syngoniums have also been particularly prone to thrips, so I've been more vigilant with them. I don't know, maybe it's finally time for systemic prevention...

[@drokta]

are thrips the reason some of these new leaves get black spots? did u say something about that? had black spots on new leaves b4 but never seen thrips then i saw some and then i saw this video.

[@KillThisPlant]

Thrips can cause that yes. However a lot of things can cause new leaves to come out damaged. Anything from pests to over/under watering to spraying leaves to touching them.

[@Sandreline]

It makes sense. Predators don't want to eliminate a population. That would be detrimental to them.

[@lauralgonzalez90]

Is hemp peppermint soap okay? That's the only thing I can find from the dr. Bronners brand

[@KillThisPlant]

I’m sure it’s fine.

[@justanotherfaceinthecrowd]

We have Bug clear ultra, or provanto in the UK.. thrips aren’t a big deal with these.. spider mites are the one that are tricky …too many pushing neem oil and such is the why most pests get out of hand.. use the systemic save time, stress and your plants

[@saraloe4702]

I LOVE Provanto. When I first got plants I thought I was going to be an all-natural earth goddess... then thrips happened and I tried the natural route a couple of times and then I got Provanto. Never going back.

[@justanotherfaceinthecrowd]

@@saraloe4702 yep same here😆.. I have way too many plants to be messing around for weeks with something that can be solved in a few squirts

[@fleabitz1474]

You're the cutest thang on the youtubes.

[@dycslangr]

I'm trying to find out if I'm having this issue or not. I have little black dots on the leaves of my monstera.

[@chatryna]

I love this guy.💚

[@Aura983]

Do you rinse the leaves after spraying? My biggest challenge is not overwatering plants when I'm combating thrips. I have to use grow lights so I need to rinse off the leaves or they'll get burnt.

[@KillThisPlant]

The spray can leave a residue