Thrips on monstera
Monstera is one of the tough-leaved houseplants the RHS names for banded palm thrips. Look under the leaves: thrips are usually more numerous on the undersides, and the damage shows as dull, silvery patches with dark varnish-like specks. This thrips pupates on the leaf rather than in the compost, so work on the foliage, not the pot. Silvered leaves do not turn green again, so judge success by clean new leaves.
At a glance
- Damage
- Dull, silvered leaves with dark varnish-like specks
- Type
- Sap feeding
- Settings
- Indoors, Under glass
- Threshold
- See profile
- Release
- Amblyseius cucumeris
- Rate
- No trial on this thrips. The site's houseplant rate for thrips: 10–50 mites per plant, weekly (UC IPM, for western flower thrips)
How to confirm it
Turn a silvered leaf over and look along the underside with a hand lens: slender blackish-brown insects under 2 mm with brown-and-white banded wings, and paler creamy-yellow larvae, among dark varnish-like specks of excrement. Naming the species for certain takes a specialist.
Identification, lifecycle, degree days and every control option are on the full Banded palm thrips profile. Not sure it is this pest? Answer four questions about the damage.
Work it out
How many do I need?
Carries Amblyseius cucumeris and monstera & aroids through so nothing is re-entered. Open the calculator →