1. Insect
  2. Vegetable Crops
  3. Vegetable Crops
  4. Hosts and Pests of Vegetable Crops

Cucumber-Thrips

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Includes

Corn thrips (Frankliniella williamsi)

Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis)

Pest description, crop damage and life history

See:

Common Pests of Vegetable Crops

Biology and life history Adults overwinter in trash, under bark, and in other protected places. Adults become active in the spring and lay eggs in the tissues of plants. The eggs hatch into nymphs, which begin feeding in flowers, buds, and leaves. When mature, nymphs drop to the ground and molt into adults. Under favorable conditions, a life cycle may require only 2 weeks.

Pest monitoring Treatment is usually not necessary on seedlings, because most plants recover from thrips injury. Foliage-feeding thrips also are beneficial at this time because they are effective predators on early year spider mite infestations. Both adult and immature thrips may be found in spider mite colonies feeding on spider mite eggs.

Management-biological control

Minute pirate bugs play a major role in controlling thrips populations.

Management-cultural control

Thrips populations tend to build up on weeds. Cultivating nearby weedy areas before the crop emerges reduces the potential of a thrips problem when the weeds begin to dry out. Cultivating weedy areas after crop emergence increases thrips problems.

Management-chemical control: HOME USE

  • acetamiprid
  • azadirachtin (neem oil)-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • Beauvaria bassiana-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • bifenthrin (usually as a mix wth zeta-cypermethrin).
  • capsaicin-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • carbaryl
  • cyfluthrin
  • deltamethrin
  • horticultural oil-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • imidacloprid
  • insecticidal soap-Some formulations OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • kaolin-Applied as a spray to foliage, it acts as a repellent to some insect pests. Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • malathion
  • permethrin
  • plant-derived essential oils (such as clove, garlic and rosemary)-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • pyrethrins-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • spinosad-Some formulations are OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • zeta-cypermethrin

Management-chemical control: COMMERCIAL USE

  • bifenthrin/avermectin (Athena) at 0.09 to 0.12 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.35 lb ai/a per season.
  • Burkholderia spp. (Venerate XC) at 1 to 4 quarts/a product. PHI 0 days. REI 4 hr. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • Chenopodium ambrosioides extract (Requiem 25EC) at 4 to 6 pints formulated product per acre. REI 4 hr. Use high rate when conditions are favorable for heavy pressure. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • Chromobacterium subtsugae (Grandevo) at 0.6 to 0.9 lb ai/a per 100 gal. PHI 0 days. REI 4 hr. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • cyantraniliprole (Exirel) at 0.133 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day in field; 0 day in greenhouse. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 5 days. Limit 6 treatments per year. Do not exceed 0.4 lb ai/a per year. Foliage feeding only.
  • cyclaniliprole (Harvanta 50SL) at 0.036 to 0.054 lb ai/a PHI 1 day. REI Limit 3 treatments. Do not exceed 0.22 lb ai/a per year Retreatment interval 5 days.
  • dinotefuran (Scorpion 35SL) at 0.05 to 0.18 lb ai/a foliar or 0.23 to 0.27 lb ai/a for soil. PHI 1 days foliar, or 21 days for soil. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 0.266 lb ai/a foliar or 0.532 lb ai/a for soil per season.
  • gamma cyhalothrin (Declare) at 0.01 to 0.015 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 24 hr. Retreatment interval 5 days. Do not exceed 0.09 lb ai/a per season.
  • imidacloprid (Admire Pro) at 0.25 to 0.375 lb ai/a. Soil application only. PHI 21 days. REI 12 hr.
  • Isaria fumosorosea (PFR-97 20% WDG) at 1 to 2 lb/acre of product. REI 4 hr. Retreatment interval 3 to 10 days. OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • lambda-cyhalothrin (Warrior II) at 0.02 to 0.03 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 24 hr. Retreatment interval 5 days. Do not exceed 0.18 lb ai/a per year.
  • malathion (Fyfanon 8) at 1.0 to 1.75 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 24 hr. Retreatment interval 7 days. Do not exceed 2 treatments.
  • novaluron (Rimon 0.83EC) at 0.078 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 12 hr. Retreatment interval 14 days. Do not exceed 0.23 lb ai/a per year.
  • spinetoram (Radiant SC) at 0.047 to 0.078 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 4 hr. Retreatment interval 4 days. Do not exceed six applications or 0.266 lb ai/a per season. Follow resistance management procedures on the label.
  • spinosad (Success, Entrust SC) at 0.09 to 0.125 lb ai/a. PHI 1 day. REI 4 hr. A surfactant improves efficacy. Do not exceed 0.45 lb/a per year. Limit 6 applications. Entrust SC is OMRI-listed for organic use.
  • tebuconazole/lambda cyhalothrin (Crossover) at 0.14 to 0.16 lb ai/a. PHI 7 days. REI 24 hr. Do not exceed 0.18 lb ai/a lambda cyhalothrin or 0.48 lb ai/a tebuconazole per season. Retreatment interval 10 to 14 days.
  • thiamethoxam (Platinum) at 0.078 to 0.172 lb ai/a. PHI 30 days. REI 12 hr. Do not exceed 0.172 lb ai/a per season.
  • thiamethoxam/chlorantraniliprole (Durivo) at 0.195 to 0.257 lb ai/a applied to the soil (suppression only). PHI 30 days. REI 12 hr. Do not exceed 0.172 lb ai of thiamethoxam or 0.2 lb ai of chlorantraniliprole per acre per growing season.

Note: Pesticides may injure cucurbits. The possibility of injury is less when foliage is dry at time of application.