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Problem solving

Symptoms

Packed clusters of tiny white insects on leaves produce several symptoms. The leaves turn dull green with silvery-white areas, there's distortion of the shoot tips and the buds may fail to open.

Find it on: virtually anything from tomatoes to honeysuckle

Time to act: early spring to autumn

Thrips

These miniscule sap-sucking insects multiply rapidly on leaves. Large colonies are immediately evident, as are the symptoms - silvery-white discoloration of the leaves and distorted shoot tips and buds.

Solution

Organic

There are many different species of thrips, but a biological control in the form of a predatory mite can be used on houseplants and in greenhouses to attack the western flower thrips. Organic pesticide sprays are available, which are based on plant oils, pyrethrum or rotenone.