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PEST OF THE MONTH - Onion Thrip
What's it look like?
Thrip are often too small for you to notice at first. What you'll pick up is the silvery blotching or streaking of the onion leaves. If infestation is bad then leaves can be bent over.
The pests themselves lurk around the base of the plant and chew on the new forming growth. They appear like white specks when young, maturing into little greyish dots as adults.
What it attacks
All onions and chives, especially in dry weather.
What to do before it arrives
Thrips will often carry spotted wilt which affects tomatoes and potatoes. So make sure you don't plant onions or chives in your tomato bed or near potatoes.
Companion planting onions with pansies helps by attracting thrip onto them. Thrip will feed on the pansies instead of your crop of onions. I've also had success with California Poppies and it looks nice too.
Keep the weeds down around the plants to avoid more problems.
Keep the area moist but not so damp that you attract fungal problems.
What to do if you already have problems
I've hacked back a bunch of chives right to the ground and sprayed with water or pyrethrum. It got rid of the thrips, aphids and the resulting new growth was terrific.
Unless you have a really bad case of thrip, just leave them and spray off with a burst of water from the hose from time to time. A mild case shouldn't hurt the bulb development of most of your onions.
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