Beware, these little flying creatures risk invading your home and garden this summer. Here are the best tips for eliminating them.
Over the past few days, have you noticed the arrival of a large number of small flying creatures in the house and garden? Get ready, you risk seeing loads of them this summer, and the invasion can be rapid if you do nothing! These small flying creatures are storm beasts, also known as thrips. These tiny insects, measuring barely a few millimeters, are aptly named because they often appear before or during storms, when the weather is heavy.
Although almost invisible to the naked eye and harmless, storm bugs tend to be annoying because they always come in numbers and stick to the skin. During stormy periods, they arrive in large numbers in the garden, but also in the house and love to land on the skin and in the hair as soon as you put your nose outside. A real ordeal! Fortunately, an essential action can limit their presence in the house.
Storm bugs love plants and often feed on plants, causing damage to leaves and flowers. At home, you can take all your indoor plants outside, this will avoid attracting them. To protect your plants, inspect them regularly and remove damaged leaves. Then use a natural insecticide such as black soap. Mix five tablespoons of black soap with a liter of hot water and spray directly on the plants. The soapy water will make the little bugs slide off the plant, and will kill them by asphyxiating them.
Other objects in the house attract them, such as picture frames or screens. Don’t hesitate to sprinkle a little diatomaceous earth behind these strategic places. If they stick to you and you can’t get rid of them, the best remedy is to take a shower to get rid of them.
In the garden, it is also possible to limit their presence. Don’t hesitate to combine several techniques. Maintain good soil moisture without excess, because thrips prefer dry conditions. You can also use natural predators such as ladybugs, predatory mites (Amblyseius swirskii), or predatory bugs (Orius insidiosus). In addition, use blue or yellow sticky traps to attract and capture thrips. Place them near sensitive plants.