Chemicals are not believed to be very effective in the control of this pest. Adult thrips can be identified by a long fringe of hairs around the margins of both pairs of wings. Color varies between species with western and other flower thrips being yellow to light brown and banded greenhouse thrips and a few other thrips that feed mainly on leaves being dark brown to black. Feeding takes place with rasping type mouth parts. Infested leaves become curled or distorted, with silver-gray scars or calloused areas where feeding has occurred.
Thrips can transmit the tomato spotted wilt virus to many different ornamentals.
Any unusual symptoms should be investigated. Control - Many materials are registered and effective at controlling thrips. Whiteflies Symptoms - Infested leaves often have small yellow spots where adults or immature whiteflies have fed. When populations become dense the leaves become yellowed and lower leaves are covered with black sooty mold. The immature stages of the sweetpotato whitefly are small scale like insects and can be found on the undersides of infested leaves.