How to Spot Onion Thrips

Keeping a lawn and garden free of damaging insects is challenging proposition. To begin, you must be able to spot the pests so you can then go about limiting the infestation. One such pest is the onion thrip.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Look for an insect that's only 1/6-inch long and white, yellow or brown. The color will depend on the region where you live in and the developmental stage of the onion thrip. Onion thrips can also have white or gray spotting on the top of its body.

2. Check the bug for four slender wings. These wings will extend slightly longer than the body of the onion thrip and have a hairy fringe on the edges.

3. Verify a silvery sheen on the leaves of plants. Because onion thrips are so small, it may be easier to spot the signs that onion thrips are present than the thirps themselves. Portions of the leaves will appear dead or discolored, and will have the silvery sheen over the surface.

4. Spot tiny bugs on the surface of the leaves that move rapidly when you disturb them. Touching the plant should make them appear, as onion thrips will scatter as soon as there is a disturbance.