Most of the time, thrips will come in on the leaves of houseplants that spent the summer outdoors, or when you bring home a new indoor plant from the store. Since they are a very common garden pest, thrips could also hitch a ride inside on cut flower or veggies that you bring in from the garden.

Why do plants get thrips?

How did I get thrips? Thrips feed on vegetation and often enter a structure when residents bring in infested plants by mistake. ... Thrips are tiny and hard to spot until after they cause damage to the plants they feed upon and their fecal matter deposited on the leaves of their host plants is noticed.

What are thrips attracted to?

Thrips are attracted to the colors yellow and blue, so yellow and blue sticky cards are an effective way to monitor populations (Figure 11). The cards should be placed among plants just above the canopy level so that the insects are caught during flight. Blue or white water pan traps can also be used for monitoring.