⚠ Moderate🩺
Pests
Fiddle Leaf Fig Thrips — Silvery Scarring and Distorted New Leaves
Commonly affects: Ficus lyrata (Fiddle Leaf Fig)
The large leaves develop a silvery, shiny, scratched appearance as thrips rasp the surface cells. New leaves emerge from the growing tip already scarred, curled, or with brown streaks embedded in the tissue. Ficus lyrata is particularly vulnerable to thrips damage at the growing tip because the new leaves take weeks to unfurl, and thrips feeding during this period creates permanent deformities that persist for the life of the leaf. Black frass specks appear on leaf undersides.
Potential Causes
- 1Introduction from new plant purchases
- 2Entry through windows in summer
- 3Spread from other infested plants in the collection
Solution Steps
- 1Place blue and yellow sticky traps near the plant to capture adults and confirm infestation.
- 2Spray with spinosad-based insecticide — the most effective contact treatment for thrips.
- 3Apply Steinernema feltiae nematodes as a soil drench to target pupating thrips in the substrate.
- 4Repeat all treatments every 5-7 days for 6-8 cycles to break the reproductive cycle.
- 5Damaged leaves will not improve — remove severely affected leaves once the infestation is controlled.
Prevention Tip
Inspect the growing tip of Ficus lyrata weekly during the growing season using a magnifying lens. Thrips caught at first arrival are easily managed; established colonies require intensive treatment.
