Mar 30
Yesterday I got to the bottom of what was causing the white spots on my basil: thrips. Nasty little things that cause the white spots and defecate on the the underside of the leaves. I found all the symptoms after advice from a growers forum and then I came face to face with the little beast - squished. This morning I found another one - squished. Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of them so my basil can continue on pest free.
Update: After much deliberation and forum trawling I opted for spraying the plants with a teaspoonful of washing up liquid mixed with a pint of water. All I have to do now is wait and see.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:14 am
I have something similar on my basil. Will try the washing up liquid to see if it helps.
April 13th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I saw on your blog that you had red insects on the underside of your basil. These are probably spider mites rather than thrips, but I believe the damage can appear similar.
A good way to find out if you have thrips is to hold a white sheet of paper beneath the leaves and flick them gently. You should get lots of black bits falling on the paper.
April 15th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Thanks Tim. I did a google search on spider mites and it does sound very similar to what I have - especially since there is some webbing on the bottom of the affected leaves. Today, I sprayed all the basil in a solution of 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 2 cups water…we’ll see how it goes.