On days of flying weather – calm, warm summer days – there may be large numbers of thrips in the air. They may sit on you, and crawl through the clothes and into the ears, nose and eyes. They are irritating when they crawl on the skin. In addition, they often pierce their short proboscis into the skin, even though they – as mentioned – are plant eaters. The bites often cause redness and itching.
Prevention and eradication
Thrips fought quite vigorously when seen as pests on plants, but once they are flying and are numerous, there is nothing to do outdoors. The thrips which make it inside, die very quickly – the climate inside is too dry for them. If you are not willing to wait for them to die naturally, they can be eradicated with an insect spray with pyrethrin I and II + piperonyl butoxide. It’s hard to effectively keep thrips out. They fly through fly screens; however, if doors and windows are kept closed on flying days, and spray before-mentioned pyrethrin in the cracks, it is possible to tone down the discomfort.
"Pests in House and Home"
"Bed Bugs - Bites, Stings and Itches"
"Food Pests"
"Husets dyreliv" (Insects Around the House - Only danish)
"Skadedyr i træ" (Timber Pests - Only danish)
"Stuefluen" (Common Housefly - Only danish)