Do Thrips Bite?

You will encounter different kinds of pests as gardeners. One of the things you have to learn as a gardener is to know how to deal with different kinds of insects. Thrips are one of the pests you will spot in your garden. But are they dangerous? Do thrips bite?

Yes, thrips do bite. The bites are unlikely to cause you any harm, however.

While working in your garden, it is unlikely you will be able to avoid any interaction with insects. It would be wise to know if they can hurt you, so you take proper precautions.

Thrips can bite you, which is why it would be best to wear protective gear like full-sleeved clothes and gardening gloves to prevent multiple bites from taking place.

What Do Thrip Bites Feel Like?

Thrips tend to bite, and how it feels will vary from one person to another.

Many people who thrips have bitten have not reported anything serious except some itching in an area and a small rash. In the majority of the cases involving thrip bites, there will be no pain and swelling.

But people have also experienced sharp pain when thrips bite them, followed by irritated skin. 

While thrip bites should not lead to severe reactions, there are people who have reported some serious symptoms. Some of them include redness around the bite, a big rash, and lesions near the bite. It is important to remember that people who are already allergic to bug bites will experience worse reactions and will need medical care. 

If you or anyone is experiencing these symptoms, it would be wise to consult a medical professional as soon as you can.

In most cases, thrip bites do not need special treatment if the result is mild itching. You can relieve the itching by washing the area with soapy water or by applying a topical aloe vera gel to soothe the itching.

Why Do Thrips Bite you?

You may wonder if thrips rely heavily on plants, why do they even bother biting humans. The reason why thrips may bite humans is when they are looking for something else and mistake humans for potential food.

These insects are sometimes searching for moisture on human skin and will bite. This will lead to irritation in the area, but usually, there is nothing serious. Many people barely feel the bite and may not even experience any irritation. 

Thrips are very simple insects so it’s unlikely that they bite you out of frustration or anger like a wasp might string, for example.

How Do You Know If You Have Been Bitten?

How can you cater to thrip bites if you do not know what they look like? To know if thrips have bitten you, it is essential to know what the trip bites can look like.

In most cases, thrip bites are nothing serious and can be recognized by a small pink dot in the area. Lesions, welt, or redness will follow the small dot in very rare cases. Unfortunately, thrip bites will look like most other harmless insect bites.

Since thrips are small insects, tracking them with your naked eye can be difficult.

It is not easy to determine if the redness and irritation on your arm are because of thrips. If you are not sure, but you are experiencing allergies, it would be best to check your garden for thrips. 

You can figure out if you have thrips in your garden by laying a white piece of cloth or paper and shaking your plants over it. Any insect which lives in the plants will fall on the blank paper, and you will be able to identify them better and easier.

In addition, you can also use sticky paper to trap thrips and look closely to identify them.

Summary 

While working in your garden, you may have experienced a bite and learned to know that it was a thrip that did it to you.

Yes, thrips can bite, but that does not make them dangerous. Thrip bites do not result in serious consequences. After a thrip bites you, you will experience some redness and irritation in the area.

However, some people who are allergic to bug bites have experienced pain and swelling. If you or someone you know is experiencing pain, it would be best to get the help of a medical professional. 

You can get prevent getting bit by thrips by taking some measures against them. For instance, you can introduce natural predators, use reflective mulch, neem oil, and diatomaceous earth.