thrips
Tree & Shrub Pests

Thrips in Southern Maryland

By Planet Friendly Pest Control·2 min read

Picking apples from your own backyard makes the process of baking with your loved ones that much more special.

If you're noticing that some leaves on your backyard fruits and trees have stipples or pale spots, it's possible that you could have a thrip infestation. Thrips bite, pierce and suck the life out of flowers, fruits, and other plants.

In order to understand how to treat and get rid of thrips in Charles, Calvert St. Mary's, and Anne Arundel counties, we'll break down what taming a thrips infestation entails.

01

Identifying Thrips

Thrips are about 1 mm in size, nearly microscopic. Donning fringed wings, they feed by sucking the life out of leaves and flowers. The cell contents of its meal help the population feed and reproduce. With the ability to foster multiple generations per year, their population size increases rapidly.

This of course puts your plants, trees, and other crops at risk of damage. You may notice pale spots in black feces throughout the leaves of your trees and shrubs. This is a key detail in identifying trips from aphids who do not leave feces behind.

Identifying the thrips is the first step in actively removing them. You can absolutely begin to pull weeds and prune, but understand that thrips will lay eggs in the small slits of green foliage. It will be difficult to predict which plants they're currently living in, making it harder for the average person to know which pesticides are safe and effective.

02

Prevention

In order to eradicate thrips completely, connecting with your local, eco-conscious pest control organization is ideal. Because of the volume at which thrips reproduce and destroy, you might find it difficult to manage on your own with limited resources.

You would hire a contractor to facilitate remodeling your home. He would hire a mechanic to fix your transmission. And hiring support for pest control is the best call when it comes to trips. Knowing that a professional is addressing this concern and help you foster confidence in your ability to navigate something like this in the future.

Having that support should be your first line of defense as it doubles as a prevention practice. If this is your first time dealing with a thrips infestation, you're going to be happy that you chose to ask for help instead of battling it on your own.

With exceptional pest control on your side, you're freed up to make sure that the rest of your growing season is set up for success. And with a little support, you'll be back to baking apple-based pastries for your family to enjoy.

03

Easy Does It

There's nothing like spending an afternoon in the garden with friends and family, picking and tasting the fruits of your labor.

If you're looking for more prevention on how to control an outbreak of thrips in Southern Maryland counties, you're not alone. If you're curious about thrips treatment in Charles, Calvert St. Mary's, and Anne Arundel counties, connect with our website today.

thrips

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Planet Friendly Pest Control

Eco-conscious pest control for homes with pets across Southern Maryland & Northern Virginia — serving local homeowners since 2010.....

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    Google review · Sep 2026

    Alex was great! Very professional and explained the whole process before doing any work. We had a wasp nest in our wall, getting in through a seam between our brick and siding. I thought it would be a costly problem, but it was taken care of in about 15 minutes.

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    Google review · Sep 2026

    I am very pleased with the work of Planet Friendly Pest Control. I had a large wasp nest in the garage and they came out to treat it the same day! The process was clear and professional. I was told the price when I called and they didn't try to upsell me on a monthly or quarterly contract. As mentioned above, they came out the same day I called and they texted me when they were on their way. They treated the nest and then came back a week later to confirm it was taken care of and removed the nest. It's now been a couple of weeks since the initial visit and no sign of new wasps! I would not hesitate to use them again.

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    Google review · Sep 2026

    Excellent service and full explanation of service

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    Google review · Sep 2026

    Great service. Wasps eradicated the next day.

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    I want to sincerely thank Planet Friendly Pest Control and its owner, Gene Wright, for their immediate response and action to deal with a hive of Bald Face Hornets who, unbeknownst to me, had taken home in a fair size shrub at the back of my house. As I attempted to trim the shrub, I was swarmed by Hornets and stung 8 or 9 times before I could get to safety. I left my tractor and tools in a hurry and was afraid to retrieve them until the bee issue was addressed. Again, PFPC responded quickly and allowed me to get my tools and continue my recovery from the bee stings. I considered the price to be very fair for the treatment of the issue at hand and the sharing of knowledge to avoid further such mishaps. I will only call PFPC when in need of pest control.

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    Google review · Jun 2026

    Really appreciate Roger coming out to the house to not only treat for common insects that like to make their way into the house (regularly scheduled maintenance), but also exterminate a hornet nest we found on our deck this last week. Great service, arrives on schedule (and sends a text with arrival time when he’s on his way), and most importantly - no critters coming inside my house - or hornets potentially stinging us. Recommend Planet Friendly Pest Control to anyone looking for an exterminator.

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    Google review · Jun 2026

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    Google review · Apr 2026

    This is my third year using Planet Friendly to control ants in my home. I have yet to see an ant. What a relief. This is a real necessity where I live. Thank you.

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