THRIPS CONTROL MADE EASY 
Control of thrips is now very definitely a matter of record. In fact, one brief sentence tells the story—start the 
season with clean bulbs, then either plant early, or spray regularly, or both. 
PLANT EARLY 
December and January are the safest 
months in southern California; January 
and February in central California; and 
March in most other places. Migratory 
thrips from neighboring gardens are not 
likely to reach such early plantings in 
time to injure the blooms. The damage 
is not from the first few thrips, but from 
the thousands of offspring that develop 
after several weeks of breeding. 
START SPRAYING EARLY 
Early plantings should give uninjured 
blooms; regular spraying, started while 
the plants are young, makes it almost 
certain that your blooms will come 
through in good shape. Spraying is es- 
sential for late or for very large plant- 
ings. Start when the plants are two to 
three inches tall, and spray at least once 
a week. To avoid spray-burning, never 
spray until evening during spells of warm 
weather. 
TO PROTECT OR SAVE YOUR 
OWN BULBS 
If you have had thrips, you do not need 
to throw your bulbs away. Dig them 
while the stalks are still a little green 
(about five weeks after blooming), and 
cut off and burn ALL the old stalks just 
before digging. Keep the bulbs away 
from other infested plantings while cur- 
ing. When thoroughly cured, store them. 
Sprinkle one pound of napthalene flakes 
among each thousand bulbs. Small quan- 
tities of bulbs should be placed in a 
small bag, which, in turn, should be 
placed (open at the top) in a large bag 
containing a few napthalene flakes. This 
is to keep the bulbs from direct contact 
with the napthalene; where the quantity 
of bulbs is larger, other means should be 
taken to accomplish the same result. Not 
more than twenty-four hours before 
planting, peel the bulbs and dip them in 
120° hot water for about two minutes. 
(About as hot as the average person can 
stand with his hand fully immersed.) 
NOTE: The bulbs we supply have been 
fully protected by fumigation, and need 
not be treated unless stored with your 
other bulbs after leaving our sheds. 
SPRAYS 
We are inclined to select the Barfoot 
Rotenone Spray or Tartar Emetic as the 
most effective. We use it, and if you can- 
not get it locally, we can supply it. How- 
ever, for the small garden, other sprays, 
such as Lethane 440, are very good—in 
: fact, if your planting is not large, use 
almost any kind of spray that you use on 
the rest of the garden. But be sure to 
spray often—once a week for small plant- 
ings, oftener for large patches of glad- 
iolus. Bear in mind, however, that spray- 
ing is done to keep down stray thrips, 
but seldom does any good once you have 
a bad infestation. However, you can al- 
ways save choice spikes, even in an in- 
festation by giving them daily “‘massag- 
ing’ while the spike is in bud. This 
crushes and kills the thrips that are 
hidden in the sheaf, and these are the 
thrips that do the “dirty work.” 

