Small Insect Infestation

Question

I have found on my roses and columbine large numbers of a small black insect, at most 1/8 inch long and very thin. I had never seen them before; they do not look exactly like thrips. For all I killed with a spray, more appeared and did damage, also on new citrus leaves and flew in swarms. There was also balling of some of my rose buds.

Answer 1

It sounds like thrips to me. They can be extremely tough to get under control and many times the use of a systemic insecticide is needed. There are also some sticky yellow pads that you can buy to catch many of the adult thrips so that they cannot make more thrips. They are attracted to yellow. Here is an article that will help as well: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/insects/controlling-thrips.htm