Onion Thrips Management Guidelines: Using Foliar-Applied Insecticides

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Christy Hoepting and Brian Nault
  • Agriculture
  • Vegetables
These Guidelines are designed to optimize onion thrips management in onion and to mitigate risk of insecticide resistance. Information herein is based on insecticide resistance management principles (IRAC: Insecticide Resistance Action Committee) and years of experience evaluating efficacy of insecticides used for managing onion thrips infestations in small-plot onion field trials in commercial fields, primarily in western New York. Other insecticides (generics and other active ingredients) are also available and may be effective against onion thrips and could be substituted for the products listed here. Information below provides context for these guidelines. These Guidelines do NOT consider managing onion thrips in order to reduce incidence of iris yellow spot virus.

Steps for Success

STEP 1: Use the highest labeled rate unless specified differently in the Guidelines (Table 1). Read the insecticide label before using the product.

STEP 2: Do not apply the same active ingredient or class of chemistry (IRAC group) more than twice during the season. Table 2 lists the class of chemistry/IRAC group for each product. 

STEP 3: Apply the same active ingredient or class of chemistry consecutively 7-14 days apart, unless thrips density is below the lowest action threshold for > 2 weeks.

STEP 4: Use action thresholds to determine if an insecticide application is warranted. Some insecticides are effective against higher thrips densities than others; therefore, thresholds have been designated for differing densities of thrips. Do not make an insecticide application if the density is below 0.5 thrips per leaf; skip an application that week and scout fields the following week. Movento/Senstar is the only exception to this rule: Apply this insecticide when onion plants reach early bulb swell or 0.6 thrips/leaf, whichever comes first, followed by a second application 7-10 days later. This is to ensure that Movento becomes properly systemic in the plant; when applied during bulbing, Movento/Senstar is much less effective. 

2026 Onion Thrips Management Guidelines: Insecticide Product Decision Tool

Table 1. Onion Thrips Management Guidelines for Onion, 2026: Insecticide Product Decision Tool

Action ThresholdProduct Choices
Sprays 1 & 2Sprays 3 & 4Sprays 5 & 6Sprays 7 & 8
Low Density
Avg. number of thrips per leaf = 0.6 to 1.0
  • Movento
  • Senstar
  • Agri-Mek
  • Lannate + Warrior
  • Radiant SC
  • Agri-Mek
  • Lannate + Warrior
  • Radiant SC
  • Lannate + Warrior
  • Radiant SC
Medium Density
Avg. number of thrips per leaf = 1.1 to 2.0
  • Movento
  • Senstar
  • Minecto Pro
  • Exirel @ 13.5 to 16 fl oz/A
  • Vertento @ 3.1 fl oz/A
  • Minecto Pro
  • Exirel @ 13.5 to 16 fl oz/A
  • Vertento @ 3.1 fl oz/A
  • Lannate + Warrior
  • Exirel @ 13.5 to 16 fl oz/A
  • Vertento @ 3.1 fl oz/A
High Density
Avg. number of thrips per leaf ≥ 2.1
  • Movento
  • Senstar
  • Lannate + Warrior + Agri-Mek
  • Exirel @ 16 to 20.5 fl oz/A
  • Vertento @ 3.1 to 4.1 fl oz/A
  • Lannate + Warrior + Agri-Mek
  • Exirel @ 16 to 20.5 fl oz/A
  • Vertento @ 3.1 to 4.1 fl oz/A
  • Exirel @ 16 to 20.5 fl oz/A
  • Vertento @ 3.1 to 4.1 fl oz/A
NOTE: PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE BEFORE USING THIS TABLE. 
DISCLAIMER: The information in these guidelines is not a substitute for a pesticide label. Trade names used herein are for convenience only; no endorsement of products is intended, nor is criticism implied of unnamed products.

Examples of Insecticides Used for Managing Onion Thrips in Onion

Table 2. Examples of Insecticides Used for Managing Onion Thrips Infestations in Onion in NY, 2026 
Some of these products can be used alone for effectively managing thrips infestations, but others are not. In such cases, specific combinations of products that are no longer effective alone can be combined to become effective. Never combine two effective products together and apply at the same time.

Product NameChemical NameIRAC ClassRestrictions for Thrips
Agri-Mek SCabamectin62 sequential applications then rotate to another class
Exirelcyantraniliprole282 sequential applications then rotate to another class
Lannate LVmethonyl1ADo not make more than 4 applications
Minecto Proabamectin + cyantraniliprole28 + 62 sequential applications only
Moventospirotetramat232 sequential applications only
Senstarspirotetramat + pyriproxyfen23 + 7C2 applications only
Radiant SCspinetoram52 sequential applications then rotate to another class
Vertentoisocycloseram302 sequential applications only
Warrior IIlambda-cyhalothrin6Do not make more than 8 applications
NOTES: Find more information about IRAC. Pytiproxyfen does not have activity on onion thrips.

Notes

The “number of sprays” listed in the Guidelines does not necessarily refer to numbers of weeks during the season. For example, sprays #3 & #4 could occur during weeks four and five; this commonly occurs after spray #2 of either Movento or Senstar because of the long residual activity of these products.

If two consecutive applications of Minecto Pro are made, do not follow with either Agri-Mek or Exirel because they contain the same active ingredients that are in Minecto Pro (abamectin and cyantraniliprole). A single application of Minecto Pro may be followed by a single application of Exirel or Agri-Mek, or vice versa.

Avoid using products that are either no longer effective or have become noticeably less effective (e.g., Radiant SC). If thrips counts per plant are higher 7 days after an application was made compared with counts prior to that application, do not give that treatment a second chance to fail to control your thrips.