Thrips on Fig Trees: Rolled Leaves & Treatment

Quick Answer

Thrips are tiny (1 to 2 mm) insects that roll fig leaves into cigar-like tubes or galls and scar developing fruit with silvery streaking near the eye. Leaf-gall thrips live entirely inside the rolled leaf, so the most effective control is pruning out and destroying every galled shoot. Conserve natural predators by avoiding broad-spectrum sprays, use ant barriers since ants protect thrips, and treat exposed colonies with insecticidal soap or spinosad. The damage is usually cosmetic.

Thrips are easy to miss and easy to misjudge. You almost never see the insect, only the damage: a leaf rolled into a tight tube, or a silvery streak on a fig. Because they hide inside the tissue they distort, the control strategy is a little different from most pests.

What to Look For

The signs are distinctive: leaves tightly rolled or folded along the midrib into a cigar-like tube or gall, purple-red or brownish spots and discoloration on new leaves before or after they roll, tiny dark insects (1 to 2 mm) visible inside the folded leaves if you unroll one, and on fruit, silver streaking, scabbing, or bronzing on the developing skin near the eye. New growth may also be distorted, yellowing, and dropping prematurely.

What Causes It

Two groups are involved. Leaf-gall thrips feed on tender new leaves, and the leaf curls tightly around them, giving the whole colony a protected home where the entire life cycle plays out. Fruit-feeding species like western flower thrips rasp at developing fruit skin, leaving the silver scarring. Warm weather and lush new growth favour them, and, as with scale and aphids, ants will farm and protect thrips colonies from their natural enemies.

Is It Serious?

Mostly cosmetic. Rolled leaves and scarred fruit look bad but rarely threaten an established tree, and lightly scarred figs are still perfectly edible. Heavy infestations can weaken new growth and cause premature leaf drop, so it is worth staying on top of, but thrips are more a nuisance than a killer on figs.

My Treatment Plan

Prune out and destroy galled shoots. The whole life cycle happens inside the roll, so removing rolled leaves removes the colony.
Conserve natural enemies. Avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that kill the predatory bugs and parasitic wasps that suppress thrips.
Apply ant barriers to the trunk; ants protect thrips just as they protect scale.
Monitor fruit-feeding thrips with blue sticky traps near developing fruit to track pressure.
Use insecticidal soap or spinosad on exposed, actively feeding colonies, making sure coverage reaches inside any rolled tissue.

⚠️ Sprays cannot reach inside the roll

Leaf-gall thrips are sealed inside the rolled leaf, where contact sprays cannot reach them. That is why pruning out and destroying galled shoots beats spraying for this pest. Bin the prunings; do not leave them where the thrips can re-emerge.

Preventing It Next Season

Keep an eye on new spring growth and pinch out the first rolled leaves before colonies build, maintain a predator-friendly garden by avoiding broad-spectrum sprays, and keep ant barriers on trees with a history of thrips. Healthy, unstressed trees shrug off light thrips damage, so consistent care goes a long way. Because thrips damage overlaps with mite and virus symptoms, confirming the cause is worthwhile before you treat.

Not sure it’s thrips? Distorted, discoloured new growth also comes from mites and virus. Check your tree’s symptoms against all 18 conditions with the free interactive tool.

Run the Symptom Checker

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my fig leaves rolling into tubes?

Leaves tightly rolled or folded along the midrib into a cigar-like tube or gall are the work of leaf-gall thrips. The tiny insects feed inside the roll, and the leaf curls around them, often with purple-red or brownish discoloration. The entire life cycle happens inside the roll, which is why pruning out affected leaves is such an effective control.

What is causing silver scarring on my figs?

Silver streaking, scabbing, or bronzing on developing fruit skin, especially near the eye, is typical thrips feeding damage from fruit-feeding species like western flower thrips. It is usually cosmetic and does not make the fruit inedible, but heavy scarring is unsightly. Monitoring with blue sticky traps helps you gauge the pressure.

How do I get rid of thrips on a fig tree?

Prune out and destroy all rolled or galled shoots, since the thrips develop inside them. Conserve natural enemies by avoiding broad-spectrum insecticides, put ant barriers on the trunk because ants protect thrips like they do scale, and use insecticidal soap or spinosad on exposed feeding colonies, making sure the spray reaches inside the rolled tissue.

Are thrips harmful to fig trees?

The damage is often more cosmetic than dangerous: rolled leaves, some fruit scarring, and distorted new growth. Heavy infestations can weaken new growth and cause premature leaf drop, so they are worth controlling, but a light thrips presence rarely threatens an established tree's health or main crop.

Do ants protect thrips like they protect scale?

Yes, in a similar way. Ants will defend thrips colonies from predatory bugs and parasitic wasps, so applying a sticky ant barrier to the trunk removes that protection and lets beneficial insects control the thrips more effectively. It is the same principle that works against scale and aphids.