We love our roses, but unfortunately there are insects every year that love them just as much as we do. There are some common pesky insects which have a tendency to snack away at our roses. If we are able to get a handle on them early, we can eradicate them before they devour our roses. There are 10 most typical little buggers.
1. The initial one is the most common one and the one we all contend with on a regular basis. Aphids, these little buggers are tiny, pear-shaped pests that appear in colors such as black, green and red. They love to gather in dense heaps on the new growth and on the flower buds. They suck the great juicy plant sap with their needle-like noses. They will leave behind a trail of sticky, sugary substance called honey dew, that may become infected with a black and ugly substance called sooty mold. Since honey dew is sweet, it can also entice ants. Fortunately aphids are easy to control. If you wish to do it naturally, strong bursts of water from the garden hose will knock them off the plants however you have to do this several times. You may choose to spray them with an insecticidal soap. This soap may also remove the sooty mold. Roses also have their very own natural way of helping out with problematic pesky insects, a large number of quite beneficial insects, such as lady bugs, have a tendency to accumulate on rose bushes and take care of the aphid troubles on there own, before serious damage can occur. A different choice is a product called Merit that contains the ingredient imidacloprid in it and it is fairly environmentally friendly. Malathion and acephate are common chemicals that do the trick too. Make sure you always read the label and follow the instructions closely before utilizing.
2. Spider mites can be one more common issue we all know much to well. Spider mites are very small minature spiders that you can hardly see without some kind of magnification device .. In the event that there are very many of them, you can see their extremely fine webbing on the bottom of the leaf. Spider mite love to suck on the juicy plant parts also. The leaves slowly become a yellowish color with a shiny, silvery look to them. If not treated the plant will begin dropping its leaves and will eventually die. Spider mite have a tendency to break out when the temperature is very hot and dry in the summer months and on dusty plants. They can spread from plant to plant quickly so it is crucial that you treat them. You can control spider mite with insecticidal soap or summer oil, targeting mainly the underside of the leaves. A daily heavy, hosing down of the plants will help you to keep the spread of spider mite down. If they get completely uncontrollable, you might have to resort to use of miticide, for instance Avid.
3. Thrips are another nearly invisible problematic insect. They feed on flower petals that causes the petals to become discolored, the buds come to be deformed as they open. Thrip tend to favor the light-colored rose varieties. Insecticidal soaps are effective and also insecticides like acephate and Imidaclorid.
4. Rose midges as they are called are another tiny, almost invisible pest that feast upon the new growth, especially the flower buds, the flower bud shrivels up, turns black and falls off. The rose bush may look just fine but will merely not develop flower buds. Insecticidal soap may help a bit but this insect needs something extra heavy duty in order to get rid of it. Use of Diazinon or chloropyrifos is required to attack the soil-borne larvae.
5. Rose stem borers are wicked tiny, worm-like larvae that bore into recently cut or the new canes and feed inside of them, causing the cane to die or come to be severely damaged. Be warned, borer may be very difficult to manage. Look close at the infected cane and chances are you'll see a tiny hole where the bore have entered. Cut below this area down far enough to get to the healthy tissue of the cane. Regrettably if the borer have reached the base of the cane and bore themselves down into the bud union, most likely you will lose the rose plant entirely. Cutting off all damaged cane is most likely your best technique. Very few sprays on the market work, however , you might be able get some of the larvae as they slide to the ground after feasting, by using parasitic nematodes close to the base of the plant. To avoid the kind of borer that enter thru the cut cane, an inexpensive and productive treatment would be to use elmers glue at the tips of each cane after pruning.
Next we have the beetle family. There are 4 that are most familiar that feed on other kind of plants but also love the juicy plant parts of the rose bush. Beetles are not very easy to eradicate. They take flight and have a smorgasboard as they move from plant to plant. Insecticidal soaps do help as does Neem and pyrethrum which control adult beetles. Chemicals like carbaryl and severely help as well.
6. The June Beetles are about a inch long and are reddish brown to black. They generally feed at night. Turning the soil may help to reveal the grubs to birds. Floral-scented traps that catch the attention of adult beetles can be purchased, but beware, these traps may bring in more beetles than you had previously. Keep these traps a minimum of 100 feet away from your roses if you decide to try them.
7. Cucumber beetles are approximately 1/4 inch long and are yellowish green in color with black stripes or dots on their backs. Two different kinds can be found. They have a tendency to acquire big bites out of the rose just as it is striving to open.
8. Japanese beetles are 1/4 inch long and have coppery bodies and a metallic green head. They feed on both flowers and foliage, often skeletonizing the leaves.
9. Rose chafers as their called, are one more beetle which are tan-colored with long legs.
10. Last but not least, the caterpillar, they will sometimes feed on the foliage or flowers of the rose taking lots of small bites. Caterpillars can be controlled with acephate and caterpillar sprays.
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