Pest Control Tips for Roses

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." Of course, many recognize this famous line from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Whatever name you call roses, the Queen of Flowers, they are still the most beautiful and romantic of all floras. Bouquets of roses are the most popular gifts for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. They are by far the most requested flower, especially red roses, for florists all over the world.

However, before these roses can come into full bloom in any garden, even the most carefully tended rose garden, there lurks those destructive garden pests that can wreck havoc on your rose bush, buds, leaves, and blooms. Here, you'll find out the most common pests, what to look for, and how to get rid of them without complicated pest control measures or harmful chemicals to the environment, your family, and your pets. Here are your 10 pests and tips on controlling them.

1) Aphids -- These are the main insects that affect roses appearing in the spring and summer. Aphids, or greenflies, suck the sap and weaken the plant. They are tiny and oval in shape with a great capacity to reproduce quickly. If you aren't squeamish, you can easily locate aphids in your rose garden and squish them between your fingers.

If touching bugs is not your thing, then you can use your garden hose to spray them off, which is what my mother does in her rose garden. An organic method of control is insecticidal soap. You can purchase it at any garden shop. Another safe way to get rid of aphids is to mix ½ cup of water and ½ of Listerine mouth wash into a spray bottle by shaking it. The best method of all is to have ladybugs because aphids are their favorite food.

2) Earwigs -- You'll find these pests are likely to hide during the day and then come out at night by climbing onto your rose blooms and feed. If there are signs of chewing on your rose blooms and young leaves, you may have earwigs. They are large, soft-bodied yellow and brown insects with paired curved pincers. Your best bet to breaking their breeding cycle around your roses is to have a chemical soil around them.

3) Cane Borers -- This is a problematic pest for my mother's roses. They enjoy drilling holes into the end of the rose canes, which causes the entire rose bush to die. Using Elmer's glue to seal the end of all your canes will be the most effective way to control cane borers. To help you keep track of which canes you have sealed, you can add food coloring to the glue.

4) Japanese Beetles -- If you have the lighter colored and stronger scented varieties of rose, these infestations of beetles can be very distressing; they have an insatiable hunger for rose blooms and sometimes the foliage, too. These pests lay eggs on your lawn and around your roses by returning year after year. The best way to get rid of them is to either use a neem-based product or put a bowl filled with dish soap and water under the rose and tap lightly. Try doing this in the morning and evening when the Japanese beetle is resting.

5) Spider Mites -- If you live in a hot, dry climate region most likely these tiny pests have caused you havoc with your roses. They like to suck juices from the undersides of rose leaves. The leaves become yellow, dried, and curled up, eventually falling off the bush. Sometimes you can find little spider webs on the leaves. Spider mites are not insects, so you cannot kill them with insecticides. However, you can get rid of them with a strong spray from your garden hose. Be sure you reach the undersides of the foliage where they do the most damage. Also, try some rubbing alcohol to the affected leaves.

6) Thrips -- Again, if you live in hot and dry conditions, you will most likely find these tiny, slender dark brown or black sucking pests that damage and destroy the opening rosebuds by turning them brown and leaving them partially opened. They even feed on the upper surface of the leaf. It is difficult to see them outdoors. Here is a way to find out if you have thrips. Take a cutting inside, shake it over white paper to see if any fall out. They have a narrow body that is approximately 1 1/16th inches long. You can simply cut off the affected rose or its leaf, regularly water your roses, or spray with an insecticide such as the insecticidal soap.

7) Sawfly Larvae -- Looking like caterpillars, they feed on the leaves of your roses in the springtime. The sawfly is light green with some black spots and they are 1 ¼ inches long. You can easily get rid of them by hand-picking the sawfly off. Be sure to look on the undersides of the leaves too for these pests.

8) Rose Midge -- This is a very challenging pest to control because the larvae of this microscopic insect will feed on growing tips that will result in buds otherwise. They can be devastating to your rose blooms, too. The rose midge has no known predators or any natural means to exterminate them. The young larvae hatch in the soil, so you need chemically treated soil to kill them as they try to hatch.

9) Leaf-Cutter Bees -- You may find some small, perfectly circular holes that have been cut into the foliage of your rose, more than likely it was visited by the Lead-Cutter Bee. For the most part they prefer the dull leaves of old garden roses versus the modern hybrids. The bees use the leaf cuttings to build their nests. No chemical controls are necessary because they do not harm the plant, and they may be just a minor nuisance.

10) Pear Slugs -- They come from the larvae of the sawfly. You're likely to find them eating holes in your rose leaves' undersides. These slimy, dark green pests are about ½ inch long. If they're not removed, they can do a lot of damage in just a short amount of time. By acting quickly you can use the insecticidal soap. But the best way to rid the pear slugs is to squish them between your fingers.

If you are diligent and consistent in utilizing these rose pest control tips, your roses will remain healthy and your pest control problem will be down to a bare minimum. Most rose-lovers check their roses daily, but being armed with this information, you are now more in control of any pest problem that tries to take over your magnificent roses.

SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pests_and_diseases_of_roses

http://www.rosemagazine.com/pages/pests.asp