Aphids
One of the most common rose pests, aphids congregate in groups and feed on the sap in buds. An easy, natural way to get rid of these pests is to spray your plant with water from a hose or from a spray bottle with a stream setting. Be careful not to blast the foliage too hard, but you do want enough force to knock the aphids off the plant. It is best to do this in the morning so your rose foliage can dry out in the sun all afternoon; wet leaves overnight can lead to the growth of mildew. Monitor your rose closely and spray as needed over the next week or two.
Japanese Beetles
If your roses have the appearance of being chewed all over the blooms and foliage, it might be from Japanese Beetles. These insects are easy to spot in the adult stage and typically appear in June or July. While Japanese Beetles make a mess, they aren’t detrimental to the overall health of the plant, so if you can stand them, it’s fine to leave them alone. Want to get rid of them? Pulling them off one by one and dropping them into a bucket filled with warm, soapy water is the most effective way. Putting a bird feeder nearby may also help. For extreme cases, a product like Milky Spore can help.
Thrips
These pests are teeny-tiny but often cause a huge amount of visual damage to roses. Thrips enjoy sucking the sap out of rose buds, blooms, and sometimes foliage. If you see browning blooms or drying buds that never open, this could be a sign of thrips. Catching the issue early is the best way to mitigate the effects of thrips; if you notice signs of damage, you can deadhead or de-bloom your roses to remove the pests. The lifecycle of these insects is rapid, so the threat often passes quickly, and if you’re growing a rose variety with strong reblooming, your bushes will be back in action soon. You can also consider treating your roses with an insecticide from your local nursery if you have a more extreme infestation.
Rose Slugs
If you’re seeing leaf damage on your roses, this could be from what’s called rose slug or sawfly. Look at the underside of the leaves. Do you see any tiny, green, inchworm-looking critters? Rose slugs will chew the foliage of plants, leaving trails where they’ve munched through. They won’t be detrimental to the overall health of your roses, and it’s not necessary to do anything about them. They typically move on within a few days, so we suggest just leaving them alone.
Deer
Unfortunately, most roses are not deer resistant and, as you probably know, when deer are hungry, they’ll munch on anything. You may want to try a product like Liquid Fence to keep the deer and other animals away if they are a big nuisance in your area.
Rodents
Traps and poisons are the two most successful methods of controlling voles, mice, squirrels, and other rodents that can sometimes damage your plants. If you want to try the organic route, Shake-Away Rodent Repellent discourages rodents from burrowing into the soil beneath your plants. This product is in a powder form that can be sprinkled around the plants you wish to protect.
