Common Rose Pests

Regardless of where we live and garden, our roses regrettably are vulnerable to insect pests that love nothing better than to feast on tender young rose foliage and ultimately on the blooms themselves. The balance of nature can be cruel as insects and plants struggle to compete with one another for survival; roses are the target of many six-legged predators as well as some four-legged ones.

Let's start with the most common insects that are present across the country and inevitably find roses to feed on.

Aphids: The first pests to rear their ugly heads and (seemingly) to appear by the thousands overnight, aphids come in a variety of colors from green or brown to yellow, orange, and even black. They use their piercing mouthparts to penetrate the soft and succulent new growth and suck the very life out of our rose foliage and tender buds. Due to their extremely short life cycle, they reproduce by the thousands in a very short period of time, but have no fear: they are controllable by a variety of methods, both organic and inorganic.

How you choose to combat them is up to you, but more often than not a strong blast of water from your garden hose is an effective and environmentally friendly way to rid your roses of aphids -- taking care, of course, not to ruin the foliage itself. Once the aphids are knocked to the ground, they won't be able to climb back up to the plant and they usually will die quickly. Keeping a careful watch for any reinfestations and repeating the water spraying method will generally kill any new aphids and thwart their reproductive cycle.

Birds will also eat aphids and help keep them under control, as will lizards and some insects, such as ladybugs and lacewings.  They will feed on aphids without harming your roses.

Should you opt to use chemical controls, there are several available at garden centers. You probably won't have to resort to inorganic toxic chemicals to achieve the eradication of aphids, but if you do, use them sparingly and follow all the manufacturer's directions to a T. There are many organic sprays, mixtures of household products and water, which will kill aphids without endangering birds, other beneficial predators, or your pets.

Spider Mites: Commonly occurring in hot and humid weather, spider mites can be present without your knowledge and can do their damage before you even notice them. They live and feed on the underside of rose foliage and are extremely difficult to see with the naked eye. A fine webbing similar to the webs of spiders (to which they are related) will be visible on the underside of the rose foliage. Keeping your rose foliage clean by lightly spraying the foliage with water from underneath the leaves will often work in controlling spider mites. Do this early in the morning when the weather will be warmer later in the day, so that the foliage can dry without the possibility of fostering mold or fungus. Keeping your roses well watered (especially when in bloom) will help greatly in preventing spider mites because they tend to target water-stressed plants. Insecticidal soaps available at your garden center can help in the control of spider mites when used in accordance with the manufacturer's guidelines.

Leaf Miners: These are the larvae of assorted beetles, flies and moths, which burrow within the tissue of rose foliage and are unseen except for the damage they leave behind as they tunnel and create twisted yellowish tracks on the foliage. Chemical controls are available but the removal of the infected foliage usually will eliminate the problem.

Rose Slugs: These slugs are not related to snails.  They are the larvae of sawflies and certain beetles that lay their eggs in the soft tender tips of roses.  When the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the foliage, creating a lacework design that destroys the leaves. After feeding, these larvae descend to the soil, where they pupate and emerge the following spring to lay more eggs. These pests appear to be mainly a West Coast problem in both northern and southern areas. The recommended controls are Spinosad, an insecticide derived from specific soil bacteria and generally not harmful to beneficial insects, and diligence in keeping your rose beds free of debris by removing the fallen infected foliage and hand picking any foliage showing traces of the lacework damage these insects create. Allowing dead rose foliage and petals to collect and cover the soil at the base of your roses will harbor these insects and will provide them with prime breeding grounds to repopulate.

Japanese Beetles: Probably the biggest scourge of roses in the Midwest and on the East Coast, these beetles can decimate a rose bush in nothing flat. They feed on the blooms and foliage, after which they burrow and lay their eggs in the soil beneath lawns and turfgrass.  When the eggs hatch in the spring and summer, the beetles head straight for roses, which starts the process all over again. Milky Spore seems to be the preferred means of controlling these pests, along with hand picking these devils and dropping them in a bucket of water whenever possible. If you have these pests attacking your roses, consult a knowledgeable nursery, a local rose society, or your local agricultural agent to learn about the preferred means of control in your area.

Regardless of where you live, you will have insects creating problems for your roses. Some areas are more prone than others to heavy infestations. Certain rose cultivars can be more susceptible to insect damage than others. Do some research on the roses you want to grow before purchasing them to learn whether they are more or less resistant to insect damage than other cultivars.

To keep your roses free of pests, feed and water them regularly, remove their spent blooms, and keep their environment clean and free of dead material. A healthy rose which is well watered and fed is more able to fend off attacks of insects because its immune system is stronger. Lush and healthy roses will be the reward for following these basic preventative measures.

Now for the four-legged pests:

Again, depending on where you live, you may be troubled by the damage caused by animals such as deer and gophers, not to mention rabbits and others.

Gophers can do substantial damage to roses by chewing on their delicious roots. Planting new roses in wire cages below the soil level can help discourage these burrowing, tunnel-building monsters from feasting on your roses. Many methods of eliminating these pests have been tested. Some work, some don't. It's a battle based on trial and error to see which method will work to keep gophers at bay.

Deer are also a major problem for many rose enthusiasts who happen to live in a deer-populated environment. Deer in various locations may or may not eat roses. Physical barriers to prevent them from gaining access to your roses are one way of deterring them, as is a sizable dog, or even a shotgun, depending on your personal view of that issue, not to mention the legality of it. There is also considerable divergence in the plants deer will or will not eat, again depending on the location, the individual deer, and how hungry it is. Foliar sprays containing ingredients such as coyote urine have been found to deter deer in some areas. If you are troubled by deer, consult your neighbors and see which method works to control the deer in your location.