Rose slugs, aphids, and bugs - OH MY!

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HoosierLawnGnome
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Rose slugs, aphids, and bugs - OH MY!

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » April 20th, 2017, 10:04 am

Got the first buds on my roses and already have some new canes that are 18" tall. And of course, I'm finding them with rose slugs and aphids - especially the new growth. I usually knock them off or squish them when I see them, but I'm also spraying with Sevin.

What are your favorite bug control approaches on roses?


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Re: Rose slugs, aphids, and bugs - OH MY!

Post by MorpheusPA » April 20th, 2017, 11:22 am

For slugs, I use Sluggo (or Escar-Go, same thing, really). The generics on that are also fine.

Aphids detest soapy water, or even the most gentle insecticides and insecti-deterrents like neem oil. But soap kills 'em dead.

The more general category "bugs" might require something stiffer than neem oil, depending on the species.

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Re: Rose slugs, aphids, and bugs - OH MY!

Post by HoosierLawnGnome » April 20th, 2017, 3:14 pm

So far I've only identified rose slugs and aphids positively. Everything else seems to be some sort of flying gnat / mayfly type thing. Young mosquitos? I can't tell.

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Re: Rose slugs, aphids, and bugs - OH MY!

Post by HoosierDaddy » April 21st, 2017, 8:36 am

I've been successful with neem oil for slugs and japanese beetles.

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Re: Rose slugs, aphids, and bugs - OH MY!

Post by MorpheusPA » April 21st, 2017, 10:24 am

Plus, keep in mind that most insects are neutral or helpful. Control the aphids and slugs and you might very well take care of any problems you have!


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Re: Rose slugs, aphids, and bugs - OH MY!

Post by jfoege » August 12th, 2017, 3:06 am

I've used three different things on my roses:

1) 1% solution of liquid castille soap in water. This is homemade insecticidal soap and it will smother all soft bodied insects. Aphids don't do well when you hit them with this - let's just put it that way. It's really quite gentle on the plant as well and you don't mess w/ beneficials if you spray in the evening.

2) Same as above, but 1% Neem and 1% castille soap (Dr. Bronner's or similar). So for a quart sprayer, 32 oz, I use approx 2 tsp 100% pure Neem Oil (Dyna-Gro Neem) and 2 tsp of a liquid castille soap. Warm water works best for mixing Neem. If you stay on top of spraying with Neem as a preventative every 10 days or so starting in April/May through the growing season, you'll have no more issues with insects and you will likely never have to worry about black spot or powdery mildew. Neem is really a great, cheap, organic 3-in-1 for Roses. But it works best as a preventative and sprayed on a regular basis. As a side bonus, Rose foliage looks stunning with that high gloss finish that neem gives it. It won't harm beneficials either if sprayed at dusk.

3) For the heavy hitter approach, you can use insecticides:

* Carbaryl (Sevin)
* Malathion
* Acephate
* Imidacloprid
* Bifenthrin
* Tau-fluvalinate

And fungicides such as:

* Captan
* Thiomyl
* Immunox
* Daconil
* Tebucanozle

etc. etc. These are just a sample of the many different things that are readily available that you can use. Insecticides such as acephate have a 7-10d systemic activity, whereas imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid systemic that accumulates in the tissues of the rose and has a very long (months) systemic activity. Tau-fluvalinate is the only insecticide listed above to my knowledge that works well as a insecticide, miticide, AND is safe for bees. The rest are all quite bee lethal, and I wouldn't use them on blooming plants (although the effects of neonics on bees is still hotly debated from my research).

A commerical grower (Withspoon roses) uses the following formula:

We suggest spraying your roses with this mixture April-October

1 gallon water
5 teaspoons Captan 50%
2.5 teaspons Thiomyl 50%
2 tablespoons Bonide Systemic Insecticide
.5 teaspoons Spreader Sticker

Mix well and spray before temeratures reach 86°

Mix fresh batch each time you spray and spray every 7-10 days.
Spray for insects only when necessary.

Some people opt to use a product like Bayer 3-in-1 which combines Imidacloprid, Tau-Fluvalinate, and Tebucanazole every 10-14d which covers all the bases. That's a pretty solid product. I don't particulary like using neonics because of the potential effects it has on bees. However, Bayer also has a spray that is just Tau-Fluvalinate and Tebucanazole which I spray every 14d. The insecticide in that product is not harmful to bees once dry. In fact, its used to kill the Varroa destructor mites which are contributing heavily to the honeybee colony collapse. It's quite bee safe. Just remember to spray in the evenings at dusk. Also, Ortho has a good ornamental insecticide and disease control called: Ortho Rose and Flower Insect & Disease. It combines 0.26% Acetamiprid + 0.78% Triticonazole. Acetamiprid is also a neonicotinoid insecticide, however, it has a very low toxicity to bees, whereas most of them are highly toxic to bees. Triticonazole is just another azole fungicide like any others you see that end in -azole. Being a neonic, acetamiprid is systemic and accumulates in the plant tissue. A product like this could provide 30days of control of fungus and insects with each spraying! I never find it in stores though. It's available on Amazon.

Hope this helps a bit. I tend to try and stick w/ Neem. Unless I'm going to exhibit roses or dahlias or something and need show-worthy blooms and foliage.

Cheers,

John

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