GamePlayer No. 1058 wrote:

I dont know the answer but I cut a huge cane off my 10 year old rose bush to
try and root it, and a couple days later I noticed a hole in the top, so I
cut off a half inch, and it was still going deeper, I kept cutting off half
inches until i found the ugly bug about 9 inches into the cane. It was
black with white stripes if memory serves me correctly.

Thanks, GP. I have known since the first hole I saw in the end of a cane that I ought
to cut down and find the larva, but this just grosses me out! I'm sure it is
why I have so many borers, right, since I never disturb them. Old Baldo (the Bugman)
would probably say I need to identify what kind of borer it is first, so I need to
do this. Truth is, chemical warfare I can deal with, squishing stuff I just can't.
Maybe if I get them all out of the canes they will just die of exposure. (The rule
in this house is, if it is more than 1/2 inch long and can survive the cats, it
gets to live.) I'll try this weekend.







"Shiva" wrote in message
s.com...
I need some help understanding and identifying the kind of borers I
have. Because early on (years ago) Baldo Villegas posted that
generally these creatures are not generally harmful, I have paid
little attention to mine, assuming they would just use the last
half-inch of the cut canes for a place to lay their eggs.

But I am seeing a LOT of borer holes--big wide ones in the ends of cut
canes, almost exclusively on my grafted roses. (Perhaps my ownroots
are too young to have thick enough canes for their liking?)

And recently there was discussion on Gardenweb about a kind of borer
that is not harmless, but bores all the way to the bud union and kills
the plant. How can I tell which kind I have and if I can't does it
mean I have to seal all the holes?