Hi everyone, I've been outside dealing with a couple of problems I wasn't
expecting to have quite so early in the season - tantrix moths & aphids!! My
roses are becoming bug food! I hate squishing those rose grubs (from the
Tantrix moths), but I hate them rolling up in & eating the leaves on my
roses even more. The aphids I will just spray with the garden hose on jet to
get rid of them. I thought I had done all of them a couple of days ago, but
I think I missed a couple of bushes & now they're back. I hate bugs and I
love roses... it's so hard to reconcile.
Dianne in Austin

On Wed, 26 Mar 2003 06:39:34 GMT, "DScott"
wrote:

I hate bugs and I
love roses... it's so hard to reconcile.

No it's not. It would be hard to reconcile if you love bugs and roses.
I have one word for you:

Orthene.

Or one of the Orths, there must be one for your caterpillers.. I like
using the systemic liquid you spray every ten days that kills only
insects that actually ingest your roses. (It really does, too.) I use
the one that is a combination insecticide and fungicide. Contrary to
all horror stories, I still have birds, ladybugs, tons of earthworms,
bats, chipmunks, squirrels, etc etc etc. Going on year four of using
the stuff. My roses look great all year long. HOWEVER--you do have to
suit up and take care not to come into contact with the stuff while it
is wet. Read the labels and follow the directions. I use a respirator,
too. All of this is worth not having my roses eaten, to me. I still
believe in a hard, fine spray of water twice a week, too. Great for
aphid and fungal spores.




Dianne in Austin

Hey newbee here...I have some very odd green bugs on my roses and I am not sure what they are. Anyone have an idea?

Cheers,

Scottish Newbee

Wingnut wrote:
Hey newbee here...I have some very odd green bugs on my roses and I am
not sure what they are. Anyone have an idea?

Well, "very odd green bugs" isn't a lot to go on. Any chance you can
either take a picture and post it somewhere or at least give a bit more
detail? For instance, how big are they? 2-3mm or 20-25mm? Do they
seem to have wings? Where on the plant are they?

In any case, the most likely thing is aphids. There are thousands of
species, of which about 250 are serious pests and they vary in color
from green to black to pink. The adults have wings but they are
sometimes hard to see.

Control ranges from biological - lady beetles (many species in the
Coccinellidae family) and the larvae of Green Lacewings (Chrysoperla
rufilabris) both eat aphids. Lacewing larvae are really voracious. You
can also spray with insecticidal soap or go the chemical insecticide
route. Sevin is effective. I usually just squish them. Kind of gross
but also fairly satisfying. How green you are is up to you.

See:
http://www.sactorose.org/ipm/84aphids.htm

--
Henry

Thanks for the reply. Based on the picture that you pointed me to I have dedused that yes they are aphids. As for the method of distruction I think I will opt for the least interactive method. (though squish is an interesting concept).

Don