Aphids on roses - how to deal with pests

The favorite of all gardeners, blooming from May to the very frost, the beautiful rose is very fond of and often affects such a common pest as aphids. To protect the flower and continue to admire it throughout the season, it is necessary to take measures to combat the insect and prevent its appearance.

Aphids on roses - what is it, what does the problem look like

Aphids are an insect that harms almost all cultivated plants, and garden roses are no exception. The pest is a small bug with an ovoid or elongated body from 0.1 to 0.6 mm long. The color of the aphid depends on the color of the plant it feeds on and can be green, brown, black. On the surface of the body, you can see bumps or fluff.

Common garden pest

The insect is divided into species, there are almost 1.5 thousand of them, and each of them settles on his favorite plant. They differ in appearance and taste.

Damaged rose

Why aphids are dangerous for roses

The type of aphid that eats roses is called rosacea, and it is capable of causing irreparable harm to the plant. An elongated rosaceous insect, green or red in color, up to 0.2 mm in length. The insect is very prolific and capable of giving birth to tens of thousands of offspring. It spreads very quickly and captures new areas of the bush.

Eating rose juice, the insect leads to the loss of green mass, the cessation of the formation of buds, complete exhaustion, up to the death of the plant. In addition, the pest attracts ants that love the sweet excrement it excretes. Ants make a dwelling nearby in the root system of a bush, which further undermines its health.

An equally serious danger to the rose is the ability of aphids to carry phytopathogenic viruses, spreading the disease from bush to bush.

The first symptoms of aphid infection of a rose are as follows:

• the leaves have lost their shine and become sticky to the touch;
• yellowish spots appeared - this is a place of accumulation of insects;
• the buds do not fully open, deform, become stained.

If such signs begin to appear on the rose bush, it is time to take urgent measures to combat aphids before the situation escalates into a disaster.

Pest on rosebuds

Ways to combat aphids in a summer cottage than to process or spray

In order not to miss the appearance of aphids on roses, it is better to take preventive measures with the arrival of spring. This requires:

• Observe the agrotechnical rules for caring for the plant - remove weeds in time, loosen, water and fertilize the soil, plant plants in the flower garden that scare away aphids (marigolds, lavender, mustard), prune the bush.
• Fight ant colonies that contribute to the spread of aphids.
• Spray with aphid repellent.It can be both folk and purchased chemicals.

A one-time treatment will help to remove the beetle for a short period of time, it is necessary to take care and spray the bushes every 2-3 weeks throughout the season.

If aphids have already appeared on roses, how to deal with it is written in this article.

Mechanical treatment of rose bushes from aphids

Mechanical treatment of rose bushes from aphids will give results only in the initial stages of the appearance of the insect. If single insects are found on young buds and shoots, you can crush them with your hands (it is better to put on gloves first) or tear off the leaves with the pest and burn them. You can also mechanically get rid of the bugs using a strong pressure of water from a hose, but this method is not recommended, since the aphids may not die in this case, but simply move to another plant.

Mechanical processing of a plant

Chemical treatment method

Chemical treatment of roses is a 100% guarantee that the elimination of the pest will be successful. If folk remedies do not help, and aphids multiply on roses even faster than to process a bush, you need to look in specialized stores. You can purchase a special product and spray it on the plant.

Unfortunately, the poison will affect not only aphids, but also other insects that come to pollinate the flowers. Therefore, if the situation is not critical, it is still worth getting rid of, starting with safer methods.

Professional preparations against aphids

When purchasing chemicals in a store, it is recommended to pay attention to the effect on this type of insect, the presence of a quality certificate, compliance with the expiration date, the presence of instructions for use and dosage. At home, it is recommended to opt for drugs with a 3 or 4 hazard level.

Chemical treatment

List of the best remedies

There is a wide variety of aphid control chemicals on the market, including on rose bushes. When the green aphid appeared on the roses, you need to know how to process the bush. Popular options:

• Bi-58. An effective, time-tested drug made in Germany. It is specially formulated against sucking and gnawing pests. The active substance of the drug, dimethoate, has a neuroparalytic effect and causes death, both when the drug hits the parasite directly, and when it eats the sprayed leaves.
• Spark Bio. It is not for nothing that the product has a bio prefix, it is based on avertine, which is safe for humans and is suitable for processing not only roses, but even fruit and fruit plants.
• Inta-Vir. A well-known drug for pest control based on the neuroparalytic substance cypermethrin, which leads to paralysis and subsequently, within a day, to the death of the beetle. The drug is dangerous, it can negatively affect animals and people, therefore, when using it, special attention must be paid to precautionary measures.
• Fitoferm. Belongs to the latest generation of bio-poison. The main constituent substance - aversectin-c leads to paralysis of the aphid, as a result of which it stops eating. Complete death of insects occurs in three days.
• Tanrek for aphids and whiteflies. The chemical is one of the ten best chemical preparations for pests, the active ingredient is imidocloprid, it acts at the cellular level and does not threaten to be washed off by rain. The poison does not accumulate in the fruit, it is contained only in the green part of the plant. The manufacturer promises that one treatment of roses will be enough for the whole season.

Tanrek

Disadvantages of chemical treatment of rose bushes

It is only necessary to resort to chemical treatment of the bushes if other methods do not help. This is due to the fact that drugs can negatively affect both the flower itself and the environment:

• if fruiting plants grow nearby, they can absorb harmful substances and become unsuitable for food;
• the use of rose petals in cooking and cosmetology will become impossible;
• together with aphids, beneficial insects, such as bees, can be poisoned.

It is necessary to choose drugs that are safe for beneficial insects.

How to scare away aphids with nearby plants

There are plants, the pungent smell of which repels aphids due to the content of phytoncides and essential oils. Planting them in a flower bed with roses can help protect the bush from pest infestations. Such plants include:

• Spicy herbs (basil, celery, cilantro, rosemary, lemon balm, lavender, garlic). You get a pest-free flower bed and juicy vitamin greens in one glass.
• More decorative flowers (nasturtium, marigolds, ageratum). Low-growing blooming assistants in the fight against aphids will also decorate the flower bed.

Beneficial insects and birds

Among insects and birds, there are also helpers who cleanse the garden from pests, including aphids. Still from childhood they know that cute ladybugs are predators, and their favorite delicacy is aphids. One ladybug can kill up to 50 pests per day.

In addition to ladybirds, the pest is eaten:

• sand wasps;
• lacewing;
• crickets;
• ground beetles;
• some types of spiders.

Insect predators are very helpful in the fight against rosacea aphids.

Ladybug feeds on aphids

The birds feed on aphids and also feed their chicks with it. The pest for them is a delicious nutritious delicacy that also contains sweet glucose. Aphid lovers birds:

• sparrows;
• tits;
• warbler;
• pika and others.

Studies show that the insect senses the presence of its eaters and tries to escape to another place so as not to risk its life.

Sparrows love to feast on a delicious bug

How to deal with aphids on roses using folk methods

Over the years, people have noticed what the harmful insect does not like, and have learned to use improvised means to combat it. Here are some time-tested folk methods.

Baking soda

Soda has bactericidal properties and successfully fights diseases and pests. To prepare the solution in a bucket of water at room temperature, dissolve 10 tablespoons of soda. For a more sustainable effect, 300 grams of finely grated soap is added to the mixture. It promotes adhesion of the composition to the surface of the plant and protects it from rapid washout by rain. You can also add ammonia.

Laundry soap

The alkali and fatty acids in the soap can kill the beetle. A piece of soap is grated and dissolved in a bucket of warm water. It may take 2-3 treatments of the bushes until the pests are completely destroyed.

Wood ash

When ash is sprayed on a bush with pests, it gets on the bodies of aphids and irritates their skin, but this is not the only property of ash. Its components, absorbed into the cells of the rose, protects it from diseases and at the same time changes its taste, making it bitter for aphids and the colony, one has to look for a more tasty place.

Wood ash treatment of a rose

Onion peel or garlic tincture

To obtain a tincture, the white garlic husk or the top of the onion is poured with hot water and infused for a day, after which the solution must be sprinkled and water the flower. After several bathing procedures in such an infusion, the insect from the roses will disappear.

Common mistakes in pest control

The fight against aphids must begin with the destruction of ant colonies. A bug for them, as for humans, is a cow with milk, they get food from aphids and, accordingly, take care of their breeding themselves, therefore the first step in getting rid of harmful bugs is the decomposition of poison and traps from ants.

Another mistake is planting dill as a repellent plant. Yes, dill is considered a spice, it emits a strong aroma. But this smell only attracts aphids, since dill is the favorite food of this pest.

How to prevent the appearance of aphids

To prevent the appearance of aphids, you need to carefully care for your roses:

• Cut off old and diseased shoots in time.
• Feed with fertilizers to give strength and health.
• Weed from weeds, carriers of infections.
• Water and loosen, giving the flower nutrition and oxygen.
• To carry out preventive spraying with infusions of soda, onion husks, and so on, so that the pest does not even think of settling in the garden.

Proper care will help protect roses from pests.

Aphids are a very common pest that can be found in every garden or vegetable garden. The insect also paid attention to roses, feeding on its young leaves, shoots and buds. Because of this harmful insect sucking the juices of the plant, the rose can not only stop blooming, but also die completely.

Fortunately, there are many ways to combat it - from sparing the plant itself and its environment, to harsh measures using pesticides. One thing is clear: you cannot put up with the presence of aphids in the garden; it must be destroyed at the first appearance in order to save the rose.