Pests and diseases have been a real headache this year, especially for those of us who keep roses. With roses in bloom lately, especially light colored roses, it’s easy to find little black bugs hiding in the flowers, and these little bugs are actually what we often call thrips.
Thrips damage in spring
While thrips do relatively little damage in the spring, aphids have a more serious impact on roses by comparison. Spring is a critical time for roses to grow, and an aphid infestation can have a significant impact on the health of the plant.
Common aphids are usually small green bugs that gather on the shoots of roses to suck the sap, leading to stunting of the new shoots, which in turn interferes with the normal growth and flowering of roses.
More troublesome are the black aphids, which are much more difficult to deal with than the green ones. For example, one of Blue Demon’s hibiscus pots had a dense black aphid infestation, and even after spraying with Buprofezin, the aphids remained unharmed the next day, which was very frustrating.
So, faced with pesky aphids or thrips, how should we solve these problems once and for all?
Treatment of aphids and thrips
1. Use Buprofezin
For general aphid problems, we can use beryllium to spray. This is a systemic insecticide that is absorbed by the plant and becomes toxic, killing the insect when it sucks the plant sap. Bared Insecticide is long-lasting, but it is not recommended to use it frequently as it may lead to the development of insecticide resistance.
2. What if the bugs are not killed?
If aphids or thrips are still alive after spraying with Barefly, there may be two reasons:
Insufficient concentration of the drug: The dose sprayed was not enough to kill the bugs.
The bugs have developed resistance: prolonged use of the same insecticide may result in the bugs no longer being sensitive to it.
If you are using bimetoprim occasionally, you can try spraying again; however, if you are using it frequently, you need to change to another drug. For example, switching to acetamiprid for spraying is equally effective in killing aphids and thrips.
3. Aerosol insecticides
If you encounter individual potted plants with stubborn aphids, there is no need to be anxious. Blue Demon recommends a simple method: Prepare a bottle of aerosol insecticide (the kind used to spray mosquitoes and flies), which is commonly found in supermarkets. Aim the nozzle at the potted plant and keep a distance of about 50 centimeters to spray gently. Wait 10 minutes and then rinse the plant with water to wash away the aphid carcasses to solve the problem.
Pest and disease control for roses
Roses are one of the more pest-prone plants. If you want to know more about how to control common pests and diseases of roses, you can refer to my book “How to raise roses from scratch”. The book details the integrated control measures for various pests and diseases to help you take better care of your roses.
With the above methods, I believe you can easily deal with the problems of pests and diseases in rose care, and make your garden more beautiful and harmonious!