Rose Bush Pests: How to Identify and Prevent Common Threats

 

For the most part, roses bloom in spring and summer. However, if you live here in Alabama or somewhere with a warm climate, your rose garden could bloom from late winter to late fall. 

Wherever there are roses, rose bush pests will follow. To learn more about the types of rose bush pests, how to prevent them, and when to call a pest control professional, keep reading!

Aphids

Aphids are the most notorious rose bush pests and are among the first to come out each spring. They are small, droplet-shaped insects that come in shades of brown, green, and red, and they’re best known for swarming roses in entire colonies, leaving noticeable damage to all parts of rose bush. Aphids feed on new rose growth by piercing the rose flesh with their mouthpieces (called “stylets”) and sucking out the sap. 

To prevent aphids from decimating your rose garden, plant “trapping plants” like lupines or an aphid deterrent like rosemary nearby. You can also rinse them off your rose bushes with your garden hose, focusing the water spray on every part, including the leaves, petals, stems, nodes, and buds.

Aphid infestations tend to die off once their usual predators wake up slightly later in the spring. However, if summer has rolled around and an aphid infestation continues to choke out your rose bushes (or other plants), it is time to call a pest control professional in your area.

Spider Mites

The next rose bush pests to discuss are spider mites; they’re teensy tiny, itty bitty mites that resemble spiders. Although they’re not spiders, they’re closer to being

spiders than insects. 

Like ticks, spiders, and scorpions, spider mites are arachnids. They have eight legs and make sticky webs like a spider, but they lack the complex features a spider has.

Like aphids, spider mites usually hang out on the underside of rosebush leaves, and you’ll know they’ve been around from tiny yellow spots on leaves (that they impart on them by draining their chlorophyll) and their delicate webbing all over the bushes. 

Spider mites are often easy enough to deter with a plant-safe insecticidal solution. Still, if the problem persists and entire bushes become engulfed in sticky webs, you should contact your local pest control company.

Thrips

Thrips are tiny, brown-colored winged insects that, at full maturity, are nearly the size of a grain of rice. They damage rose petals and rosebuds by drinking their sap, leaving behind brown-colored streaks and other signs of decay on the roses. The undeveloped buds sometimes even fail to bloom.

Thrips love having places to hide, like tall grass and mulch piles. To prevent their presence on your property, you’ll want to keep your grass low by cutting it often and only spreading thin, flat layers of mulch. 

When to Call Pest Control

If your attempts to prevent rose bush pests fail to control an infestation, you need Vulcan Termite and Pest Control!

Here’s why residents of Birmingham and surrounding cities should choose our crew as their trusted pest control partners:

• Whenever you contact our incredible staff, we’ll determine exactly which services your property needs to be pest-free. 
• We’ll gladly perform routine preventative maintenance.
• We have 40+ years of experience serving families in Birmingham.
• We have the necessary training, experience, and professional equipment to safely handle many pests on your property, including thrips, aphids, and spider mites. 

Call (205) 663-4200 or contact us online today, and we’ll gladly perform a FREE evaluation and create and implement an effective strategy using our tried-and-true methods so you and your family can enjoy a pest-free home.