Aphids are yearly unexpected guests in our garden which love settling on rose bushes and other plants such as potatoes. As prevention is the key in every situation, aphids make no exception so, in order to keep your roses beautiful all summer long, you have to make an effort to control these nasty pests and keeping them out of your garden.
Aphid Damage
If the leaves of your roses are stunted, misshapen, curled or yellowed definitely you are confronting with aphid infestation. However, if you don’t see any aphids, you should check carefully the back of mature leaves. Aphids love to eat fresh young leaves and live in colonies on the back of mature leaves.
Aphid Identification
Beside the aspect of your leaves and their presence on leaves, there is another way to tell when dealing with aphid infestation. As these tiny pests feed with plant sap they will excrete a sweet liquid known as honeydew which is ant’s favorite food. So, if ants are invading your roses, you are definitely dealing with aphids.
How to get rid of aphids?
Well, there are a few ways in controlling aphids naturally, but the most effective is soap spray.
You need:
- 5 tablespoons of soap (dish detergent)
- 1 gallon of water
- spray bottle
How to prepare?
Just add the above ingredients in the spray bottle and mix well with a stick or shake the bottle.
How to use?
For best results, you should spray the soapy solution on the roses early in the morning or in the evening.
Other methods to control aphids on roses
- Put on a long sleeve shirt and pants and start handpicking or squash these pesky insects and leave them fall on the ground. This way you’ll provide aphid food to other good insects.
- Use the hose to water down these pesky rose pests. Aim a concentrated steam of water on the back of rose leaves until you no longer see aphids.
- Tip: stick your thumb at the end of the hose to create a strong steam of water, enough to knock down aphids but not roses.
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