flowerbug
Garden Master
roses are one of those plants that seem to attract a lot of aphids. as a kid when growing them i had the "powder puff cans" of insecticide that i'd spray on the buds. in those days "organic" wasn't a common topic and natural methods or integrated pest management wasn't normally mentioned for homeowners unless you really looked for it.
for sure, figure out how to encourage your natural predators (lady bugs being one very commonly mentioned). there are techniques for getting them and then making sure they will stick around even during the cold spells and hot spells. you want some kinds of protected insect refuge areas if the gardens get put up for winter in ways which reduce cover of various kinds. also making sure there is some moisture available if it is an otherwise fairly arid environment. often this can be accomplished by having some bark chunks laying around here or there on the ground and making sure they get watered once in a while.
using such ideas i rarely see aphids here on any plant. isolated infections on some of the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae have been seen but i've pulled the plants and buried them. pretty much very expected because we do not normally grow such plants so the bugs that would patrol them for aphids are not likely around much either. to get such populations going i would plant more of these types of plants as a cover plant and then start reading up on which bugs i need to encourage. wasps and hornets are actually some of the bugs that will pick cabbage worms and eggs off such plants, but i'm sure there are others too that i don't know about yet.
for sure, figure out how to encourage your natural predators (lady bugs being one very commonly mentioned). there are techniques for getting them and then making sure they will stick around even during the cold spells and hot spells. you want some kinds of protected insect refuge areas if the gardens get put up for winter in ways which reduce cover of various kinds. also making sure there is some moisture available if it is an otherwise fairly arid environment. often this can be accomplished by having some bark chunks laying around here or there on the ground and making sure they get watered once in a while.
using such ideas i rarely see aphids here on any plant. isolated infections on some of the Brassicaceae or Cruciferae have been seen but i've pulled the plants and buried them. pretty much very expected because we do not normally grow such plants so the bugs that would patrol them for aphids are not likely around much either. to get such populations going i would plant more of these types of plants as a cover plant and then start reading up on which bugs i need to encourage. wasps and hornets are actually some of the bugs that will pick cabbage worms and eggs off such plants, but i'm sure there are others too that i don't know about yet.
so I'm hoping for the best.
