Aphids are one of the most common rose garden pests. Allowing aphids to go unchecked causes damage to your rose plants and blooms. Fortunately aphids are easily controlled using simple nontoxic methods.

Aphids are tiny insects that feed on the liquid inside your roses. They damage your roses by piercing and sucking the juice out of your rose canes, leaves and flower buds. Aphids rarely kill a plant that is healthy, but they will cause unsightly damage to the plant and its blooms. If your rose is having other pest and disease issues, though rare, it is possible for a severe aphid infestation to kill your plant.

Honeydew is a by product aphids secrete as they eat your roses. Ants love to eat honeydew. A colony of ants has been shown to defend aphids from natural predators in order to protect their source of honeydew. If ants aren’t eating the honeydew it tends to cover your rose plant and cause a fungus known as black sooty mold. This makes your roses look as if a sticky black substance is covering your plant.

If you catch an aphid infestation early, it’s easy to take care of. Aphids love new tender rose growth, so stop fertilizing your roses. If you force your roses to put out new growth through fertilizing, it only provides additional food for the aphids. Stopping the cycle of constant new growth, until the aphids are controlled, makes your job much easier.

Your number one defense against aphids is natural garden predators. Aphids multiply like crazy. Trying to kill them with a pesticide can become a constant cycle the aphids will eventually win. A number of garden insects love to dine on aphids. Some of the most common are parasitic wasps, lady bugs and green lacewings. Before taking any action in the garden against a pest it’s always best to sit and watch for a few minutes. Nothing is more satisfying that watching a parasitic wasp or lacewing capture your aphids, eat them, and then toss their skeletons aside. Finding aphid exoskeletons is evidence natural predators are at work.

If your aphid infestation seems to require action the best method of control is a blast of water from your garden hose. Aphids are soft bodied, once washed off your roses they typically drown in the spray. Try the hose blast method every other day for a week and your aphids should be under control.

It’s very uncommon the above methods don’t work. However, if the natural predators and a good blast of water don’t take care of things, insecticidal soap or neem oil can kill aphids as well. Using a stronger pesticide isn’t necessary since aphids have very soft bodies and are easily killed by these less toxic methods. The issue with using insecticidal soap or neem oil is that it will also kill your beneficial insects. When your aphids return, which they will, your beneficial insects won’t be there to help you out. This often causes aphid populations to get out of control. An additional issue with insecticidal soap and neem oil is they can damage your plants if applied during hot summer weather.

The easiest way to control aphids on your roses is to stop fertilizing, watch for natural predators and clean aphids off with a blast of water. Using these simple inexpensive methods you’ll have a rose garden free from aphids but full of natural predators. Sometimes the simplest solution really is the best one.