Blooming roses are beautiful and enhance the look of gardens. Many hobby gardeners like to plant rose bushes, but unfortunately there are several pests that like rose bushes. One of those pests that also unfortunately love these beautiful and fragrant plants are the aphids, which like to settle in them during spring and summer.
Aphids do not harm the plant in the long term, as it will grow again next year. However, seasonal leaves and flowers are damaged greatly if the infestation is severe. Of course, providing proper rose bush care will help prevent this pest, but sometimes even the best gardeners are not spared.
How to eliminate rose aphids
Remove aphids by hand
In all cases, it will be helpful to collect the aphids by hand before treatment. This will reduce infestation (in some cases, if there are very few, you can end it like this) and other home remedies may work more effectively.
Rinse the aphids with water
If the infestation is not very serious, it is enough to spray the roses with a strong stream of water in the morning and evening. Aphids are carried away by water and with a little luck you can contain the infestation.
soapy water
An effective home remedy for aphids is a homemade soap solution. For this You should not use scented soaps or conventional detergents. Synthetic ingredients can damage roses.
It is best to use a pure Marseille type soap or potash soap. Use the soap and water to make soapy water with a ratio of 20 milliliters of soap for one liter of water.
You can add a little alcohol to increase the effectiveness of soapy water. Use a pressure sprayer or a spray bottle to mist the rose bushes over the entire infested area.
The soap will form a film on the aphids and they will suffocate. Repeat the procedure several times a day until you no longer find aphids on the rose bush.
Neem oil against rose aphids
Neem oil is obtained from the seeds of the neem tree and also It is considered an effective remedy to control pests. It is not harmful to plants, only harms pests and is completely biodegradable.
Simply dilute a few drops of neem oil in water and spray the mixture on the aphids with a spray bottle.
The oil causes the aphids to become inactive. They do not eat and do not develop further. Consequently, they no longer produce offspring. After a while, you can rinse any remaining visible aphids off the roses with water.
Fight aphids with nettle
Homemade nettle infusion is also an effective remedy against aphids. We explain how you can easily make nettle broth yourself:
- Soak some 500 g fresh green nettles (not flowered) in five liters of boiling water. Stir the infusion well with a wooden spoon.
- Let the mixture rest for 24 hours so that the active compounds are diluted in water.
- Once the infusion is ready, pour it through a strainer kitchen to remove the leaves.
- Now you can spray the infusion without diluting on roses infested with aphids.
- Do not throw away the nettle leaves from the infusion. You can use them as fertilizer or, dried, as mulch.
Prevent aphids on roses
There are a few things you should keep in mind when designing your garden to prevent aphid infestation:
- make sure have a garden that is as natural as possible. In somewhat feral gardens, aphid predators, such as ladybugs or some beetles, can settle more easily than in gardens planted with very little variety of plants. Natural predators can keep aphid populations within acceptable limits.
- Do not separate the rose bushes from the rest of the plants. It is better to mix them with other plants that can attract other insects that in turn fight aphids.