Aphids on My Roses?

Aphids are invading my roses, anything organic that I can use? Tips from the ThriftyFun community.

Three Ideas from Ellen

Try washing them off with the garden hose first. A few high-pressure bursts of water will dislodge most of them. You can support the stems with your hand while spraying if you're worried about them breaking. You may need to spray them every other day for awhile to eliminate them.

Otherwise, use a safe, commercial insecticidal soap or make your own with 1 tbsp liquid dish soap and two cups of water.

Strong smelling roots and spices such as garlic, onions, horseradish, ginger, rhubarb leaves, cayenne and other hot peppers, are all known to repel insects. To add any one (or all) of these to your spray, chop them finely and put them into a glass jar. Add 2 cups of boiling water, cover tightly and let everything stand over night. The next day, strain off the liquid and add your dish soap. Freeze any leftover mix to use the next time.

Good Luck!
Ellen

Soap

This is the simplest one to fix. Mix soap, not detergent, with water and mix it up. Spay over roses and aphids are history. Dish soap is just fine.

By Bev

Removing Them

I have been pulling aphids (squishing) them with gloves every spring for years. I do use a soap solution to "drown" Japanese Beetles, which appear on roses (and other plants) later in the season. The beetles are weak in the mornings, and you can push them into a cup of soapy water.

By Kayla

Plant Onions Near Roses

My mother used to work as a secretary at Ohio State University in the botany department. She once heard that planting onions around roses keep aphids away. She had a miniature rose bush and placed a pot of chives (onion family) near it and the aphids left, never to return! The professors gave her a good-natured teasing about that one, but it sure worked!

By Margie

Rubbing Alcohol

I know of two methods that both work well. One is ladybugs, they eat aphids. The other is rubbing alcohol. Now if it's the entire plant you'll want to dilute it and put the mixture in a spray bottle but if it's for just a few leaves on a plant you can dab a cotton ball in the rubbing alcohol and swab the leaves.

By Michelle