6 beneficial pests in your rose garden

You may get wigged out when you see insects on your roses, but sometimes those
“pests” are actually beneficial for your rose garden.
Smart gardeners know some insects are good and some are not so good. The good
ones generally eat the bad ones –– those that damage rosebuds, flowers, leaves or
canes. So even the not-so-good insects serve nature as food for good bugs, birds,
spiders, beetles and other wildlife.

Here are 5 insects (and 1 pest) that are beneficial for your rose garden.

1. Ladybugs and Lady Beetles

For a lot of gardeners, the best-known examples of good bugs are those reddish-
orange, polka dotted bugs. Commonly called lady beetles or ladybugs, these gals
devour aphids, one of the most common pests on roses.

Aphids bite and suck juices from plant leaves, buds, and flowers. This causes a
distortion or malformation of the plant’s parts. Aphids can be just about any color and are usually seen clinging to the stems and leaves of plants. Aside from being dinner for lady beetles, aphids can be washed off your roses with a strong stream of water from the hose.

Ladybugs vs. Lady Beetles

Ladybugs are native insects with red shells and black dots. But the lady beetle –– from Asia –– is slightly larger and more orange-red with more dots. Lady beetles are considered an invasive, exotic insect that, in some locales, swarm to south- and west-facing walls (like your house) trying to get indoors. Lady beetles also bite and are known to excrete a stinky yellowish substance.

2. Lacewings

You’d never think the delicate, fairy-like lacewing flying insect could be as voracious as it is. But it loves to chomp on aphids and thrips.

Thrips on roses are difficult to control. They burrow into rose buds, deforming them and preventing them from opening. A sign of thrips is dark edges on the rose bud’s petals.

3. Wasps

Wasps are terrific at pest control. They are willing to go after insects larger than they are, like caterpillars. A caterpillar that bugs roses is the rose sawfly. They chew the petals and leave holes of different sizes and shapes, giving them a stained-glass
appearance.

When checking for rose sawfly (also called a rose slug), be sure to look under the leaves and along the stems of the plant for the greenish-white caterpillars.

4. Assassin bugs

This group of insects rightly earns their name by neatly and quickly killing all kinds of bugs, including those bigger than they are. Our largest native true bug is a wheelbug, which looks like an insect with a wheel on its back. With precision, the wheelbug inserts its proboscis into its target, ejects a substance that turns the bugs innards into goo, which they then slurp out.

5. Spiders

These 8-legged predators frequently take on insects larger than they are, but they don’t shun aphids and smaller insects. Garden spiders make webs to entrap insects.

As the insect tries to escape, the movements alert the female garden spider and she rushes to the scene where she encapsulates the invader in a silky tomb, stowing the bug for dinner later, or eating it on the spot.

6. Birds

Don’t overlook the pest control abilities of birds. Robins, chickadees, and titmice find aphids and caterpillars delicious. To encourage birds in the landscape, reduce or
eliminate the use of insecticides. No bugs, no birds.

Pests saving my roses? Go figure . . .

Whether you grow your roses in containers on your deck, or they are part of a larger landscape – the threat of pests is always lurking. But when you know the difference between helpful bugs and harmful bugs, it makes caring for your roses much easier.

Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp award-winning garden writer, editor, and speaker. Known as a hortiholic, she frequently says her eyes are too big for her yard. She blogs at hoosiergardener.com.