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| So I've sat back the last week and watched sawfly larvae almost completely defoliate my two climbing roses. I've not used any insecticides as I keep waiting for their predators to show up. (I'm new to roses but not to gardens and insecticide use is a cycle I'd rather avoid!) Which begs the question what insects am I waiting for? As well as now that these bushes are denuded what should I do for them?
On the question of predators do rose people purchase predator insects? For my stables I am mailed every three weeks of a bag of "fly predator" pupa that I sprinkle in each stall, around the manure pile and around the water trough. They hatch into tiny, unnoticeable flies (the size of the lettering on a dime) and feast on stable fly larvae. They do an amazing job of keeping the annoying fly population at very low levels around the barn. I am able to use zero chemicals in the barn to control the issue. Does anybody do anything like this for gardens/roses? How cool would that be to every few weeks get a package in the mail with critters designed to control you garden pests! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Certain wasps are effective predators of sawfly larvae. They nest under my eaves and hover around the roses, picking off enough worms to provide good control. If you don't have these, hand picking can provide control on bush roses (as opposed to climbers and big shrubs). If you are getting that much damage, you could spray with Safer's soap or spinosad, a relatively safe insecticide. |
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| Agree with Michael. If your climbers are large, and hand-picking is impractical (I sort of enjoy that activity) go for insecticidal soap (following the directions on the package). IF the plants are where you can reach the foliage, heck, popping the little devils is emotionally satisfying, and I recommend it. Jeri |
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- Posted by melissa_thefarm NItaly (My Page) on Fri, May 18, 12 at 0:54
| I wish to goodness a beetle predator would show up in my garden, but otherwise the pest population here is at quite tolerable levels. I don't know what kind they are, but there's a wasp that builds little nests all over the garden, attaching them to the roses themselves. The nests are about half the size of a walnut. Are these my sawfly predators? Also unknown animal visitors that come in the night root up areas of grass and dig holes, which is tiresome from many points of view but I hope they're feeding on beetle grubs. All this is more interesting than useful, but I think if you avoid the various -cides and allow a bit of disorder and spontaneity in the garden, eventually the predators of the predators will arrive. I also hear good things about encouraging insectivorous birds to make themselves at home. I like what you say about fly control in the barn! Cool! Good luck, Melissa |
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| Melissa, Are you sure those little nests are wasps and not praying mantis? I don't know if praying mantis get sawfly larvae, but they are a great insect insectivore and you can buy them both online and even in some nurseries. |
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