They're bad this year. I've been spraying just the buds every other day just to keep things looking decent. Luckly my main spring flush is over and I have just a few buds and blooms on each bush. As far as spider mites go, I wash down all my roses (under, then top) at least once a week. If I don't have any rain with blowing wind, they might get it twice a week. I only have 60 some odd bushs so it's not a big deal for me.

If you use spinosad instead of Merit, you won't encourage spider mites and (if you spray in the evening) you don't have to worry about killing bees.

Immature flower thrips do live on rose foliage, but they also live in the lawn clover and on many plants in your yard. During an outbreak, thousands or millions of them fly around the neighborhood. So I would recommend just spraying the buds to minimize the use of insecticide.

Thanks Ken & Michael. I sprayed the tops again today. The blooms didn't look as bad today. What insecticide do you use?

I just wait the thrips out. They are not too bad here, except maybe for a couple of weeks. Predators such as pirate bugs apparently bring them under control.
But spinosad is the appropriate insecticide, if one is truly needed. It works and does less harm than Merit.

Wait for the predaceous thrips population to surge. It happens every year once the thrips populations are there.

Low impact yellow sticky traps (yellow Dixie cups with stickum on them) can make a difference.

Light blue sticky traps also attract thrips and don't look as bad. Light colored bowls of water on the ground in the garden will also catch some thrips. They aren't real bright.