Insecticide for Rose Weavils
Also known as Rose Curculios, Rose weevils can seriously damage a rose plant, easily destroying an entire season of blooms. Although they only produce one generation a season, left alone, Rose weevils will quickly multiply. They don't often kill a rose bush, but they will feed on the flowers, buds and new growth causing your rose to become unattractive and unhealthy. Insecticide is not the recommended treatment for rose weevils but only used in sever infestation when other methods have failed.
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Identification
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These insects are dark red and black and about 1/4 inch long. They have long snout-like projections that they use to drill into flower buds. In the spring, once the soil has warmed, adults emerge from the ground and begin to feed on flower buds and lay their eggs. Eggs mature in only a few days, then the larvae feed on the roses.
Damage
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Adult weevils feed on the buds and flowers of the rose plant as well as the new rose shoots. Small holes in the petals and ugly, deformed blossoms appear. Flower buds will seem to wilt and fall from the plant when the adult rose weevil feeds on the stem. The rose bush might stop producing flowers as the rose weevil feeds on new rose shoots.
Prevention
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Gardeners should keep on the lookout for rose weevils as soon as the weather warms. The best way to prevent damage is to get rid of the insects before they lay their eggs. Insecticides approved for ground use should be sprayed around the rose bush in the spring before the weevils emerge, killing any adults or larvae inhabiting the soil.
Chemical Treatment
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As rose weevils are a problem for commercial growers, many species have become immune to insecticides. When all other methods have failed, spray an insecticide used to control beetles on the roses.
Alternative Non-Chemical Treatment
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Weevils can be hand-picked off the plant. Adult weevils will pretend to be dead and fall from the plant when threatened. Use this tendency by placing a wide-mouth jar of soapy water under the flower where the rose weevils are feeding and gently touch the flower's stem. The rose weevils will play dead and fall in the jar.
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References
- Photo Credit roses image by Olga Charnukha from Fotolia.com
