Knockout Roses and Pest Control
Knockout roses are shrubs valued for their extreme disease resistance, as well as their lovely foliage and recurring flower blooms throughout the growing season. Despite their unique disease resistance, Knockout roses are just as susceptible to insect pests as other types of roses. Does this Spark an idea?
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Types
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The major damaging insects that infest Knockout roses include Japanese beetles, aphids and thrips. Rose midges and cane borers also attack Knockout rose bushes. Root nematodes, bristly roseslugs, raspberry horntails, mealybugs, leafcutting bees, rose leafhoppers, leafminers, gall makers and fuller rose beetles can infest Knockout roses but are less common than the other pests. Rose shrubs also are susceptible to armored and soft scale insects, cottony cushion scale, mites, whiteflies and flatheaded borers, as well as foliage-feeding caterpillars like the fruittree leafroller, omnivorous looper, tussock moth larvae, tent caterpillars and orange tortrix.
Prevention/Solution
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The best way to controlling insect pests on your Knockout roses will depend on the type of pest. Treatments can range from horticultural oils, natural enemies and biological controls to commercial pesticides. The most common pesticides used on Knockout roses include products containing acephate, permethrin, pyrethrin, spinosad, carbaryl, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, esfenvalerate, disulfoton, dinotefuran, imidacloprid, insecticidal soaps, malathion, tau-fluvalinate and lambda cyhalothrin.
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Considerations
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Choose the least toxic pest control method available to you. In the case of caterpillars, you can try the biological insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis, neem oil or permethrin as less toxic methods. Horticultural oils and introducing beneficial insects that are natural predators of the harmful pests also can control infestations of your Knockout roses. When you're using any kind of insecticide product, always follow the application and safety instructions on the label carefully.
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