Wondering if anyone has advice on preventing sawflies and rose slugs. I found yellow-brown lines and holes in my leaves and discovered rose slugs, and have since been picking them off manually but it’s challenging (they’re good at camouflage and are beneath the leaf). I also tried neem spray (Rose RX) and used half the bottle spraying beneath, but they’re still eating the leaves to the point of defoliation on my younger plants.
Hi - depending on the year, sawfly damage in my garden is minimal or can defoliate many roses and quickly. In speaking with Baldo, the bug expert, I learned that the only way to control an infestation, outside of picking and “squishing” is with an insecticide. There are several on the market that work - simply check the label to make sure it is effective for sawfly. The good news is that that one application should do it. I took this picture this spring for my “bug” library.
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That is one BIG slug! I try not to use whatever isn’t necessary for the roses, but I guess an insecticide is in order. Thank you for the advice.
I agree with Diane in that the sawfly damage seems to vary quite a bit from year to year. Two years ago I had a lot - quite visible - so I resorted to using a systemic insecticide (from Bonide I believe) last year and this year as well. This has resulted in minimal sawfly damage, but still a little here and there. I can live with that.
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To confirm - it is not a slug - it is a sawfly larvae. The leaves are from a miniature and are quite magnified so I could show the larvae.
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Thanks for clarifying that. In that case, what are “rose slugs”?
Ahh - I guess rose slugs is another way to refer to saw fly larva - I reacted to “slugs” in my earlier comment
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