How Do I Get Rid of Green Worms on My Rosebushes?
The most organic treatment would be to hand-pick the worms and drop them in a bucket of soapy water. If that's not a good solution for you, look for an insecticidal soap or insecticide containing neem oil at your local garden center. These products are often considered organic. Note: Insecticidal soap has to be sprayed directly on the worms to stop them.
You can also go with a more hard-core chemical solution, such as the insecticide called Sevin. Look for this and other products at your local garden center. Be sure to follow the directions on the packaging -- if you misapply these products, they won't work very well
3 Comments
- robtonusgmailJuly 2, 2018
Please don’t use Sevin on your roses - it’s EXTREMELY toxic to bees!
Instead, use powdered sulphur, sometimes called garden sulphur. Spray or sprinkle this on new rose leaves every few days to control the caterpillars. It’s toxic to their soft bodies and generally avoided by bees.
If you want to bring cut roses inside, simply spray off the sulphur powder with a hose.
- marbafoeJune 8, 2018
Handpicking is difficult since those worms are very tiny. If anybody has a better idea? They actually are the cause when your roses arent blooming because they eat out the new buds. Very annoying. I hate to take drastic methods and spray poison. All the other stuff is not working.
- TINAGRAZIANOReplied on June 14, 2018
Same problem here in NY.
I used the Bayer spray as per instructions, but the leaves burned the next day. Terrible mess.
I had to cut back in prime season.
I hand pick what I can, and the tiniest get crushed in the process.
The larger ones end up in my aquarium.
Nice treat for my fish. - marbafoeReplied on June 8, 2018
I just tried to spray them with dish washing mix ... seems to slow them down but killing?? the very same little green worms are on my hollyhocks and eat all the leaves till they are skeletons.
- sanborneugeneJune 10, 2018
I used Bayer Advanced Rose & Flower Insect Killer last year and it worked awesome! Rose bush doubled in size since then.
