How to Get Rid of Aphids on Roses Organically

Co-authored by Steve Masley and Eric McClure

Last Updated: January 13, 2021 References

Aphids are small, sap-eating insects that are attracted to roses. While most plants can handle a few aphids without suffering any permanent damage, you may need to take action against aphid infestations if they’re damaging or killing your roses. Watering your plants daily is a simple step that you can take to keep aphids off of your plants while keeping them healthy. If watering doesn’t prove to be enough, you can introduce predators of the aphid to your garden. If this also proves to be ineffective, you can coat your plants in an organic repellent using soap, garlic, or neem oil.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Watering Your Plants Daily

1
Clip off brown or dying leaves, stems, and petals. Aphids occasionally lay eggs in discolored sections of a plant, so snip them off and throw them out to prevent any future generations of aphids from making it to your garden. You may also want to remove any leaves, stems, or petals that have been heavily damaged by the aphids. If a petal or leaf is covered in tiny little holes, trim it off.^{[1]
X
Research source}
2
Spray your roses with a spray bottle or hose in the morning. Spray your roses with a wide-angle hose attachment first thing in the morning. Set the nozzle on your hose to keep the water flowing as firmly as possible without damaging your roses. While they are obnoxious, aphids aren’t particularly nimble or strong. Send the aphids careening into different parts of your garden by hosing them down with water.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Most aphids do not have wings and will be unable to get back on the rose shrubs once the water rinses them off.
Tip: Spray your roses in the morning so that they have time to dry out in the sun. If you water them at night, you could promote the growth of fungus.

Advertisement
3
Water the underside of the rose leaves carefully. Aphids tend to hang out underneath the leaves on a rose plant to stay out of the sun. While watering your plant, place your nozzle low to the ground and angle it upwards to hit the bottom of your plant’s leaves and knock off any aphids that are hiding.^{[3]
X
Research source}
- Water the plant from every direction to make sure that you get the underside of every leaf and petal.
4
Repeat this process every day to prevent new aphids from settling in. Water your roses first thing in the morning for 1-2 weeks. After several days of repeated watering, you should notice that the aphids are either entirely gone, or moving on to another plant. If they aren’t, you may want to consider introducing a predator.^{[4]
X
Research source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Introducing Predators to Feed on Aphids

1
Purchase some ladybugs and release them into your garden at night. Purchase 250-1,500 ladybugs from a gardening or pest control store. Refrigerate your bugs for 20-45 minutes and release them late at night to lower the chance that they fly away immediately when you release them.^{[5]
X
Research source} Ladybugs feed on aphids, and a few ladybugs can go along way when it comes to eliminating pests.^{[6]
X
Expert Source

Steve Masley
Home & Garden Specialist
Expert Interview. 20 March 2019.}
- Place your bugs around the base of your rose bushes and wait for them to wake up a little before they get to work.
- Mist the ladybugs with warm water after you drop them off to incentivize them to stay in your garden. Ladybugs prefer humid environments, so a little water will help keep them in your garden.
Tip: Ladybugs will not stay in your garden forever. Once most of the aphids have been eaten, they may fly off to a different area of your garden, or fly away altogether.
2
Set up some bird feeders around your garden to attract birds. Consider using this option only if you don’t want more bugs in your garden. If you don’t want to add bugs, set up a few bird feeders around your garden. Add some bird baths and bird houses to make your garden an attractive spot for birds. Wrens, chickadees, and other small birds all love to eat aphids, although it may take them some time to get all of them. ^{[7]
X
Research source}
- Try to plant a range of birdhouses and birdfeeders around your rose bushes so that the entire perimeter is covered.
3
Plant nectar-secreting flowers near your roses to attract predators. Plant some nectar-secreting flowers within 2–6 feet (0.61–1.83 m) of your roses. The nectar will attract predatory insects, which will stick around your garden looking for prey. If your flowers are close enough to your roses, they’ll start feeding on the aphids. Lacewings, hover flies, and wasps are all-natural predators of the aphid. They also happen to be attracted to nectar-secreting flowers, like cosmos or stonecrop. ^{[8]
X
Research source}
- If you ever use a pesticide in your garden, you will end up killing the beneficial bugs too.
- Predatory wasps will sting you. Try to coexist peacefully with wasps, but if you end up with a nest nearby, you may need to get rid of it.
- Catnip, oregano, fennel, and mint will all attract predatory insects.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Creating an Organic Repellant

1
Create a garlic spray to make a safe repellent. Crush a full head of garlic with a mortar and pestle and steep it in 2 cups (470 mL) of hot water for 24 hours. Strain the garlic with a colander and fill a spray bottle with your garlic-infused water. Add 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of dish soap and put the cap on before shaking it. Spray every section of your rose plant 2-3 times until it’s fully misted in the spray.^{[9]
X
Research source}
- Your garlic spray won’t kill any bugs. It will simply make the plant unappealing for aphids and other pests.
- Make sure that you spray the underside of leaves as well.
Tip: The garlic water won’t damage your plants. Feel free to repeat this process as many times as necessary to bother the aphids away. You can leave the soap out if you’re worried about it harming your plants.
2
Spray your roses with neem oil to kill aphids and protect your plants. Get a spray bottle filled with pure neem oil and spray your aphid-infested plants 2-3 times. Neem oil is a natural pesticide that is distilled from plant seeds, and it will coat the aphids and prevent them from feeding or laying larvae.^{[10]
X
Research source}
- Neem oil won’t damage your plants, but it will repel any beneficial bugs as well. Avoid using neem oil if you’ve already released ladybugs or attracted other predators to your garden.
3
Try a simple soap and water mixture for mild infestations.^{[11]
X
Expert Source

Steve Masley
Home & Garden Specialist
Expert Interview. 20 March 2019.} Mix 2–3 tablespoons (30–44 mL) in a spray bottle filled with warm water. Shake the bottle to mix it and spray your infected plants from every direction. Use the widest nozzle setting on your bottle to prevent adding a lot of soap to a small surface area. The soap-water mixture will harm the aphids and ward them away from your roses.^{[12]
X
Research source}
- Don’t use water and soap if it’s hotter than 90 °F (32 °C) outside. Your plants will absorb the soap before it has time to evaporate.

Community Q&A

Question

Will the soap solution harm my roses?

wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer
This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor

Staff Answer

If you cover your roses in the soap solution every day for an extended period of time, it may harm your roses. A few applications will not harm your roses though.
Question

My wife's rose plant has insects and fungus. How can I save it for her?

Community Answer

Start by defoliating the entire rose bush. If the rose bush is large, start by trimming it back, and then defoliate. Discard all the trimmings, including any mulch around the bush. Fungus hides out and can be super hard to shake. Humidity is the enemy. Keep your rose bush trimmed and all crowded stems removed. Air flow is important to avoid fungus relapse. I highly recommend using neem oil on a regular basis if aphids or fungus persist. Caution: neem oil is organic, but it still kills beneficial insects as well as bad bugs. Neem oil comes from the neem nut. Follow directions on the bottle.
Question

I bought the Bauer 2 & 1 to treat my roses for aphids. Will it hurt my dog?

Donagan

Top Answerer

If it's dangerous to pets, it will say so in the instructions for use.