Don, I think neem has given organics a bad name -- some people think it cures everything. I find it is not much different than summer oil in terms of what it works on. Maybe it is a touch better for some pests. Surround on the other hand is proving to be a very worthwhile product for me. I'll know more at the end of this summer as I am trying Surround plus spinosad as a control for moths as well. I prefer not using Sevin and the like not just for the "organic" aspect but because of the damage to beneficials. Last night in my flashlight I saw large numbers of parasitic wasps in my orchard which would not have flourished if I had been spraying heavy insecticides. The trees and ground are also thick with spiders. With all of the bugs I have also gotten my own little resident flock of bug-eating robins in our yard. How much practical good these beneficials are is an open question to me, maybe they don't do enough. Scott

It's the birds: The birds are eating your blossoms; I had this problem for many years--in some years, the birds ate more than 40% of the blossoms---, therefore, this year I decided to outsmart them. I used mylar foil as a reflective medium to scare the birds away...and it worked--they stopped eating my stone fruits blossoms.

I found this link that might help: Posted by gardenguru1950 SunsetZ16 (My Page) on Sat, Aug 8, 09 at 13:06 The most common "eater" of rose leaves in California is the Bristly Rose Slug, the larvae of the Rose Sawfly. The sawfly is a pudgy little wasp. It lays its eggs on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves and the caterpillars feed on the UNDERSIDES of the leaves. The rose slug is tiny, no more than 1/4-inch long and very slender, and it's the exact same pale green as the undersides of the leaves. Talk about hard to see and find! It's the critter that "skelotinizes" rose leaves. It's pretty easy to get rid of, actually. Almost any good spray will do the job: insecticidal soap, Neem, pyrethrum. The trick is to spray thoroughly UNDER the leaves. Not stand back and spray all over. You have to get UNDER the leaves. By the way, a commonly suggested spray for rose sawfly is BT. It doesn't work. It doesn't work because it's meant for the caterpillars of moths and butterflies. The rose slug is the larvae of a wasp. And I'm not sure of any beneficial insect that preys upon it. As for your rose buds, Applenut has a good idea. Go outside late at night with a flashlight. The critter most likely is an earwig, sowbug or pillbug. It also might be a slug or snail. Joe Here is a link that might be useful: Bugs that eat roses' leaves

You can spray it with Neem Oil and Safer 3-1 Insecticidal soap, at least that is what I do. You can also utilize beneficial insects; I do that, too. It is just a leafhopper and there are many types and colors of them out there. http://www.planetnatural.com/product-category/natural-pest-control/beneficial-insects/ is where I go, not a shill for the company. I have had good success with the beneficial insects, personally. Unless you get a massive infestation, I would thin that your plants will do okay, perhaps not a finalist for best looking. I have maybe 10 pepper plants and 4 or 5 eggplants that have parts of leaves eaten off and they all bear fruit. If you notice any moths hovering in the area, take note of the color. That may help you to identify what type of caterpillar you have. I had some white with three blacks spots and brown ones with orange on the wings. I used the trichogramma wasps for 4 weeks straight and barely notice any of the moths or the damage they are noted for as caterpillars. Ladybugs will eat them and aphids but you need to wait several weeks after the Neem Oil is used and there needs to be enough of them otherwise they fly away to a more plentiful buffet. If it is just minor amounts of leaves, try the Neem Oil and Safer 3-1. Dilute as recommended and spray every 4-5 days and after rain. Try to get tops and bottoms of the leaves as much as possible. Hope it all works out for you.