With time, the good guys will come along and take care of the rose slugs (I can't remember what the good guys name is--but he'll come). In the meantime, I would definitely take care of some of those slugs--they can devastate the leaves of the rose bushes, leaving them really looking bad.

You have two choices--depending on how hardy you are. The really brave rosarians find the little green wormy things and squish them. Myself, I'm a bit queasy--so I pick them off and toss them way out in the green grass, on the assumption they will never find their way back to that rose.

I find it easier to locate the slugs earlier in the morning and sometimes just before twilight. I guess they must hide better when it gets hot out by mid-day. They often are curved along the edge of a leaf or kind outlined along the stem or bud--though some people have to turn over the leaves to find them hiding underneath. They are hard to see at first, but once you get used to them, you can often spot them even from a distance.

Have fun--you have lots of company this time of year.

Kate

Rose slugs can be found on top or on the underside of leaves depending on what type.

You can follow dublinbay advice by picking them off or spray with safers insecticide soap OR Garden Insect Spray (Spinosad)...
Follow directions carefully as Spinosad can kill bees ...

I have them for the first time this year. I don't have that many roses so I've been picking off and putting them in a plastic bag. Then yelling at the birds for not doing their job. They're practical on top of me when I'm digging a hole but eat a few sawfly larva that they have to actually search for. Maybe the spiders will help me out.

Ugh. Slugs completely defoliated two New Dawns last year. I resisted spraying. I have them this year and am picking them off my bands and trying to ignore them on the climbers. After being leafless in June last year they leafed out and started blooming again in about a month apparently no worse for the wear.

I've left a few wasp nests up in the eaves near the climbers. I also have chimney swifts nesting in one of my chimneys this year and I read last night that a nesting pair kill as many as 12,000 mosquitos an other flying bugs (hopefully sawflys!) a day to feed their brood. I'm rooting for the wasps and the swifts. We'll see. I really don't want to spray.

I never knew wasps liked them, but just the other day I saw the most amazing thing: a wasp (or mud dauber. no clue) was carrying one away! That was so cool!

Usually, they won't cause much damage during their season. Usually ;) They won't kill a rose unless the rose isn't strong enough to survive a loss of foliage in the first place, imho.

But I have too many this year in a few spots. I have some transplanted small roses that literally have no leaves. Tiny bare stems with slugs still visible in broad daylight! So I'd say that you know when there are enough to cause real damage :D

I'm going to hit them with a little spinosad as soon as I can get out there when the bees are done for the day. I usually squish -- and have been squishing and squishing! -- but these little roses need a bit of help this year.

When I use spinosad spray, I don't use much for rose slugs because they WILL eat nearby leaves within the number of days it lasts, so they'll die. I just spray near where I literally see a lot of damage; I definitely don't wet the whole plant. And I also cut any nearby blooms, so the bees won't visit the plant. It really does dry overnight, but I like being even more careful. I love my bees and pollinators!

The bigger rose I sprayed last year does not have a problem this year, so that's very nice. I think I just have a few local population explosions each year and the rest of the roses are more normal.

I have birds like crazy that constantly eat bugs in my yard, but I've only ever seen one mockingbird look like it picked some bug off the roses, lol. I swear they'll figure it out one day!

Rose slugs attack the buds on my roses. No buds no blooms. I pick and squish the best I can but there is still damage. This morning I found a green caterpillar 10x bigger than rose slugs chowing down on a bud. Too many to spray + rain.

Pair of thin gloves and squish. Any leaf with a hole I put thumb on leaf topside and first finger on underside and draw towards me--usually always some green goo. They are so small and hard to see it's not worth looking for them but if there are holes they are there.

I ignore them. Mine always seem to disappear when the weather changes (and summer has definitely arrived in northern VA this week).

Rose slugs have been really bad this spring. Some of my roses look pretty bad.

We had a mild winter and I wonder if this made the problem worse?

Could be the mild winter Brooks23...Hopefully you have the kind that will disappear after a short time...

Thanks I hope they leave soon. I squash some every day.

They were really bad for me. Per the Internet, I sprayed the bush with a strong jet of water, concentrating on the leaves, and that knocked off about 6 of them, then they got squished or cut on half. There were maybe 4 more hanging out on leaves. I hope I got them all - it's a new bush so even a little bit has been awful. They're gross and now I feel like in covered in bugs by the way.

I use Bayers insect spray every year for bugs. I don't have the time after work to find slugs and squash them, I have hundreds of roses to take care. It kills pretty much all bugs, bad or good. I don't like birds much, but I got a lot of them, they poop on our cars almost everyday, bird poop can damage car paint........

Summer, you are HILARIOUS!!! I don't spray, but don't pick either. I like the look of holes in my leaves. It gives added texture. I'm with you on the birds, sort of... I put out food for woodpeckers, but don't want the grackles so I don't put out water. I ordered a wren house because they are very bossy (like me) and territorial (like me) and they keep other birds away. Pretty cool for a little bird about as big as your thumb!! I like chickadees with their pretty song and swoopy flight pattern, but not sparrows with their chirpy noies even though they eat bugs. Sparrows leveled my beets and lettuce in my garden last year!!! AND I DON'T LIKE BIRD POOP ON MY CAR EITHER!

Rebecca

I can't carry a sprayer any more because of back problems so have to let mother nature take care of my roses but the rose slugs are the worst this year and some of my roses look sad

Oh, Brooks, I am sorry to hear about your back problems. My husband has had 2 successful spinal fusions. He is free from pain, but still not able to lift heavy stuff, so I have an idea of what you deal with. Would a hand held sprayer with insecticidal soap sprayed while sitting on a garden cart help you out? Your roses in zone 6 are probably giants compared to mine, though, so that might not work.

Rebecca

Oh, I just realized that why I have a lots of birds, thanks Rebecca! I thought the trees got birds here, nope, it's the water. I love fountains, I have a small pond in the backyard, and one small fountain by the front porch, the birds are here for the water. I don't mind them to play in my yard, just wish they'd hold the poop while flying over the driveway.......what if I put bubble baths in the water for a week, will they move on to other places? :-)

Probably not, Summer. They'll bring their soda and goggles, surfboards and jet skis and invite all their friends... :)

Rebecca

If a persons going to spray for rose slugs Safer Insecticide Soap would be one of the least toxic and it will work good on RS if directions are followed.... Spinosad works well but follow directions as it can harm bees...

It should releaf and be ok Brooks23... Those buggers really went to town on that rose bush... 6 years ago I was getting damage like that on our roses...

When you first start seeing RS damage in the Spring that's when you try picking them off or try hosing them off with water...or use insecticide soap....Remember they are mostly on the underside of leaves...Then the damage won't be so bad...

thanks. I will start earlier next spring. :-(

I noticed something was eating my drift rose so upon closer inspection I saw the little green type caterpillars (aka rose slugs) on it. So I began picking them off and then got a plastic measuring cup with water and dish soap in it and began firing them into it. Some would curl up at the base of the leaf others were along the edge of the leaf. Must have pulled off about 20 of them. I have the safer's spray for them as I had to get it for my double pink knockout when it was affected by them last year. Soooo maybe tomorrow night I can go out there and spray it with that. Can't tonight as they are calling for rain and thunderstorms. Took a break and came in due to the heat but may go out once I cool off some and see if I can find anymore. I guess I can just pitch them over the fence.

Curled rose slugs can crawl back on the bush so I'd kill em or feed to birds etc....

I was reading a book on bees, and apparently Bayer is the leading producer of neonicotinoids which are one of the main problems of hive collapse. So the book recommends we not buy Bayer products. Is there anything else you can use besides Bayer? Just trying to look out for the bees. :)

Carol

Paper Wasps are absolutely one of the best garden helpers ever. Once established I only squished rose slugs from one plant this year. The but part of this is you must not use insecticides or they will die. I have been watching these guys this year. They are amazing there is not a rose out there now that is without them flying threw the bush. They will also catch leafhoppers and other smaller sized pest. Even when the rose slug drops from the bush it swoops down and eats or takes it back to the nest. These guys are awesome and I no longer worry about the multi generational bristle rose slug. They are not aggressive so (knock on wood) I have never been stung by one yet.

Re: curled rose slugs. Well they certainly uncurled fast when I threw them into the soap suds and water and sank to the bottom of the measuring cup. Eventually they went bye bye due to it so just poured the water out with them in it on the other side of the fence. My Shield rose had one curled up inside the blossom but I pulled it out of there. I think there must have been more eating it but no more as in that section of the garden out the back there are robins and catbirds and chickadees all feasting on them. Wish I could make a sign pointing to the ones out the front saying this way for more goodies. Pulled off 3 more today and 10 the other day. Same plant I think I am getting the upper hand. I also sprayed it with the safer spray Sat. night that one will not harm the bees only the bad bugs. Also won't harm the flowers either.

I think I can say that I won the war on them on my coral drift rose as I haven't really seen any on it for the past couple of days.

I know this is an old post but felt the need to comment. I have 4 knockout rose buses... 3 in the front and 1 huge one in the back. I first noticed the damage in the front. I applied a spray to,the front bushes that contained neem oil. The damage continued so I manually squished the slugs which was an ordeal because they are on the under side of leaves. I then spayed the leaves with the hose on the underside and later applied more oil. I think they are now in good shape. However, I neglected to do anything to the bigger bush in the back and the boogers completely demolished every leaf! I've cut the bush way back hoping it springs back. My advice is to take care of them asap!!