Do you use a rubber band or some such thing to bunch the landscape fabric up against the base of a grafted rose...to keep larvae from climbing out of the ground and up the rose? How about stickum to trap them on their way up?
(The only time my garden had midge, Diazanon was still available.)

Well, I didn't even know they climbed ! I thought they flew up ! Thanks. So, what kind of stickum might be effective at the base?

Why are you doing this and taking such a risk? And what makes you think it will work? Is it your theory that you are trapping the overwintered midge larvae under the landscape fabric? When they metamorphasize and try to fly up to the growing tips to lay their eggs they will be stopped by the fabric. You should know that some midge fly in from outside and I believe some overwinter on the rose. The midge fly is tiny and may find a way through your fabric barrier. Controlling midge is not that hard so why go to all this trouble? The key is to kill that first hatch and again in six weeks which usually takes care of them for the season. I hope it works but if it doesn't you may be sorry. Nothing like having your first flush wiped out by midge. I've had it happen. Diazanon sprinkled on the beds stopped midge and I've found that other stuff designed to kill bugs in your lawn will work on midge as well if you water it in. I've seen no bad effects.

Thanks you Henry for your perspective. I guess that I read last year from a seemingly authoratative source that they could be blocked from not only going up to the buds but from dropping back in the ground again by landscape fabric.
I used the granules the last 2 summers and also the Bayer all in one systemic, and it didnt seem to help.. ..also I think I killed all my earthworms.
The problem never affected the first flush, but got worse and worse as the summer wore on. so I thought why not try something different?
Andre

Andre. It may take a while to get them under control if you have a bad infestation but once you do stop them my experience is that it doesn't take much to keep them under control. Diazinon granules always did it and I worried that nothing else would do as well but the stuff they sell for lawns seems to kill the midge larvae in the soil as well. This is a tried and true method and as far as I know it does not kill worms. The stuff that is legal is powerful but unlike Diazinon it breaks down. Apply it in early April and late May and again in the fall. I have never had a problem later in the year with midge probably because with so many blooms you don't notice midge damage as much.

Henry, what product exactly you are talking about? Scotts or something else? Bayer requires soaks every 5-7 days for like 5-6 times to stop the midge. I did it last year,it was recommended by some forum members, and really felt like I'm trying to kill everything in the garden. Right now it is the only product registered for midge. I also already did one soak this year as a prevention. But I really would like not to use it at all.Maria.

Gardenmanya, None of the granular lawn products specifically mentions midge but they all seem to work. I have never used any Bayer product and never will and I control midge very well. Get it down early and a second time and maybe a third time and you will control midge. I have not used the delayed release products and I can tell you that spraying for midge once you have it will have no effect whatsoever. You must kill the larvae after they have dropped into the soil. I also believe that heavy mulching is beneficial but I don't know this as a fact.

Also one more thing to consider. I have had separate smaller rose plantings on the property where there has never been an instance of midge. I also grew roses for over 15 years before I saw midge for the first time. This suggests that midge needs to get established before it becomes an ongoing problem. What happens is that you get it the first time ever in a huge rush after which it takes time to get it under control. When you do it is generally no longer a problem.

Henry

The reason for the multiple application of the hose-end sprays is to attempt to break the breeding cycle (3 - 6 days). If you can get in 3 - 4 applications in 4 - 5 days in between, you have a good chance of getting rid of midge for the season. It is a tough problem. One application of granualr diazanon used to work for me, but I have not had the same level of success with the granular Bayer Advanced products. I'll try to get to them early this year.

Andre, it is worthwhile experimenting with the blocker, but you put it down too late to prevent the first generation from emerging to fly up and lay eggs in the shoots. The person in the PNW who first tried this approach put her barrier down while the roses were still dormant. This allowed her to cover it with mulch. However, since you are not mulching, possibly your barrier will prevent further generations from successfully pupating. I would extend it a ways beyond the drip line. I'd guess the larvae would crawl around some if they don't fall on soil or mulch. (Disclaimer: I am just a curious onlooker with no experience with midge.)

Henry,

I have just started removing the soil/peat from around my roses and noticed for the first time midge damage on quite a few roses. What is the specific name of the product you are using? I read this and went to a home center to purchase some and could not find anything for midge. I see you added in another post it does not say it will control midge...can you please provide specifics so I can get a bag?

Also, do you just sprinkle it around the infected roses?

Thank you.

Ladylotus,,

You can't possibly be having midge damage now. Midge damage occurs on the growing tips of the rose which look like they have been burned. For there to be midge damage the overwintered midge chrysalis must first turn into a midge fly which must then fly up to the growing tips where it lays eggs which must hatch into grubs which do the damage. The grubs drop off to the soil to renew the cycle which I believe can take only two weeks. I'm in Z6b and this doesn't happen until late May at the earliest. There is no other damage from midge that you could see from removing soil from around the rose which I assume was winter protection. As for granular products to kill the larvae in the soil, none of them say they are effective for midge as Diazinon did but I have controlled midge with several that I have used. These are sold as lawn insect and grub killers and there are many brands including Ortho, Seven and Spectracide. I can't personally guarentee any one as being better because I have used several and I have had no worse results than when I was using Diazinon. Just remember that you must put it down early and thoroughly and water it in if there is insufficient rain. This should do it for the season but I put it down again at least one more time.

Henry

Henry,

What I'm seeing is a hard round ball on the rose stem itself. When I cut open the ball there is a little white worm in there. I thought it was a midge gall? I may be way off. Any type of treatment for this?

Thank you.

Ladylotus,

I've never seen anything like what you describe. I would suggest that you cut the ball off trying if possible to not hurt the rose but if you can't do it without injuring the rose leave it alone. Are you sure it is not a crown gall? Maybe someone else has the answer for this one.

Henry

It is a gall caused by a type of small wasp laying eggs, not midge. Just remove the gall, it's fairly harmless.

Thank you for your response, Henry. I think that granular application is basically the same as Bayer Complete Insect control drench. I will try granular may be in a couple of weeks. Though my PA garden is brand new, midge is unfortunately not new to me. It followed me from Colorado :(, and showed up the very first summer I planted the roses. So I'm trying to catch it before it spreads all over. Maria

Andre: Don't bother with the fabric, does not work, looks horrible. I've had landscape fabric (no mulch) on my rosebed since I pruned in early Mar 07. It has done little to no good. I was following Pat's method of newspaper and decided to be done with midge by also using the fabric w/o mulch. At the same I put Bayer granules 4' outside the bed on all sides. I removed any post-prune remaining leaves, sprayed everything first with lime sulfur, and about a week later, with Bayer. I have continued with the granules & spray treatments ever since, spraying the fabric heavily.

The ugly black fabric and the unseen midge are still with me. I am considering removing the fabric now. I can't bear to look at it one more season. I get a good first flush as there is no damage until late March. At least the roses wake before the midge.

My roses are in serious decline, some have only two canes left. They are only able to get a very few new canes past the bug. I could cry at all the basal breaks that only got an inch long. The granules and Bayer spray have not been effective for me either. But I don't have a better answer. Good luck.

I have battling Rose midge for the 3rd year now. Last year I called the Bayer rep. Here's what he said:
Spray with 3 in 1 weekly until you get control. Then every 14 days. He said granules wouldn't be effective so I didn't go that route.

I just discovered some RM today. So I am going to spray every 5 days until I see some improvement. I have read a lot of research on RM, from what I read the better product to fight it is called Doom and cames from Canada. Can't get it here.
Carol R

I too have rose midge damage that showed up after the first blooms. I went to get something and almost bought Spectracide, but it said it was highly toxic to bees. Now I am at a loss since I don't want to kill the few bees I see around. Any thoughts?