I think you are referring to Japanese beetles, they are stout greenish metallic. Unfortunately,there is no really effective way of dealing with them. Some snip all the buds and blooms off during the beetle season (June and July in my zone) because they ruin them anyway. Pesticides really don't work because they have to ingest it therefore consuming your roses in the process and killing bees and beneficial insects. I (and many here) go out several times per day and knock them off the flowers into a container of soapy water(soap added is the key,otherwise they can swim for days!) You won't get rid of all of them but it will help control the population. Others report milky spore applied to your lawn will decrease numbers by killing the larval stage-grubs, but it takes a couple seasons to see a noticeable difference. Avoid japanese beetle traps sold at retailers, they are reportedly so effective that they attract even more beetles to your yard to munch on your plants.Okay, long response but these are my most hated pest! In short,drown them and get rid of flowers for the short term.

Cucumber beetles are different from Japanese beetles; they are smaller, at about 1/3 the size, and a light 'cactus' green with black stripes or dot markings on their backs. They are just a bit larger than a ladybug and more elongated or rectangular in shape.

I notice them usually at harvest time here in Illinois. My theory is that the farmers drive them out of the crops when they harvest the corn. Are you near farmland? On Monday, the greater portion of our county had been sprayed by crop dusters and I noticed a thicker presence of small, annoying bugs that evening, but so far no cucumber beetles yet.

Yes, they damage my blooms almost nearly as badly as a JB infestation and these little turkeys move a lot faster and are harder to catch. They also fit up a nostril much easier and I fear inhaling one when I'm sniffing blooms.

I wouldn't recommend spraying anything because they only attack blooms, so you'd be killing bees and other beneficials if you spray. The only good thing I can tell you is that in my area, they don't stick around for very long.

Yeah, I get cuke beetles too. Try a good hard spray with the hose and see if that helps. There usually aren't too many and they go away fairly quickly anyway.

We see Cucumber Beetles here, but not in large quantities, so I just kill 'em when I see 'em. But I'd hate to have them in large numbers!

Jeri

They do just as much damage here as the japanese beetles, but they are usually later in the summer. I think they plan it that way so that my blooms are half-eaten ALL summer! Sneaky little pests! :)

But, to answer your question, no, I haven't found a good way to control them.

Tammy