Those are aphids...

Blast of water from a hose etc. just not to hard that it harms the stems that should knock a lot of the aphids off then repeat for a couple days and see what happens...

I usually do not have much trouble with aphids but they are bad here this year and are all over our rose leaves already... ( I don't have any buds yet...) So I've been blasting them with water yesterday & today...

Get a bird bath for your yard, set up bird feeders over the grass -- so spilled seed that germinates will get cut by the mower -- and toss some non-seed food for the birds in the garden. That's basically what I do. I have two pet birds, and I toss their leftover sprouted seed in the grass, and their leftover "everything else" in the flower beds. And I keep an open source of water in the garden. The result is that the wild birds hang out in my garden, and after being attracted by the little bit of food I toss out for them, they continue their foraging by picking off aphids from the roses. You could hose the aphids off the roses, but will have to repeat that regularly. And you'll likely never get them all. Also, I find that unless there's a good amount of aphids available for eating, the local birds won't come hunting them. And for me, it's more enjoyable watching the birds pick them off than any direct efforts I may employ in eradicating them myself.

:-)

~Christopher

Spring aphids tend to congregate on tender new growth & buds and then work their way down under leaves directly below. The white flecks you see on the leaf under the bud shoot in your first photo are the skins shed by the aphid nymphs/juveniles as they grow. Aphids suck the sap/juice from the plant rather than chewing on it, and excrete a sticky substance called honeydew. I keep an eye out this time of year for their arrival, and when I first see what you have, take action. Some use a hand spritzer of water with a drop of liquid dish soap shaken up in it to kill aphids by direct contact. Used to do that years ago & it's effective, but when the hand sprayer eventually broke, went on to my current practice of dealing with early arrivals. I slide thumb & fingers from below the group up the stem & over the bud in a steady motion to remove them. Wiping the residue off fingers onto a kleenex or paper towel, the leaves then get the same treatment with fingers held like scissors in the rock, paper, scissors hand game, with two extended fingers closed over the stem end of the leaf & drawn along to the tip, treating both sides of the leaf at once. If the stem or leaf is sticky after the aphids have been dealt with, I'll go over the stems, buds & leaves again with a kleenex dampened with water between my fingers to remove the residue.

I'd call your aphids moderate, having seen them many aphids thick obscuring the tender growth, so should be easily remedied. When they're very thick, I use a kleenex dampened with rubbing/isopropyl alcohol to remove both aphids & residue. (Rubbing alcohol is cheap & found with bandaids in groceries & pharmacies. Keep a bottle in the pail that holds clippers, gloves etc. ready for the garden, as well as some poured into a jar the clipper blades fit into for disinfecting between pruning cuts. Handy stuff!) Afterwards I'll use the hose with a watering wand set to a fine spray to wash away any remains. If I using the alcohol, I spritz with water immediately after to prevent the alcohol from drying out the new growth.

Shortly after dispatching the first Spring aphids, the good bugs usually show up right on cue & take care of any more that crop up. First on the scene are usually ladybugs & their newly hatched ladybug lions. Many wild birds here & the small ones love to perch sideways on the branches & groom the roses of aphids & other pests. Christopher, we also enjoy three companion African Grey parrots & their daily discards go along with bird seed to feed our wild friends & neighbors. Birdbaths, fountain, pond & stream slake their thirst.

Tend to use the hose to knock them off more with Summer aphids, as I find it hard to keep the right blast strength with the tender Spring growth. With the watering wand, I start at the top & go down each branch hosing the top & bottom of leaves. Of all the rose pests in this garden, aphids are the easiest to discourage.

Those are aphids and what everyone has written before is correct to use-- a strong spray of water to knock them off, buying ladybugs to eat them, using your gloved fingers to squish them -- all organic methods to use. You can use insecticidal soap-- follow label directions and spray not during the heat of the day. If you have beneficial insects eating the aphids, note that the soap can kill those beneficials too.

Yes, ladybugs and birds will eat the aphids. If you can't stand them, hosing off or squashing with fingers works. I would NOT use anything stronger than water - you do not want to kill the bugs which eat the aphids. BTW, ladybug nymphs look like tiny alligators, so if you see any of those leave them alone - they eat aphids too. There are other good bugs which also eat aphids - this time of year the garden is full of them.

Jackie

I hope these birds don't like to munch on lady bugs as well. ;[

I have a 5000 square foot house to take care of. I have a 2 years old baby and a husband. I have to clean the house, the laundry, make lunch, make dinner, and if I have some time left for myself I try to take a long warm shower. LOL. I have 45 roses and where I live is infested with Japanese Beetles, aphids, tons of sawflies, caterpillars, stink bugs etc. Unfortunately, at least while my daughter is still very young, I do not have time to be in the garden as much as I'd like. Last year I invested a lot of money on my yard to see it destroyed by nasty insects. I did a lot of research on this topic and decided to use Bayer 3 and 1 Disease & Mite Control. I do not have any regrets. I use it every two weeks. I love love love it! Haven't seen any bugs since. In fact, it seems the rose bushes get stronger and stronger after each application. Now I can sit in my yard and enjoy my flowers and my beautiful landscape. I want to enjoy my plants and not have an extra headache or waisting my money on it.

Typically what I do to avoid any pests is to spray all my plants, roses and honeysuckles big Aphid drawers with an All Seasons Dormant oil before they wake up and then as they start to grow..Many will even spray while active growth which totally keeps the bugs off of mine). It' safe, does not hurt benficial pests and is not harmful to the environment.