20 liters of warm soapy water (Hand Dish washing wtr is good), 3tb spoons of salt, 1/2 cup of white vinegar, mix well and spray liberally getting under the leaves. sand back and watch the larvae fall off..

I don't know if or where the adults overwinter, but I believe the eggs are laid in the shoots, and the larvae emerge in the spring. If they were in the soil then dormant oil would be of no use. If your rose is beginning to leaf out, as the ones around me are, then an application of dormant oil right now will harm the leaves. It is supposed to be of some use in controling sawflies though, when used at the right time (before budbreak). So it might be something to consider for next year (unless you're a lot further north than I am). For now, handpicking of the larvae is quite effective if you are religious about it. Keep a tin of soapy water handy, and do a quick check as often as you are able, tin in hand. Pick the larvae off and drop them into the tin. Check the underside of the leaves. The larvae usually show up in mid to late May around me, but they might be a bit early this year because we've been so warm. BP

Well, this explains alot! I try to remove them daily, but it's a time-consuming battle. I hate to sprays for a cosmetic problem, but worry about the effect on my young potted bands. One thing I have noticed is that certain varieties are more prone ie, New Dawn, (but only initially) and my two Darlow's Enigma bands. The Kordes roses Fire Opal and Summer Romance, as well as Cecile Brunner are barely affected as their leaves are so thick and almost leathery. It could be they are equally damaged, but have so much more leaf tissue to eat! Munstead Wood falls in the middle. Where are you, nat1611?

First...are you sure the sawfly are still there? The damage can't be fixed...the rose has to grow new leaves. So without knowing if the neem oil has worked (I've never used Neem oil and I don't know if it works or not)...throwing more stuff at it isn't helpful. So check that first. :)