Slugs are gross and can destroy your beautiful roses. Eradicate them by using these methods:
Wrap copper wire around the base of rosebushes to send slugs on their way. Once they leave, they won’t come back.
Use empty margarine containers and beer to get rid of slugs. Fill the margarine containers half full of beer and set them between rosebushes. Leave overnight. In the morning you will find the slugs dead in the beer. Repeat this process until you no longer find slugs in the beer.
Get an extra package of table salt and keep it with your gardening supplies. When you see a slug, pour the salt directly on it. The slug will shrivel and die because the salt eats into it, much like acid will eat into human skin.
Spider Mites
To get rid of spider mites, mix four cups of flour made from wheat into five gallons of water. Add a half a cup of buttermilk. Spray this concoction on your roses to suffocate any type of mite.
Do Not Kill
There are some insects that are beneficial, not only to roses, but to all garden flowers. Do not kill praying mantis, bees, butterflies or ladybugs. In fact, if you don’t have ladybugs in your garden, consider buying some. Be sure to buy the red species, as orange ladybugs are not native to the Americas and multiply profusely.
Praying Mantis egg sacs can be purchased from nurseries and garden centers. Fasten the egg sacs to the crown of the infested rosebush. When the eggs hatch, the baby praying mantis will eat aphids and other non-beneficial insects.
These are great alternatives to pesticides and herbicides. The cost is minimal and the ladybugs and praying mantis will keep your rosebushes in optimum health all summer long by keeping insects at bay.