Leafcutter Bee

I have figured out that the 'cuttings' on ALL of my roses are from Leafcutter Bees!
How on earth can I stop them?

Apparently I need 'PERMETHRIN CONCENTRATE' or 'PERMETHRIN DUST'

Can anyone recommend this? Can I get this at any nursery or is there another option?

Why do you want to stop them? They don't do any real damage and they are a native bee.

They have taken a great percentage of the leaves on most of my rose bushes.
It not only looks (really) bad but I was reading up on how if too many leaves are taken then it can destroy the plant.
I'm not one to want to kill any kind of bee, I just want to try and prevent them as they are destroying a lot of my plants (especially the newer ones with only a little new growth).
I thought it was grasshoppers until no rose spray was working

I found out about these native bees two years ago and was told there is nothing you can do about it

You might try spraying the foliage with something that bees might find distasteful. I know that when they find a plant they like, they will keep going back to it. But it's only for a few weeks or so, not year-round. Maybe blend some chili peppers in water and spray with it, or an egg or milk which will develop a rotten taste in a couple days (in the US we do that for deer.) Or maybe a strong herb, like sage or rosemary.

Leafcutter bees will do less damage than Permethrin dust. Like most pestercides thay kill the benaficial insects as well like Lady Birds and Preditor Wasps to name a few. It can kill you from cancer as detailed in the MSDA sheet.
I definately prefer the Leafcutter Bees dineing out on my rose leaves.
All these chemicals damage our immune systems. Keep your garden balanced and healthy.

Thanks tearose49 & Ozeboy, definitely won't be using the chemicals then! And will try those mixtures see if it helps. I wouldn't usually mind, but some of my roses just look like sticks now with slivers of leaves

Hi Tish a spray I use on my garden, (rose and vege patch), is a combinat5ion of garlic and chilli. You chop 3-4 hot chillies and 4-5 cloves of garlic and let them sit for 24 hrs in some vege oil. Then add about a tblsp of this oil to a spray bottle with a few drops of detergent and fill with water. spray on the plants. I don't have any trouble with caterpillars etc. eating any plants when I use this application. I only use when things get way out of control.

Thank you so much You may have just saved my roses!
Does this work for aphids as well? I would prefer something organic than chemical sprays.

The oil in it smothers the insects and prevents them from breathing. Insects do not breath through their mouths. They breath through a system of tubes in their abdomen called a tracheal respiratory system. Spraying oil on their body blocks these pores and essentially suffocates them (this is why you smear vasolene over the backs of ticks if you get them instead of trying to pull them out as they will back themselves out instead)... do it when it's cloudy to prevent the roses from cooking in the oil.

Ahh great! Thanks Simon. So I can use this instead of white oil?

The only rose that they ever seemed to get into in my garden was Souvenir de la Malmaison. I pulled it out years ago (not because of the bees!) and the only thing they seem to have had a nibble on since is Duchesse de Brabant, which can pretty much cope with anything.
Maree

They have cut on every single bush (approx. 30) and also my nectarine tree. They didn't seem to do too much damage to the nectarine tree though. Also, they seem to have stopped in the back yard and just focused on my pink 'thank you' bush out the front. Hopefully they will stop altogether

There's your solution.. plant 'Comtesse de Labarthe' (aka 'Duchess de Brabant') and let them have it to themselves and they'll leave everything else alone

I'm very tempted to do that Simon haha!
It's a gorgeous rose too.