Question
I have about 28 rose bushes and for the first time in 10 years I have some sort of beetle (?) eating small holes in the petals of only a few of the bushes--mostly on one climber right in the midst of a trellis full of other climbers.  My pest control guy says that spraying them with a systemic insect spray will reduce the size and quality of the roses.  Do you know what the insect is and do you have another solution to control this problem?    Our local garden store said many of us have this insect this year.  Thank you for your help!

Answer
I can't name a bug because I don't know where you garden and bugs are different in all locations. However I can tell you that a beetle is a beetle no matter where he is. Spraying any plant with a systemic insecticide will not harm or alter the plant in anyway. But beetles have hard shells so spraying doesn't do much damage to them and they seem to even cope with sprays that are in the petal's sap even a systemic one. You need to kill the bugs before they become an adult. There are a couple of things you can do. Most beetles eat at night and then go to sleep so if you have the time and patience, you can go out early in the morning around  7 and shake the rose and pick them up. However in regards to the ones hiding behind your trellis, this probably won't work. I would get a spray such as Ortho's Orothene and use it around sundown making sure you sprayed all around the base of the rose bushes as that is where the eggs and new grubs will be. If everyone has the same problem as you, then this means their cycle is at it's peak and so you shouldn't see this again for sometime. The amount of damage these beetles do will not harm your roses, it just makes the flowers look unsightly.