Question
For 9 yrs we have had a beautiful bloom of wild roses growing from a climbing rose bush. This year we noticed very few leaves but a full bloom of roses, which died off rapidly. A further inspection, we noticed a huge amount of furry black catapillars all along the stem. How do we get rid of these critters and what caused them to attack that bush? We never had that problem before. Thank you for any answers you may have.

Sincerely, Cindy

Answer
i would spray the plants w/BT (bacillus thurigenesis) a biological control that will only kill the caterpillars. it contains a bacterium that attacks caterpillars only. they attacked your bush because it is food to them. insect populations move around a lot from year to year. just like locust plagues.
get to a local garden center/nursery and quiz them on a solution to your problem. take a sample of the bug w/you in a plastic sealed bag. buy your products from them and they should be more than happy to help you.
good luck
rick