Midge love roses in Pennsylvania.

Look for the Bayer Complete Insect Killer for Soil and Turf (I think) with hose end sprayer. Use it on the heavier setting (L) and blast those little %*+^@#!'s. Soak the ground below your roses. Don't spray the plants. Spraying a few times at 5-day intervals is the recommended plan of attack.

Applying this product does make a difference although I am wondering if there is any life left in my soil...

Maria,
Midge are an evil scourge on roses, and I'm sorry to hear you have them in common with Harry and me. In addition to the spray, let me recommend that you cut ALL new growth from your roses, bag it and put it in the trash. This way immediate future generations will have no place to lay their eggs. Be diligent about checking the next generation of new growth for signs of midge and take action immediately.

I sprayed for 4 years with varying results and finally have decided not to spray. That is not a judgment on those who do spray or continue to spray, just my personal decision. But, if you do spray do as Harry said, soak the ground beneath your roses AND the ground immediately surrounding them. Midge do not fly very far, but they do fly.

And, yes, Harry is right about the soil, too.

Good luck.

Barbara

Thank you both!. I was looking for local input. DH already has an assignment, he works near Lowes. Barbara, all new growth was shaved already. Harry,do you do the soil soak every 5 days, or soil soak initially, and then spray the bushes every five days? Do I need to spray all my roses, or just 5 evident offenders? I just don't understand where the midge came from. All infected bushes came as bareroots from Canada this spring.I garden in brand new house, and assumed that my soil or rather absence of it was clean.Is it just in the air here? Thank you again, Maria.

Soaking the soil at 5-day intervals is recommended by some here. That corresponds with the midge life cycle.

Midge exist in 3 stages. Flying as adults, eggs/nymphs munching on the growing tips and pupae in the soil. The only sure way to kill them is in the soil.

In picture below, midge-damaged, shriveled tip is visible.
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