[Lesleyk]

Does the dreaded flea beetle attack roses - specifically climbers?  Mine have wee holes in the leaves - a lot like flea beetle; some are almost shredded but it's nothing like slug or snail damage.  I don't think the growth or strength of the plant is affected, although I'm not sure - can take a photo if that helps?

[Yorkie]

It shouldn't do - it's mainly a brassica problem.

No idea what it might be, though.

[Lesleyk]

And now I've noticed the same damage on the leaves of other garden plants, like geraniums (hardy type) and other perennials.  Not seen it before, so I hope it isn't a really dodgy pest ...... !

[BabbyAnn]

Could it be rose sawfly?  The larvae are fairly easy to see though with their black and yellow markings so I'd be surprised if you missed them (maybe they are still small?  A sawfly infestation can strip leaves completely)  As for the geraniums .... apparently there is a Geranium sawfly too 

[mumofstig]

I think there must be a sawfly for everything 

[Lesleyk]

I think there must be a sawfly for everything 

That being the case, and on closer inspection, I appear to have sawfly on my roses and geraniums, but just in case here are a couple of pics:  so my next questions are (a) do they harm the plants (I assume they do, if they strip the leaves completely) and (b) what can I do about it?   

[sunshineband]

Losing leaf area is never good for a plant.

You need to decide whether you want to get rid of the sawfly larvae, and if so, are you going to pick them off or spray them?

Picking them off is easy, and Provada make an Ultimate Pests and Diseases spray which is suitable for most pests that will deal with them. It does the job on gooseberry sawflies very well!!

[Lesleyk]

Thanks for the advice - you say picking them off is easy?  I understand they are around early in the morning, so do I need to set my alarm clock?  If so I may have to resort to nasty chemicals ....