Summertime deer munch rosebushes. Herbivores, they seek out gardens and homes when foliage is scarce. Deer tear rose plants, producing jagged tears.
Rabbits eat plants in yards and gardens. Rose bushes are a great summer snack. The Cottontail is the most common rabbit in North America.
Self serving feeders, squirrels steal bird seed from hanging feeders and devour plant stems and roots. Squirrels eat rose root and stems.
Gophers devour plant roots underground. Gophers are larger than moles and voles and leave mounds. Tunnels and mounds are gopher signs. Gophers eat roseroots.
Aphids eat leaves and stems. These insects consume plant sap, not plant matter. Plant sap is nutrient-rich. Dry, wrinkled rosebushes have aphids.
North America's only wild goats are mountain goats in the northwest. Goats adore rose bushes because they're nutritious.
Voles eat rose bush roots and can kill them. Voles burrow to preserve food. If a rose shrub is degrading without visible leaves, stems, or blossoms, a vole may be to blame.
Thrips feed on rose petal nutrients. These yellow-orange or brown bugs hide in rose petals. They can harm buds and darken petals. Rose petals are inside the bloom when peeled back.
Raccoons are omnivores & voracious feeders, thus they consume everything remotely attractive. These creatures eat rose bush buds in gardens.