Got iridescent green beetles feasting on your roses? Those would be Japanese beetles! Here are tips on how to identify and get rid of Japanese beetles.
What Are Japanese Beetles?
Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) are small insects that carry a big threat. They do not discriminate when it comes to what types of plants they feed on, though they do have favorites (like roses). In fact, they are classified as a pest to hundreds of different species. They are one of the major insect pests in the Eastern and Midwestern United States, causing monumental damage to crops each year.
Prior to the beetle’s accidental introduction to the United States in the early 1900s, the Japanese beetle was found only on the islands of Japan, isolated by water and kept in check by its natural predators. In 1912, a law was passed that made it illegal to import plants rooted in soil. Unfortunately, the failure to implement the law immediately allowed the Japanese beetle to arrive in this country.
Most entomologists agree that the beetles entered the country as grubs in soil on Japanese iris roots. In 1916, these coppery-winged pests were first spotted in a nursery near Riverton, New Jersey, and by 1920, eradication programs were dropped; the beetle proved to be too prolific and widespread.
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japenese bettles
where can i get milky spores?
Where to get milky spores
If you are near an ACE Hardware store, check there. Otherwise check Amazon they also have Milky Spores. Nematodes seem to be a nice natural way to combat Japanese Beetles. Easy to apply if you follow the directions for spraying. Remember to remove all filters from your sprayer so the Nematodes get out. Follow directions for time of day. You can tell if your efforts are effective, the skunks and raccoons will stop digging up your lawn to get at the grubs for food.
Milky Spore
Check with Lowes. If they don't have they can order it in for you. There are 2 types. One is a powder, the other is pellet with something mixed in so you can put it in a broadcast spreader. You can buy it online, but the shipping adds quite a bit to the total cost.
A crush on J.B.
Thank you so much , Stacy , for your terrific trick on the J.B. !
Perhaps we dò need to get a little bit more down to earth .
Good luck with your crush :op
milky spore
I completely agree with the use of milky spore... but it has no impact on the actual adults feeding on the flowers and bushes, but rather to stop the cycle and the damage to YOUR turf from the JB grubs. Unfortunately, you are only stopping the cycle in your own yard, next year the JB's will still be munching on your plants unless ALL of your neighbors do it as well. Wish we could do a widespread milky spore treatment across all of the states they occupy and completely eradicate them!!!!
beetle squashing
I just read on Wiki-how not to squash the beetles. It releases Pheromones (female beetles) which Attract other beetles. Ick! It also said to avoid using traps; they also can attract them. I didn't have any but today I do. I suspect that the strawberries (overripe) attracted them.
Beetle Battle
Stacy I agree that there is no greater satisfaction than crushing the beetle with your fingers but my local nursery said that when you crush the beetle it lets off a scent that attracts other beetles. That is why drowning them is a better solution. Good luck.
I tried growing roses the
I tried growing roses the first time ever, and the JB's devoured them. Late August now, and they are finally mostly gone, its amazing.
I have read somewhere that if you use a blending container only for this purpose, put a large amount of dead beetles in, and liquify them (I know it's gross), spray your plants, and the smell of the dead ones will repel any more.
also how far is far enough from the garden to put the bait lures? Is 2-3 acres away enough?
Japanese beetles
I fail to understand the logic presented by experts who discourage using the Japanese beetle traps!! Of COURSE they are going to attract them! That's the main idea...trap them and then they DIE!! I cannot imagine going out to my raspberry garden and hand-picking thousands of these beetles off my plants every day! I have THREE traps going constantly, between my patch and my neighbors, emptying them every day, and sometimes more than that. In addition, I daily attack the ones that are feeding on leaves with my Hudson sprayer directly. If one could figure out how many of these devils I have killed off this summer, it would have to be thousands and thousands an thousands....that are NOT laying eggs now to produce more!! I think the traps are effective for about a 50 ft radius, as my other plants in the yard and my neighbors are free of infestation. SO the beetles seem to be concentrated in the raspberries, mine and my neighbors patches where they have been laying eggs for 3 years. I first spotted them about 3 years ago, and wondered what they were. I should've started killing them then, but after 3 years of going to ground and laying eggs by the millions, it's no wonder that we have the problem we have now. I intend to treat the ground under and around my raspberries and the surrounding area with grub killer this fall and next spring and summer. I researched which ones are the most effective, and hopefully next year I will have fewer beetles. But this is WAR folks. We are not ever going to be rid of these things completely, so keep on the offensive. Kill them on the leaves, Kill them in the traps, and Kill them in the ground!!
Japanese beetles
I have also been bombarded by the beetles and have sprayed and used traps. My question is, do they end up in the traps before or after they have laid eggs? Or both?
what abou tthe eggs?
The answer is a little of both, JL.Many females will lay eggs near the traps, creating problems next year. Read the advice above as well as the comments below. There is a lot of beetle wisdom here!
Detergent method of killing
If I put the mixture of vinegar, sugar and liquid detergent in a small pail with handle, can I hang it on a shepherds hook or does it have to be on the ground?
Detergent Beetle Trap
Yes, you may hang the trap from a hook. The beetles are attracted to the smell, so it doesn’t really matter where the trap is, as long as it’s accessible.
Kill Japanese beetle
Use dawn dish soap, put 1 oz per gallon of water. Spray them . They will drop over dead.
This is the best way I find it out. Try it. It works.
Good luck.
Ron
Japanese Beetles
Dawn detergent and water is wonderful!!! The JP’s just fell dead. Thank you so much for the advice. I was about to scream. They wete destroying my flowets.
Jp beetles
How often did you spray Ronnie Parker
dawn soap
Is it harmful to any other plants or bugs?
Japanese Beetles. Grrrrrrr
I have been cutting our lawn about once a week due to all the rain we have had in SE Wi. One week ago my trues looked healthy, in fact we had a lawn service actually servicing our /trees and shrubs. On Tuesday, 7/25, I went out to mow the lawn and I noticed our River Birch had lost 2/3 of it's leaves. They have also attacked our American Larch, Goldrush Redwood, Crabapple Tree, Plum Tree, our Magic Spirea and starting some of the Maples. I am just SICKENED at the amount of damage they have done. So far they have left our Dakota Arborvitae and our Green and Gold Arborvitae alone. We have since called "said" lawn service to come out to re-spray again. Why has this not taken care of them? Will our trees recover? At what point is the decimation beyond the point of no return? We have a LOT of money in these trees/shrubs and the "service" has a guarantee. What do we do now?
japanese beetles
How do you pick the beetles off of a 50 foot tree. And how do you spray or kill the beetles 100feet in the air. I keep them out of my house only by using a electric bell in howell thing that makes a sound through the house and they don't come in but when I go outside they bite and the bite is a serious sore that I now have had on my skin more than 3 months. Nothing works to stop the itching, blisters that burn and run. One bite makes a sore 2 inches in diameter. All leaves are on the ground and the grass is being eaten everything in their path is dead.
Japanese beeltes
Japanese beetles are so bad in central Illinois they just move fron tree to tree eating every leaf and killing everything in their path. The bite from these bugs causes an infection on your skin that is painful and is hard to heal. It turns red, blisters, does not heal well. Leaves a large sore on the skin, itches and burns to touch, nothing stops the pain and blisters. The trees are dying everywhere from these beetles as they eat everything in sight. What will stop them, how do you kill them. Huge trees dying from town to town. What can be done?
Patsy Mccleary... are you
Patsy Mccleary... are you sure that it's Japanese Beetles that are biting you and trying to get in your house? I live in Maryland, and I can not recall a summer w/out dealing with them in 53 years, and my father is a sod-farmer so he deals with their grubs past the summer. That being said... I've never (or have I known anyone) been bitten by one, or had them try to get in the house. They have gotten in the house but only because they latch onto our shirts or hair and we don't know it.... which freaks me out lol! Where do you live?
Yes, indeed, they do bite
A Japanese beetle had gotten on my ankle. When I realized it, I tried to repeatedly knock it off. It was rather tenacious and during this time, it bit me several times. The bite marks were very noticeable. An all-around nasty bug.
Japanese beetles
I noticed we have Japanese beetles in our apple tree, the apples are falling and the leaves are getting eaten, what would you recommend ?
Japanese beetles and apple trees
Traps are not always effective for fruit crops because they attract the beetles from miles around and many females will lay eggs nearby, creating problems next year. To get rid of the beetles, there is a wide range of insecticides for the immediate control of beetles—from the broad-spectrum insecticides (eg., Sevin) to the organic options. See this page for examples: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/managing_japanese_beetles_in_fruit_crops but check with your state’s cooperative extension to see what’s permissible and advised where you live. In the future, to avoid this pest: 1. Reduce weeds. Apply an herbicide in the fall. 2. If you put down any sod between apple trees, remove grass and use a non-grass cover crop and restrict irrigation in areas near the tree(s) and use a drip system to reduce the habitat for these beetles.
I have effectively controlled them with
I have used a bag trap with pheromone attractant. But I cut the bottom off the bag, put a three inch pvc pipe going into a 55 gallon barrel and bag. It brings in a ton of beetles but they all come off my foliage and trees. It will fill up a couple of barrels in a season, but it saves my garden. I garden an acre of vegetables and fruit trees. I also use a kaolin clay called surroundDT from Johhny's Seeds. Totally non toxic.
When I put the modified bag trap out the beetles come in swarms, go into the trap, down the pipe, into the barrel, and they die in the barrel. I have a hole for the pvc pipe cut into the lid of the barrel. This method has worked for a few years
Thank you
Thank you! Excellent idea!!
I think I'll see if the guy who owns the pasture near me will let me put a barrel trap on his land, he just grazes cattle, no gardening, and it's away from the gardens the rest of us have, but close enough to lure them, perhaps.
Jb
wouldnt it be wise to have the state ppl as well as others put barrels out all over the state and others as well seems to me it would be a cheap way to control/perhaps get rid of just a thought
Mountain Ash
The are devouring the tree, will they kill it?
Variation on Fruit Cocktail attractant for Japanese Beetles
A simpler and cheaper alternative to the Fruit Cocktail attractant is Apple Cider Vinegar, dishwashing detergent, and sugar. I use about a cup of vinegar, a spoonful of sugar, and a few drops of detergent in a large open can. The fruity vinegar and the sugar attract them and they drown in the soapy water. No waiting for fermentation and there's only one container.
Japanese Beetle
Does the vinegar mixture get mixed into the water? Or put the mixture into a can to sit in the water?
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