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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japanese bettles in our American Elm
How do you get rid of them out of a large tree. It is to tall to spray. They are stripping all the leaves. How long do they feed?
Japanese Beetles in Trees
If the beetles are up too high to reach with sprays, then there’s not much you can do this season, unfortunately. There are some insecticides, known as systemic insecticides, that can be applied to the soil and will be absorbed by the tree, but these may take up to two months to be effective, by which point this year’s Japanese beetle populations will be gone. Japanese beetles typically feed between mid-June and late August. (NOTE: Before you decide to use a systemic pesticide, you should look carefully at the possible side effects, such as its impact on important pollinators like bees!)
They are BAD this year-2017!
They have attacked my grape leaves, devoured my wisteria and my crape myrtle. And of course, roses! I have sprayed seven dust liquid and powder and they do not care!!! I have also used the dishwashing solution and nothing has kept them off my plants this year!
The Junebugs are also horrible this year. Well every bug really, because we have had such mild winters in the last few years.
Any other suggestions????
getting the best of beetles
You will find all of our best advice above, April. We also checked readers’ comments below and—well, once more with feeling—review the options:
Milky spore, a bacteria the kills the grub of the Japanese Beetle, and beneficial nematodes are a natural way of getting rid of grubs in the soil. Check your local garden center or do a quick search online to find out more about how to use them. Be aware that these treatments can take a year or two to be effective.
You could try diatomaceous earth. It is available in a food grade version and would be safe for your pets to ingest (even beneficial in killing fleas and other insects that bother pets). It is a powder (ground, fossilized phytoplankton) and you can purchase a small pump to dust it on your plants with. It is not a poison, but an irritant to the bugs. It works its way into their exoskeletons and kills them.
One reader used a spray bottle filled with hydrogen peroxide and sprayed the roses; the beetles dropped instantly.
You might want to make some fermentation traps out of plastic milk jugs (with top off) holding a cup or so each of water, sugar, and mashed fruit of some kind (e.g., banana), plus a packet of yeast. Put some of these in your plants and see if they can attract the beetles.
And another comment suggests that neem oil and sprays containing potassium bicarbonate are somewhat effective.
For complete freedom, you need eliminate them in the grub stage of late spring and fall (beetles have two life cycles per season). Spray the lawn with 2 tablespoons of liquid dishwashing soap diluted in 1 gallon of water per 1,000 square feet. The grubs will surface and the birds will love you. Spray once each week until no more grubs surface.
Japanese Beetles
The Japanese Beetles are attacking my huge Pin Oak Trees. I can't believe how quickly the trees have deteriorated in less than 2 weeks. I'm frantically trying to get something done. Two people in tree business said they have never seen them in Oaks until this year.
Japanese Beetle Control
After being invaded by Japanese Beetles last year, we are going to apply Milky Spore this spring. Can we also spray the grubs with soapy water the same year?
Japanese Beetles traps
Think twice before using these!! We had corn fields on three sides of our property last year!!! We had traps in two areas of our yard!! We own 2 acres. We started using grocery bags as we were filling bags full 2 x a day!! We have come to believe that the pheramones pull the beetles out of the corn fields!! At this point this year they have completely killed one of our best apple trees and one of the others has 20 of the dam things on single apples!! Our peach trees at this point are loosing their leaves!! So sad!!! I really believe we should have never used the bags bought in the stores as we lured them all to our land!!
VERY SAD!!!!
Japanese Beetles traps
Do NOT use those traps except everyone in your community uses them as well. I set up a trap and it was very effective. < 5 days, it caught over 1,000 of them, they were all coming from everyone's backyard.
Japanese Beetles
We live on a 2 acre lot among corn and soy bean farmers!! The last three years we have been infested with the nasty beetles!!!! They have almost killed one of our older Apple trees and are also beating up our peach trees!!! I don't know how much damage has been done to the corn. Our trees are to big to spray and we are lost!! When do you start spraying the ground with dish soap and water mixture!! Hate to loose anymore trees!!!!
Gayle McCandless
Burlington, Iowa
Japenese Beetles
We live in SW Ia, Approx. 20mi E of Omaha/Co. Bluffs metro on 5acre plot. 4yrs ago, we took several of these to the DNR booth @ State Fair, asking for a positive id & control strategies, telling the DNR "officer" we thought they were Japanese beetles, but weren't sure. We were informed, in no uncertain terms, that Japanese beetles, had never been seen, were not expected to be seen, & if we would "just wait it out", whatever they were would die ,& not seen again. HAS NOT been a good strategy! Last yr, when checking the ripeness of the fruit in our 12 tree orchard, (apples, pears, peaches, plums), we discovered any individual fruit approaching ripening\picking time was covered w\these abominations,& eaten down to the core in short order, (hrs, not days). I started looking for solutions in April this yr, thinking i had until Aug to develop a strategy. It appears I'm gonna be 6 wks too late. Last Monday, (06/26), We started seeing them float in our above ground pool, & by Tues evening, we were dumping 150-200 of these evil\nasty creatures out of the skimmer daily sinc., Tues, returning home from parades, about a 20mi jaunt, we ran into 4 swarms of them coming out of farm fields, (beans & corn on either side), 2 of the swarms were so thick we were forced to slow from 60mph to 30mph & took almost an hr to get "bug juice", & squashed parts off car & windshield. Our fruit trees are starting to show leave damage, but no fruit damage evident yet. (best crop we've seen, btw), still haven't seen a workable solution for this infestation, but would certainly try something, if anyone has had success saving their fruit, please post up.
RickH~~Ad Astra per Astra~~
ps have pics of lastyrs infestation\damage, but find no way to attatch
Japanese Beetles
I use seven liquid and spray my garden and fruit trees is the only way I could save my crops and fruits it will kill them all but you will need to spray again after a rain
japanese beetle fix
just found out the things were destroying my plum tree. I knew sevin dust worked to rid these from roses, so tried the liquid sevin and hit my tree for 3hrs coating it as well as possible and now have many, many dead beetles. also covered lawn with the sevin granular. feeling better and hopefully won't lose my plum tree.
how to get rid of japanese beetles on plants, trees,flowers
mix up a homemade mixture of 2 cups of ammonia , 1 cup lemon Joy liquid dishwashing ( yes it has to be joy others will not work , 7 capfulls of neem oil , 5 softgels of garlic oil broken ooen and squeezed into this, 1 teaspoon of baking soda . mix well shake well into a water dispenser sprayer ( for total yard ) . spray everything mixing with water in a ratio of 40% water to 60 % mixture . repeat this every three days , then twice a week , then only once a week , and continue throughout dummer . you will have a lush garden paradise !
Bag trap: Once in how do they die? How soon? Where to empty?
Hello,
I am trying a bag trap. Once the Japanese Beetles are in how do they die? How soon do they die? Will all of them be dead when I empty the bag? Where to empty?
I live on an acreage, with farm fields on three sides.
Sheri
Beetle bag trap.
Hi Sheri,
I've been battling with the J Beetles for 3 summers now. I tried the traps last year( yes they die in there).
I truly believe whatever is in those bags attracted more beetles. This year I tried nematodes, in a sprayer in
mid June, I think I was too late. I have 2.2 acres and can't afford to spray the whole area. The last few days we have literally pulled a few hundred and dropped them into mineral oil they die in a few seconds. It seems to be
the only solution thus far. As a rule I do not kill anything insects included, but these are devastating. Let me know if you find anything that works. Good luck. Nancy
Dispose idea: in farm field or yard (as nutrients?).
Nancy,
Thank-you.
Mineral oil, you say?
I am thinking of disposing of the dead bodies back onto my acreage ground, or the farm field next to me. I suppose they will enrich the soil.
When my bag was 3/4 full, the top layers of bugs were not dead. I have a kid's swimming pool, about 4' in diameter, I put about an inch of water in it and added some soap. I unzipped the bottom of the bag and let the whole lot fall into the pool. The remaining live ones, died there. Now I need to go find a pool skimming net!
Bag 'em
We've used the bag traps along with spraying our fruit trees once or twice for the last couple years. We just have a suburban lot. We empty the bag once or twice a week into an old frozen veggies bag and throw it in the garbage.
This year we put up the old trap but forgot to get a new bait. It caught a few and stopped working. Long story short our plum tree only has about 50% of its leaves and now they're working on the Apple trees and grape vines. Not to mention they've destroyed a lot of fruit. None of the neem oil at this stage or soapy spray did anything, only the bag traps work (not wanting to poison our fruit). So we may attract more bugs, well we already do because of the fruit trees. But I'm just fine with that; they can go into the bag to die also ;)
Rose Chafer Damage
chafers have eaten 90% of the linden tree leaves HOW do we save the Trees?
Accidental Japanese Beetle Attractant
While trying to reduce the number of annoying mosquitos in my backyard using Repel's Outdoor Camp Fogger, shorty after spraying it around my patio deck, we were swarmed by hundreds of Japanese Beetles. This wasn't just a fluke since it happened several times after using the fogger. Who would have thought a repellant would attract these beetles.
Japanese beetles
I have had massive beetle invasions for going on 6 years. I have had no luck. I start each day with a surgical glove on and a pitcher filled with water and Clorox. Why Clorox ? The fumes seem to over come the beetles so they do not fly away to the next branch, next plant, or at times down my shirt. I am talking thousands of beetles for weeks. They have driven the bees away. I used to have migrating humming birds but that has stopped I had 7-8 feeders that would be covered. The beetles love pussy willows,gold raspberries,clematis,June beauty berries,and strawberries. My grape vines were :one in 2 years. Why am I fighting a losing battle? A corn/bean field adjacent to my land. The farmer seems to be intent on fighting weeds not bugs. It's going to cost him big time as his first time spraying Round up it wiped out my pine tree, 4 arborvitae, my red delicious apples, and an 84 foot bed of strawberries. I am 66 years old and I've prayed each year for relief each Spring. After reading this article I know that won't happen but I'm going to try planting some of the plants suggested .
Japanese beatles
Instead of picking Beatles off plants place plastic cup with soapy water directly under beatle then just touch beatle, their inclination is to fall off plant and fly away , instead they fall into cup.
Soap Solution and dying time
Hello,
When you use the method of soapy water in a cup, what ratio of water to soap do you use? How long do you leave them in the solution? How do you dispose of them?
Sheri
Killing Japanese beetles in soapy water
Hi Sheri,
There's no magic formula. I literally just squirt some dish soap into a jar and then fill it 3/4 of the way to the top with water. You want enough that you can see it's a little soapy, but nothing crazy. The exact amount, brand, etc., don't seem to matter.
You knock them into the jar (or they fall in) and they try to swim around a bit. They usually stop fighting it within a couple of minutes, and then they are goners. I tend to let the jar keep filling up in hopes that the ones that get away are at least haunted by the bodies of their comrades. (This is warfare.)
When I do decide to empty it, I use the lid to create just a little opening to pour the soapy water down the drain. Then, I can dump the wet bodies into the trash, rinse the jar, and be ready to go again. If you're super grossed out, you could toss the whole sealed jar.
Last weekend was the worst here for beetles, so I was getting 12-20 from a single bush every hour that I went to check it. I just kept knocking them all into the same jar.
Hope that helps,
Julie
Japanese Beetles
I have fought these critters for years because I grow roses in my yard. I make the rounds of my rose bushes three to four times a day and spray the bugs with insecticidal soap. It kills them within seconds and is not harmful to any of the good bugs. Today, for instance--I count--I killed over 120. Just spray ' em.
Preferred plants
Perhaps because they are taller, the cherry tree leaves are being selected over the roses. (SE Virginia)
Getting rid of Japanese beetles
Could you give more details about what insecticidal soap spray you use. Is it something you mix? Where do you get the particular kind of insecticidal soap you're referring to?
Thanks,
Paul
Japanese beetles
Is there a certain kind of insecticidal soap you buy for the beetles that you spray on them I have over 23 rose bushes thank you
Japanese Beetles
I was told (not sure who) that Japanese Beetles were beneficial to the garden as they fed on aphids on the rose bushes....I have been reading in this forum where they are pests...What is correct ?
Japanese Beetle Pests
Japanese beetles are indeed pests. They feed on leaves and flowers (rose bushes are a favorite), but do not feed on other insects, such as aphids. Ladybugs (also called Asian lady beetles), on the other hand, are voracious aphid-eaters and are a great help in the garden. Get rid of the Japanese beetles, but keep the ladybugs!
Asian beetles - lady bugs
There is a difference between Asian lady beetles and lady bugs. Both eat aphids but lady bugs are harmless and stay outside. Asian beetles get into the house in the tiniest of cracks. Any farmer can tell you their house might be sealed but they still fight Asian beetles all year round. They fly around the rooms, they die and litter the floors, they bite, they stink, and they leave a stain behind sometimes. No pesticide seems to deter them. Even bug bombs can't get rid of them. I have seen them come in swarms out of the bean fields during harvest season. No, they are not the same as harmless lady bugs!
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