Japenese Beetles

MarcyG on 6/22/2010, 8:41 am

I've seen 2 now. 1 On my basil last night and I didn't realize what it was and I hit it off the leaf then couldn't find it. So I went to check my plants this morning and found another and after getting a bowl of soapy water it was gone.

what Does everyone do to control them? the last couple of years I've had them destroy my Cucumber, Zucchini & Squash plants and I want to be ready for them this year.

dmpower on 6/22/2010, 8:59 am

I get a huge population of these pests. I don't know that it is the best way, but I purchase the Japanese beetle traps. It uses a pheromone to attract the bugs and they fall in to a bag that they can't get out of. I have had a great deal of success with these traps.They don't target other insects, or poison them for the birds to eat.

miinva on 6/22/2010, 9:11 am

I drown the ones I find, and we're going to do the traps again. I don't put them near the garden, though, because I don't want to attract them to it. I put them between the vegetable garden and the butterfly garden.

jwbryson on 6/22/2010, 10:52 am

I've had a lot of problems with these nasty little pests destroying a bush in my front yard and eating a LOT of my sweet basil. SO frustrating!!

I bought some chrysanthemum oil (look for the word "Pyrethrum" on the label). This stuff is GREAT. Safe to use on veggies, flowers and it's non-toxic, but I'd still rinse before eating. It's available in the pesticide section at Lowe's or Home Depot. The guy "Billy the Exterminator" (Google him if you don't know who he is) on A&E uses this stuff to kill wasps. Safe for humans, deadly for wasps and Japanese beetles.

I used it on my basil and it killed two of them on contact.

Good luck! They are PESTS!

junequilt on 6/22/2010, 3:51 pm

My mother and I used to handpick them and put them in jars, then throw the jars away. It got kind of tedious, but it worked. Of course, we're talking back in the day before anyone had power mowers!

Garden_State on 6/23/2010, 6:59 pm

I found 3 on my pole beans today. The wiped out a few leaves. Time to teach the kids how to hunt for these since they are off from school.

Pete

extremesoccermom on 6/24/2010, 2:47 pm

I just returned Tuesday from a one week vacation to find my pole beans hit hard. I spent most of yesterday running out to check my plants every couple of hours. I had my soapy water in one hand and a glove on the other. Yesterday alone I caught 29 and had 7 get away.
I think I am going to try laying 10 yards of tulle I had in my fabric stash over the trellis to hopefully keep them under control while I am at work.
Funny how they were attacking the pole beans like crazy but not the bush beans. I also found a few on the new peach trees also.

kimbertangleknot on 6/24/2010, 3:29 pm

That's is so weird, the beetles have been attacking my bush beans like crazy and not even interested in my pole beans. Not that I'm complaining, my pole beans are have started to product and the bush beans are all but done. That's the only reason why they are still in the ground, so they leave my pole beans alone.

Crazy how different things can be with pests.

miinva on 6/24/2010, 3:38 pm

Maybe it's about location? They seem to be eating my pole beans, but I wonder if that isn't because they're up higher, because they're not bothering the lower bush beans.

martha on 6/24/2010, 3:57 pm

and make sure to do what miinva says, and be careful where you place your traps, because, they do lure them.

I am not at all sure why I haven't used Milky Spore disease. This and beneficial nematodes are supposed to be the most effective - the milky spore is a Japanese beetle disease that will kill off the grubs next year. It is listed as organic, and in my web searches I haven't come up with a good reason why I haven't yet used it.

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