A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 My dwarf bing cherry tree

I have beetles all over my new dwarf bing cherry tree. They are eating the leaves up. What do you all do to keep them off? Hopefully there is something I can do organically to deter them.
Thanks
Misty

What kind of beetles are they Misty?
The Japanese Beetles??

Yes Japanese, and they seem to be going to my blackberry plant too.

For Japanese Beetles I only hand pick/squish/squeeze or drop them into a bucket of soapy water...
*I use no sprays', cause I'm organic*
***there may be some other gardeners thru that
can also help or give you other advice***

I may add one point...most of the time when a bug or beetle prays on a plant, it's because it's stressed...
Sometimes it can be the type of soil it's in,
or if it needs water or maybe it's in too much water..

Check your growing conditions...
Get your water bucket, and keep it handy...

And for me, I never use those Japanese Beetles
Bags/lures....IMHO, they draw in more beetles than they are worth...
I wish half of my town would have never gotten those bags.. the amount of bugs to me seems to have tripled in the past years....

Thank you Weezie. I'm organic too, so I'll try just picking them off, and putting them in soapy water.

Put up Japanease Beetle bags/traps around the tree, it will reduce the numbers- no harsh chemicals if your concerned with that. Have heard positives about a product called "Milky Spore" Its is natural, and attack beetle larves, even goes into where they lay eggs.The stuff is kinda costly- about 30 dollars for a large canister, and can be found at most better nurseries. That being said, Chemicals may be the way to go. Look into Seven to use now. Also look into Bonide Fruit tree Spray, which really is a plus for cherrys, because if you dont spray- you will get maggots in your cherrys which isnt the most pleasant thing to eat! The Bonide Fruit tree spray is a plus because it a multi purpose spray, for pest and diseases all in one. Cherrys are suseptible to brown rot- and will make the fruit useless the spray will help with that. Follow a good spray program, and youll have lots of cherry pies, and preserves. Most chemicals on the market are EPA tested, and do not penetrate the fruit. If it was bad the EPA and feds would yank it off the shelfs faster than greased lightning.

It's not the chemicals I am concerned about..
What's in there is a Hormone of sorts that lures them to the bag, like it's a female in heat....

So it draws MORE than nessessary...
That's why I don't like them...