A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 japanese beetles problem

I'm having a hard time with Japanese beetles on fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and wisteria, and without exeption every person I have talked to so far about it can only offer one good solution. Sevin dust/spray. And it does work. I tried it in desperation last summer. However I really want to find an organic alternative if there is one.
I currently have some of the traps for them, and they seem to work for a week or so but then they are back on the plants again.

Help! :-)

I am having the same problem and am at a loss!! I will check this post for replies....

I have a problem with Japanese beetles on my Hibiscus and Sevin seems to be the only thing that works for me. I tried traps several years ago and it just seemed to attract more of them.

Try a product called pyrethum. It is a quick kill for japenese beetles. It is derived from flowers.

(I couldn't find the article in question,
and removed the URL...just so you know)

My 2 cents - get rid of the traps, they are only drawing them to your yard.

we had a bad infestation of them last year...the traps AWAY from your gardens so that the beetles are drawn away.

i bought some milky spore to put down on the soil and never got to it...it takes a few years for it to completely spread anyway. it's expensive, but it DOES work...just takes a couple of years for it to work it's way all the way through the soil and kill the larvae.

as i've been working the soil this year, i kept finding the larvae of the beetles...i took GREAT pleasure in smashing every one that i found!! :p

i know i didn't get all of them...they haven't started to be a problem yet, this year...another week or so and they'll be starting to be an issue...

Japanese beetles. Scourge of the garden! I love to hate 'em! Tried a recipe in a milk jug this summer of red wine, sugar, water and yeast, let it brew, then set it out downwind of my grapes. All it did was attract black flies so the experiment wasn't THAT futile.

Agreed: beetle traps attract every beetle from every yard to your yard. So we're 2 for 2.

For two weeks this June-July, I went out every day (more than once) with a small pyrex dish of liquid dish detergent & water, and a long-handle spoon. Once a beetle hits this mix, it lasts about 10 seconds. Best time for a good beetle harvest is first thing in the morning when they're dumb & stoopid and don't know you're coming. The hotter the day, the faster they move.

I killed enough to save my wisteria (about 10 feet away). Yes, Sevin works, but I won't use it.

Japanese Beetles do NOT like catnip so planting catnip throughout the garden should help. It's on my list for next year. I'll also add a garden blender to my pest arsenal. I have read that if you catch enough beetles and blend them up with water, spraying the mix on the attractive plants will deter the beetles that evaded capture.

Tomacco

Tomacco, I think I'll pass on this suggestion :rolleyes: and just stick with my soapy water or "Sevin" (when needed). I use Dawn dish soap in my water and it's the only thing I had to use this year; but, fortunately, the infestation was not as bad as it has been in the past. In some years when the infestation has been heavier I would have to be out there 24-7 to do any good with my little bucket of soapy water, so I have to use "Sevin" at those times or I wouldn't have any flowers or leaves left on any of my Hibiscus.

Patches, suppose I should be thinking how to stop the beetle traffic here before they get started? Would save me the cost of a blender and the respect of everyone here! Will take joclyn's idea of putting down milky spore (like I even know what that is). Must do some research so the neighbours won't catch me again next year walking around with a dish & spoon (what IS she doin'?). They must have thought I was spoon-feeding the grapes!

Tomacco

Tomacco, I really would have liked to see you doing this! Of course, I probably don't look much different walking around with my little bucket and a stick; but, at least, I don't have a spoon in my hand and look like I'm feeding something! I was going to get some even though it was quite expensive! I think it would have cost me over a $100.00 to treat my "small" yard, but I needed to get rid of them and protect my flowers (especially my Hibiscus), so I was game. Then I was told that it takes a couple of years to get rid of them and even if I got rid of them in my yard it wasn't going to stop the adult Japanese Beetles from coming into my yard from neighboring yards and feasting on my plants, so I didn't buy it. :rolleyes:

Evidently, to be effective it really has to be done on much wider scale within a commmunity. I have a friend who lives in a subdivision where ALL the lawn care (trimming, mowing, etc.) is included in their membership dues and all their lawns were treated with Milky Spore several years ago. Now, it appears they no longer are having a problem with the Japanese Beetles, so it does work; but, evidently, it's not going to be very effective on an individual basis.

Thank you so much for this information. I'm going to guess that putting down milky spore as a neighbourhood effort would be because the lawns are close together, e.g. abut each other? I back up to woods. Does this count? LOL! I do think it would be worth a try! I certainly don't live in Bettlefree, USA. Thanks again!

Tomacco

p.s. The spoon catches them as they (startled) slide down the leaf. Before the realise whu happuned, they're in the drink, so to speak!

Actually, the yards are quite large with the lots averaging 1-2 acres. :rolleyes: Geesh, compared to what I have that would look like a small farm to me! I think the neighborhood effort is just the result of them being wealthy enough to afford whatever they want and the fact that these yards all look like something out a garden magazine, so they want them perfect! :rolleyes:

well, i've been seeing them. not too bad (as compared to last year). i didn't put the trap up as my neighbor did and i thought 'let me see how it goes'.

i have some - still, actually. and that's late for them in this area. i'm definitely putting the milky spore down...on my yard and my neighbors (i doubt he'll mind). and my other neighbors as well (again, i don't think they'll mind. the one that put the trap up is far enough away (kinda) so it shouldn't matter too much whether they treat with the milky spore or not.

i did find that the stuff i was using to treat the black spot did kill some of the beetles if i sprayed them really well...

Joclyn, I'm certainly not opposed to treating my yard with Milky Spore, but I sure can't afford to treat the whole neighborhood. I understand the concept of killing the larvae but the adults from the neighboring yards will still come in my yard, so that's the only reason I didn't bother to follow through with my plan! It seemed like I would be spinning my wheels and wasting money if I could only do my yard.

i agree, treating the whole neighborhood could get pretty expensive!! and i don't really recommend it - unless you have neighbors that also have roses and are willing to treat their yards with the stuff at the same time you are (and pay for their own supply!)

i live in a twin, so my yard is pretty small and so is the next door neighbors (which is connected to mine). combine the two and it's probably still smaller than most single-home yards. and the front yard? our combined area is about 10' x 10'. the one bag of milky spore i got will more than cover those areas - and for numerous treatments too...so, i'll go for it.


in most areas, if an infestation is so bad that it is a real issue to the community, you can contact your local boro office or public works or parks dept and see about having the township treat the whole place...around here it has to be a pretty extreme problem tho, before they will do that.

Joclyn, if your yard is that small then the cost would not be prohibitive, so I can certainly see why you would consider doing this. Plus, you can still go out daily and knock the adults off into soapy water to help control the problem!

Oh geesh, Joclyn, you must live in Mayberry! You're really dreaming if you think they would ever consider doing something like that around here! :rolleyes:

If I'm stepping on toes, I'm sorry... But would it be possible for a moderator to edit Ironside's 4th post in this topic with a shorter URL? I'm sure I'm not the only one scrolling the screen side to side to read all the posts! The loooooooong URL for the Pyrethrum search Ironside wonderfully provided is http://tinyurl.com/qg5fd . Hope this helps!

Tomacco

Snagged it Thanks..

Thanks much, Weezie! I don't think it was an article, it was a list of products containing Pyrethrum for getting after Japanese Beetles.
I took that URL and tinied it http://tinyurl.com/qg5fd <-- doesn't work for ya?

Latah!

Tomacco

Yep, I can read it now....

I've heard about the milky spore treatment but I have a LARGE area to cover (several acres) and if its pretty expensive I can't afford to really treat it effectively it sounds like. Presumably you apply it all over your lawn and garden area for it to work properly?
For those of you who have bought it, did you order it online? I've not seen anywhere local to me selling it.

Also... is that the same thing as 'nematodes'(?)which was something I was told about as an organic treatment to kill the larvae.

im kinda curious, i see a lot of reluctance to use sevin,yet to me ,it has always seemed to be the mildest of insecticides available. what am i missing?

You're in the organic room here, where people like to use natural products, not chemicals. Not all members on the site are opposed to chemicals and there have been friendly and heated debates on the subject, but the "organically speaking" section is for natural solutions.

I'm not fanatical about it but if there is an organic solution I would much rather use it when possible.
Especially on fruit and vegetables since one of my main reasons for choosing to grow my own is so that they won't have any chemical additives in them.

sorry i am late to this conversation.

1. Research shows (from Cornell) traps bring in more Japanese beetles(JB) the you would have other wise.
2. For adults, research at Purdue university has shown that application of neem oil does work as a feeding repellent. it will not kill the JB adults but stop them from feeing on your plants.
3. Don't plant plants that attract them in.
4. From a turf standpoint - not all grubs in your lawn are JB. Everyone assumes these grubs are JB because JB are day flyers... if you go out at night there is another whole complex of beetles out and many will feed (but not all) so before you go to milky spore be sure your grubs in your turf are JB
5. Also there had been formulation issues in the past with milky spore... they seem to have it fixed now but i am still a little leery.
6. Nematode are looking very promising because they work on a broad range of white grub species, not just JB. BUT they do not work well in all soil types and there are a few different species on beneficial (or entomopathogenic) nematodes on the market. You need to talk to your supplier about what is best for you your area and soil types.
7. With the nematodes you just need to treat the target area. you will know this by decline in grass.
8. there are a few different nematode producers in the country so shop around on price.. i cant believe what some of these website are charging for them.. giant markups... so do you comp shopping.

oh I have gone on long enough.. lol as you can see i spend a lot of time working with JB issues. I have tested some organic adult sprays with good results and going to be testing more this summer.