First, it’s important to make the connection that the white grubs in your lawn will hatch into Japanese Beetles and if you have Japanese Beetles they will lay eggs in your lawn that turn into white grubs.
Japanese Beetles can severely damage your roses and other plants in your landscape because they feed on the leaves and can almost completely defoliate some plants.
The white grubs ruin your lawn!
They feed on the roots of the grass near the soil surface. The damage usually shows up when it’s hot and dry because without a good root system the grasses in your lawn will start dying.
Damaged areas in your lawn feel spongy when you walk on the grass because of the tunneling that’s taking place under the surface. If the damage is extensive the grass can be pulled up like carpet because the roots have been chewed off.
Skunks, Crows, Grubs and other Critters dig up your lawn to get at the grubs. In the fall when skunks are instinctively packing away the food to fatten up for the winter they can destroy a lawn in one night if it has a heavy grub infestation. Look for little holes in your flower beds. That usually means that the birds have been digging for grubs.
During the summer months when the soil is warm the grubs are usually at a depth of 2″ or less. As winter approaches they go deeper into the soil and become almost inactive.
As soon as spring arrives and the soil temperatures increase they move back toward the surface and start feeding on the roots of your lawn once again.
They eat away for another 4 to 6 weeks, then emerge from the soil as adult Japanese Beetles and start feeding on your landscape.
As they devour your landscape they start laying batches of eggs. Usually 20 to 60 eggs total per female beetle. And the life cycle starts all over again.
You can lift areas of sod in your lawn where you suspect you might have white grub infestation and look for the grubs.
They are white in color and range in size from 1/2″ to 1″ long. If you have more that 6 grubs per square foot it’s time to think about a way to control them.
If you opt for a chemical control there are several products on the market and the best time to apply them is late August and early September.
The white grubs are much easier to control when they are smaller and closer to the surface of the soil.
Biological control of white Japanese Beetle grubs can be achieved by applying the insect parasitic nematode species Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. You can purchase these nematodes under a variety of different trade names.
Another biological control is Milky Spore which is actually bacterium pacenibacillus popillae. However, this is a long term approach and can take years for the spore to spread throughout your lawn.
It actually requires to ingest the spores and then as they die their carcass becomes part of the control to help spread the spores throughout your lawn.
Japanese Beetle Traps! Do they work? Well . . . the jury is still out. Most traps use both a sex lure that attracts male beetles and sweet smelling lure that attract both sexes.
Without a doubt these traps attract a lot of beetles, but some research indicates that they attract more beetles to the area of the trap than they actually trap. That means that plants in the path of the trap might suffer more damage
If you use traps place them near the edge of the property and well away from plants that are damaged by Japanese Beetles.
Since there is some biological control that naturally takes place without your intervention it is recommend that you only consider chemical control when the infestation is severe because the chemicals disrupt the natural process of control.
I hope what I’ve given you here helps. It is confusing.
Only problem with applying insecticide to lawns etc for the grubs is when they come to the surface dying, birds and other animals will eat them and get poisoned. In my sisters neighborhood, one of the local dogs ate the grubs and was dead several hours later. I have not seen dead birds, but it stands to reason they would suffer the same fate. I have sprayed the devils with a mix of Dawn dishwashing detergent and water, and it kills them quickly…problem is getting to them when in the top of plum trees and such….I wish there was an easier way…perhaps the traps is the answer
The traps have been successful for me but you need to change them every 1-2 days (even if not full) and place the traps about 30-40 feet away from the plants your protecting. I live on 5 acres but am only protecting about 3/4 acre of landscape & ornamental trees. I place the traps in a perimeter around my landscape about 30 feet apart & 30-40 feet away from my desirable plants/trees. The traps intercept their flight path to my plants. The wind direction will affect which traps get the most on any given day. Yes, collecting them is gross and they smell horrible when dead. I put the used bags into ziplock bags which helps with the smell. I have tried spraying pesticide in the past but was spraying all the time which was time consuming, expensive, harmful to bees, and probably not that great for me either.. I may be helping my neighbors plants too, but this method has spared my birch trees, crabapples, ornamental fruit trees, roses, cannas, wisteria, and zinnias.
I had an opposite experience in Maine. When I put the traps out, I was inundated with many more times the beetles than before. So I experimented and found out that a 4 mile distance was needed between my gardens and orchard to lure the beetles away in the opposite direction. Luckily where I lived in Maine I could drive around and find remote areas to set the traps, in a circle (4 mile radius), around my property.. Worked like a charm!
I had 4 Beetle traps last year and had to empty them twice a day, I bet I killed thousands a day.
But they still ate my Hydrangea bushes. I think I will try the Diatomaceous Earth and the isopropyl alcohol spray.
I use the traps BUT I also place a kiddie pool with the bottom covered with water (just an inch or two) and a few drops of any kind of dish soap in it under the trap. When the JB touch the trap many of them automatically drop to the grass and you lose them. With the pool under it you catch the bugs.
I also use a spray bottle with a few drops of dish soap to spray them in the garden or on the plants. They die immediately.
I put two of the attractants in the grate of my bug zapper, works good, be sure to put a kiddie pool under it as well to get those that touch and fall.
The only downside is you must dump and start over about every two or three days.
Patricia, interesting, thanks for sharing.
Mike di you know if BK or BT will get rid of JB grubs? I already use it the years when I’m able bodied enough.. Lately my Southern California acre and a half home lot has had JB and June Bugs. The JB fly straight at me, usually tight at my face ir head and my neighbors get a real hoot out of my dramatic reaction! Thank you for a great article.
Jill,
I really don’t know.
I used the traps also but placed a glass plate under the bag with the bottom cut off in my chicken pen. Once a beetle falls on the plate the chickens are on it like a flash of lightning! The yokes are so yellow-orange after feasting on the beetles!.
Brilliant!
HELLLLLP!!!!
It is Oct 18th 2016.
For the past two-three weeks I have noticed the little “holes” in my grass and my dogs are sticking their noses deep into my lawn. I saw a big fat grub last week on my driveway and am thinking it’s time to put Sevin Granules down again. I did this last year and a million grubs rose to the surface (I thought I would throw up there were so many). I read that putting Sevin down might kill butterflies and bees but I need to do something NOW. (I planted Lemon Grass along the house and get lots of butterflies and bees) I also have my guy coming to plug, seed, and fertilize this week and wonder if the Sevin will counteract any of my attempts for a nice lawn of grass, rather than the many types of weeds I have amongst the grass.
THANK TYOU!!!
Susan,
Sevin is an insecticide and it can kill other insects that it comes in contact with. Will it harm your lawn or the re-seeding? I don’t think so, as long as what you buy is made for use on lawns. Truth be told this is a fine line that we all travel. Don’t treat at all or treat as responsibly as possible.
Discovered today that at lease one of our dogs is eating grub worms. If we put the Milky Spore on the lawn is there any danger to our dogs either from the substance itself or the actual worm once it has eaten it? Thank you for your help.
Cheryl,
You need to check with the manufacture on that. I really don’t know.
Thank you Mike. I have enjoyed reading some of your articles today. At least the silver lining from my pups behavior is I found your page. Have a great week.
Thanks Cheryl, I appreciate that.
Ask your vet.
My dad’s yard was always beautiful. 5 years ago I started taking are of it & now it is a disaster. I have talked to several people about the yard, some tell me I have grubs others tell me I have a fungus. I think the nitrogen it low because I have a lot of clover. I have voles & moles. One person told me to start fertilizing to build up the soil. The products are expensive plus watering. Fertilizing sounds the best to me. Do I rake up the brown grass? Can anyone help me?
Mary,
1. Check for grubs, https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/10/skunks-digging-moles-tunneling-why-are-they-digging-up-my-lawn/, and treat for them now not later.
2. In mid September apply a good weed and feed fertilizer, I use Scotts Turf Builder.
3. Re seed where necessary, don’t bother digging anything up or even raking for that matter, just re-seed and water. The lawn will be amazing by spring.
Wonderful advice Mike. The JB love my crepe myrtles. They don’t bite so you can pick them off. My chickens and ducks love them. There is also an Asian beetle that has become quite rampant. It is a small brownish red beetle that lives just under the soil surface and come out to feed at night.
I use the insect killer at Home Depot that kills Crane Flies, grubs, etc.
The grubs die, then the moles eat the dead grubs, and I have relief from all of these
pesky moles for about 4 to 6 months, then I spread the bug killer again.
It’s working for me.
Dan
What is the name of the insect killer from Home Depot?
whats the name of it
I use MILKY SPORE it works I use it around my fruit trees( and never ever used chemicals) never found bug or worms in the apples – pears or cherries I put it around my rose bushes put it around any thing the Japanese beetles eats on and on my lawn when the beetle or grub eat the flower–leaves– grass ect. it kills them an they turn in to the spore an spread and last for 10 to 12 years the more Japanese beetles or grub there are the faster it works it is made by ST.GABERL LAB. and it is a naturel spore will not harm animals -birds or people . look it up read about it — then try it
I heard that getting some Genny hens to eat the grubs is a most effective way
Guinea hens. They are interesting birds. On the wild side . Like their freedom. Will squawk like a dog will bark about anything strange. If you are a farm setting, you might enjoy them. And,BTW, they fly, Will roost in the trees.
Because they do fly, they are hard to keep at home. They tend to wander off and not come back. Ask me how I know….
Yes, and coyotes catch and kill Guinea Hens, too. They are expensive to buy and they are wild and disappear!
We hav an infest inactions of gypsy moth s on Long Island,NY.
Do you have any aye to control them.
Charles,
The only way that I know of is to spray all the trees in the area. Around here the nurseries hire aerial spray companies for gypsy moth control.
I have both June Bugs and Japanese Beetles. This year the June Bugs started flying in April. They are attracted to light at night more so than the Japanese Beetle. Both have a larvae stage of being a Grub worm and are equally as destructive in lawns. I expect the Japanese Beetles to start destroying plants any day now since it is the middle of June here in the Midwest and its time for them to show their curse. The adult June Bug is far less destructive. Moles and Voles eat loads of Grubs and Earthworms and tear up lawns in the process. Robins, Jays and Blackbirds will eat Bugs, Grubs and Worms. Try to avoid pesticides that kill all ground insects. Even Termites and Carpenter Ants benefit our world in most instances.
I never had Japanese beetles until last year after I had purchased and planted both cannas and irises that I got from two different sources from a local garden swap site. We tried the tedious ‘PICKiN’ OFF BEETles and dump them in the the soap dish” sung to the tune of “pickin up paw paws and put ’em in the basket.” lol but it was to no avail and this year they came back with a vengeance- So I did my research and have at my disposal now — the Neem oil which just needs to be mixed with water in the sprayer for the plant surfaces, from what I understand, and the Milky disease spore and a bottle of Castile soap. My problem is I can neither find my source nor remember the recipe for the application of the Milky spore and just why was it exactly that I purchased the soap? It was to be mixed with one of those 2 but which 2? Can anyone help?
AnnMarie,
The beetle grubs are hiding in and eating the roots of your grass. That’s where they should be treated, before they burrow in deep for the winter. They just layed a bunch of eggs in your lawn, those eggs will hatch into grubs and start dining on your lawn. The Milky Spore is for the lawn but it takes years to be fully effective.
I use milky spore I put it down in the spring on ground and extra around fruit trees an roses that summer very little damage put down in fall next season everything fine did not use it again for 10 1/2 years no worms –bugs –in fruit an never used anything on trees for the 10 1/2 years — then I used it again going on 6 years now it keep the beetle grub away..
My local Agway store suggested the powder form of Milky Spore rather than the granular which I went to get. The granular takes 3 applications this year and one application in each of the next 3 years to be fully effective. According to the salesperson, the powder form of milky spore is applied once, every 4′ and rows 4′ apart and you are good for at least 10 years’ protection. This all came about because I hired a mole ‘catcher’ and he caught TWO moles that had ruined my entire back yard. I never realized just how far moles travel! He was the one who suggested putting down milky spore to eliminate the grubs which will eliminate the mole problem. Here’s hoping it works!
I just used milky spore powder and placed it in rows 4 feet apart. I have to let it sit for 36-48 hours then water it down. i will keep my dog off the part of the lawn I just did until I water it down. I was dreading it but it really took very little time and was easy. Just protect yourself (eyes, hands, etc.) and do it when no wind is expected.
Milky Spore powder has been a great help here in central Kentucky.
try milky spore sold by ST> GABERL LABATORES just google it you can even call them they will tell you all about there product
This is what I used.
IAM FROM SOUTH ALABAMA, WHAT KILLER DO YOU SUGGEST FOR RATTLESNAKE BEANS AND PRACTICALLY EVERY CREPE-MRYTLE- BEEETLES KIILLED MYPEAR TREES,KILLED MY PEACH TREES AND ETC./////PLEASE RECOMEND SOMETHING.THANKS///I HAVE TRIED THE ALL INESECT KILLERS AND IT DOES’NT WORK AND THE BEETLES KEEP GETTING WORSE/////
Steven,
I rarely, if ever, use insecticides so I really can’t be of any help. Vist the bayer website, they have pretty good products.
Mike, Theres is many comments so I may have overlooked where YOU had said A SPECCIFIC KIND of kileer for
Are either or the two non chemical options ok with chickens ? Ours free range all day and I think has improved our problem.
Mike
My backyard ~.6 acre in Concord has a lot of moss even though it is in sun most of the day. This area is moist and may have something to do with the moss but I am not really sure what the cause is. What do you think the problem may be?
PS This ground is very rocky and when I moved here last year, I planted my garden in raised beds.
Rick,
Try applying some pelitized lime and then this fall have the lawn aerated. That should help.
Posted Aug 3 2014 – Excellent article re Japanese beetles. We have an infestation on our hardy, rugosa roses shrubs under way this year! Straight-forward , precise information – awaiting the nematode treatment which I have done myself each year in mid-late June. Didn’t apply this year – maybe that’s why we have the rose infestation. True Green company from Cambridge Ontario Canada is coming to apply their brand of “hunter” nematodes this August. Thank you to Mikes Backyard Garden for simplifying the issue.
I live in the country and I let the moles take care of the Japanese Beetle grubs. They get a good dinner and I don’t have the beetles. Win – Win for us both.
Could you post a picture of what they look like so I know what I am looking for.
Milky spore and other teeny, tiny living things don’t do well when the ground freezes, which happens on an annual basis in Vermont. You would have to re-apply milky spore, i.e. start over, every year where there is ground frost. It’s too expensive.
I have heard that sometimes hanging patches of panty hose from plant stems can catch certain insects. I know it works on grasshoppers, it should work on Japanese beetles. Good way to accumulate free fishing bait, or to feed the chickens. You do have chickens, don’t you?
Buy a Japanese beetle trap. Wrap it up with pretty paper and a ribbon. Give it to your unsuspecting neighbor who lives about a football field away or so. Include free installation.
Guinnea hens not only clean up on Japanese beetles, they love ticks! If you get lucky they may start laying eggs, too. Living in or near downtown anywhere takes some of the fun out of this deterent, you know how the neighbors talk!
The tried and true hot, soapy water, teach-them-how-to-swim method works every time and offends very few.
High quality soil, using, among other things, Lactic Acid Bacteria, attracts all kinds of microscopic critters, including nematodes, which can feed on grubs. If this didn’t work, we would still have dinosaur carcasses around.
Say Hi to the donkeys, please.
I have a lot of poisen ivy growing in my yard , I need a home remedy to kill them. I am not a very good garener but I try to do the best at my age.
I have always had success with the white grubs simply by watering my lawn really well in really dry weather. Usually it takes only once or twice. The grubs surface, I pick them up and throw them into the bird bath. Happy birds, happy lawn, happy me. No work, to speak of.
Great idea thanx
Fayetteville, Arkansas is just beginning to show a few of them. Our chums in Hampshire, Tennessee have had ’em big time the past 2 years. Their biggest concern is not growing things, so much as their home. The damn things are thicker than thieves, all over the side of the house, in the house, in the bathtub, in your hair … etc. Any ideas for home prevention, in Tennessee and before they get to that point here in northwest Arkansas? Maybe a recording of the Mikado, played in a very. very high key, from speakers inside of a very large electric cage?
I’ve used both and they work well, just takes a while.
Do you have a method to control squash bugs? They’re killing me here in Northern Nevada!
What do squash bugs look like?¿
I’m seeing and reading a lot about sea-water fertilizing and am wondering if you have every experienced or considered using that method for outdoor plant or lawn feeding? I have used it exclusively for Micro-greens and wheat-grass indoors and it works great for that but have always wondered if there would eventually be too much of a salt buildup in the soil.
Clyde,
Sorry, I have no knowledge of this what so ever.
II lived in Fl 28 yrs & used epsom salt & ocean water around all my Palms, Tropical sea grasses & other plants. They on it.. Although inland grass will dry-up.
If I got rid of the grub worms will it stop the very bad mole problem!
It should
If you could at a future date, Please attack the SQUASH BUG problem in this same way. They get into everything Squash, Melons, Cukes and I find them everywhere in my garden here in Waco, TX.
Wayne, we need to do that, thanks for the reminder.
Thanks so much for the head’s-up on Japanese Beetles/grubs, really appreciate your advise 🙂 Keep it coming!
How can I purchase the book you have advertised?
Thank you
Mike,
What if I just put them in a sack and spin them around,until they become dis-oriented?:) .)
Mike – Love your blogs and ALL the comments.
Just a friendly reminder, please use chemicals (natural and otherwise) in the morning before the bees and butterflies arrive.
Thanks for helping our pollinators 🙂
I have beetles eating my blueberry bushes. What is the Dawn and garlic reciepe? You didnt put amounts.
Wow, Great article!
One thing i would like to add is that if you have Japanese beetles in your garden or lawn, you also have white grubs. The key to getting rid of the Japanese Beatles is to get rid of the white grubs. Furthermore there are many types of white grabs that are almost indistinguishable. So if you would like solutions to kill white grubs and thus Japanese beetles take a look at our lawnopedia which helps identify lawn bugs with pictures, regional information, identification information, and control methods. http://www.scottslawnservice.com/sls/brands/SLS/lawnopedia/5000002/lawn-insects/4900008-20400008-s
Please don’t hesitate to ask questions or to contact me.
Thanks!
-Scotts Lawn Service Representative
Mr. Mike,
My son and I went to work on cleaning out our “garden” that now looks like a regular part of the yard.. So pulling all of the grass and weeds out and have come across MANY of these yucky looking worms… Will I be able to rid that area of so many worms and start a new garden AND would that mean that my whole yard is like that as well? Also, I was planning on using my dirt pile that I made from pulling all of the weeds and grass for composting.. I tried to throw grubs away in that pile, too.. Not a good idea for compost now is it?
Cynthia,
If the worms that you describe are earth worms, you do not want to rid the garden of them. They are good for the soil keeping it loose, aerated, and fertilized. You probably don’t want to think of that way, but it’s true. Lots of worms in your soil a sign of good soil. The grubs in the compost? I wouldn’t be concerned. Grubs are a temporary thing, they don’t remain as grubs forever.
Put your grubs into a birdbath full of water. Its a great way to keep your birds fed.
How do I get rid of them there is so many spot on my lawn they look like gopher holes its tearing up my lawn this year is bad. What can I buy at the homedepot or osh that I can kill them?
Heather, if you have a full service garden center in your town go chat with them. They’ll show you the products that they have and hopefully help you with the ideal timing for your zone. In other words, the ideal time to apply the treatment.
Dear Mike, I may have mentioned it before but my youngest son had three pet chickens he raised from chicks. They not only kept my yard free of beetles but earwigs (which are a real pest in southeast Washington) ants, night crawlers, tomato worms and even small sprouting grass seeds. Those chickens not only kept the bugs down around my yard but the neighbor’s yard on each side. They also gave me eggs. Use only hens. Rosters do not make for friendly neighbors.
Carol Sue Perkins
My wife was throwing out a worn blender so I took it for garden use. I would capture Tomato horn worms or Japanese beatles add a small amount of water and pulse the blades a few times wait a few seconds the grind then up. I would strain mixture and put it in a sprayer and spray on tomato plants or on the lawn. The pulses cause insects to release a smell warning others of their species to stay away. It sounds bad but it worked for me.
Please capture the “horn worms” and relocate them, they become one of North America’s largest and most beautiful moth. They are just as happy with tree leaves to eat.
Dear, Mike.
My family and I had our back yard done recently and have bugs in our grass.}:-(
How can we get ride of them??? There really anoying!.!.
~Missy 🙁
There are bugs outside. Every one of them has a purpose and if you spray or broadcast toxic chemicals in your yard not only is it bad for you and pets, it will kill the insect species that control the population of bugs you don’t want. Then next year you will have even more of those.
Hi Mike ,just want to say thankyou for all the good information you pass my way i use it alot .My mom picks her beetles off her flowers puts them in water therell last 24hrs in the water then takes them to my sisters house and my brotherinlaw feeds them to his fish they love them its like steak for them he feeds the fish by hand the beetles
Hello; I get rid of japanese beetles by tiping them into boiling water.it works very well.I refuse to use any chemicals whatsoever.They’re natural remedies,all You have to do is find them.Guinea hens are another.someone poisened Mine.To get rid of ants of any kind,use AMDRO,comes in a red plastic bottle,made from egg yolk,they carry it to the nest & it kills the whole nest.I would only use it for Fire ants as they can be life threatning,truely.later all
Has anyone tried to use beer any old beer in a low dish like a pie bake pan. The grubs seam to like it. they crawl in and drown. no chemicals. no grubs. I have seen it done at night after it cools in summer. Good Luck
Mike, we had a f4tornado in April. My entire yard was well, destroyed. My garden sucked away along with all but 2 trees. We found an infestation of grubs & several worms that I do not recognize. What would you suggest I do at this point to start over. moles are burrowing my yard away. Any help is tremendously appreciated!
Got this tip mix 1cup sugar, one cup oatmeal, one cup dry SEVEN.
Water area, put a 1/4 cup of mixture on top of soil, cover a rock then with broken flower pot. Check several times a day and remove hundreds of grubs, all sizes. I discard the soil where I put the bate. Beats digging them out as I plant.
How or why this works…??? the grubs seem to be ill or something and that’s ok with me too!
My brother had a fun way to catch Japanese Beetles. There was a stream near the edge of his yard, and he hung a trap in a tree overhanging the stream, but he left the bottom of the bag open and the beetles fell into the water. Minnows in the water had a ball catching the beetles. The kids had fun watching the fish feeding frenzy.
LOVE this idea!!! I hand picked them this summer. I was a big skittish at first. Panicked since one was on my arm and dropped the jug of soap and water in the grass. Got the car and ran over the area!!!
I’m a bit braver but still wear gloves. Hand picking for me since I will not use chemicals.
My problem is with the moles. tryed running over them repeatedly with lawnmower. sprays added to water. Do the spikes with sound waves work?
will try anything. like to keep my earth worms.
I am really surprised that more gardeners don’t use nematodes for control of grubs. I have used them for several years now and have had great success with that method.
to control ants and almost all crawling insects I use a product called
” temador ” . this is used by terminex and can be bought online . it’s
expensive but it absolutely works .
Boric Acid works well for ants, is not toxic, and is really cheap.
If you have an ant hill you need to remove, just boil a pot of water, pour it over the anthill. You might have to do it the next day. Effective and organic and cheap!
I have a yard that is mulch and no grass, but I am sure that I have grubs and I know that I have Jap Beetles. So do I do anything any differently with mulch versus grass and PLEASE give some specific brand names of products to put on the lawn or in my case the mulch.
Mike this is good info. It just may be what is killing my centipede grass in spots, they are getting larger.
I had japenese beetles really bad, they love my yard because i have climbing vines and would strip the leaves..until I got smart, use this stuff for japenese beetles called Seven, I know the time of the year they hit Indiana which is around the first of July so I spray all my vines and flowers ahead of time and they no longer come around and attack my yard, u gotta be smarter then the beetles I guess….
Milky Spore worked for me!
Think I have found the answer to Japanese Beetles. We live out in a rural area – not many close neighbors.
Since a few years ago, when we noticed we had dry patches in our lawns due to grubs, my husband has been treating the lawns every Spring with Bayer Grub Control containing Merit. It had increased so much in price that last year he chose a cheaper grub control without Merit. As a result last year was the first time I had seen a Japanese Beetle in my rose beds.
We believe that the Merit controlled them. We have just purchased some of the expensive Bayer Grub Control with Merit, claiming the kill Japanese Bettle grubs to put down this Spring. Before last year, many people in our area complained of Japanses Beetles, but we had none.
HI ! ILIVE IN UPSTATE N.Y. I START OFF WITH AN ALL SEASONS DORMENT OIL ISPRAY THE ALL THE FLOWER BEDS , LAWN &TREES THEN IN LATE APRIL I USE MALATHION50% ON EVERYTHING .. FROM MEMORIAL DAY ON I USE NEEM OIL WORKS WELL…..
2
The most effective method I’ve found for dealing with Japanese beetles is to just fill white (only pure white works very well) 5 gal plastic buckets about half full of water, add a little soap and set them around the perimeter of your garden. They are strongly attracted to white and will fly in and drown. No work solution!!!
Mike are there predators for the Japanese Beetle and the grub that are effective and not going to cause other problems?
Virgil, I guess a natural predator would be the mole, but they are almost if not more damaging than the grubs. Milky Spore is a natural treatment, read about that here: http://www.freeplants.com/moles.htm
Getting rid of grubs is a good start but that alone will not get rid of moles as moles are carnivorous and will eat earth worms as well.
I discovered the grubs make great bait in a mouse trap to catch moles. I place the trap at a hole entrance and cover with a small bucket. I also heard that wood ash sprinkled on your lawn deters the grubs because of the PH? Sure would like confirmation on that.
How can I control the moles that are causing my lawn to look like a moonscape? I believe they are feeding on the grubs but don’t know for sure…..any help would be appreciated…thanx
Marcus, at this point I’d wait for the growing season when the soil is warm. Cut the sod with a spade and pull back a triangle and look for grubs under the sod. Do this in several areas of your yard. One or two grubs isn’t a big concern but a lot of grubs in a small area is a problem. Not just the moles, but the grubs are eating the roots of your grass.
Hi Mike,
Great article as always. I’d like to post it on my rose website with your permission if you like + a link. Just the way it is would be fine. I’ll add it as a second page to Rose Care. I’ll wait to hear from you before I do.
This past year I wasn’t able to keep up with the Japanese beetles either–and the weather didn’t help. Like Peter, I live in Missouri and had the same experience–it’s a wonder I have anything left in my yard.
I had to resort to Bayer’s chemical spray–reapplying after each rain, which was almost every other day. The soap and water spray or dunking was ineffective for me because there were so many and they’d fly away. But other years, like with Susan, I could pick them off and put them in the soapy water.
I’m still working on controlling the grub stage of the Japanese beetles in my lawn. I moved here in Nov. ’07.
I’d like to add Lowell’s suggestion of using netting on the rosebushes–on my website too–but I need him to give me a last name or website, so I can credit him as well. Thanks.
My readers would appreciate it.
Thanks Mike for all your useful information throughout 2010–and for the suggestions and experience of the folks on this forum. Good and bad news makes us wiser in keeping our gardens.
Patricia
PS I had a friend in the military who raised beautiful roses. He gave up trying to go organic (as I’m trying to do to save the bees), With so many different infestations and changes in weather,. he used Sevin on his roses, faithfully, with great results.
Patricia, you have my permission to use the article on your webiste as long as link back to http://freeplants.com. I had to remove the link from your post because if we allow links here, as you can guess, this turns into a great big spam fest. If you’d like a return link send me an article we can use and I’ll post it here. [email protected]
I have been told that milky spore does not work in Texas.
The grubs bother our Texas lawn grasses but do not seem to bother Texas Tuff native plant leaves or flowers (maybe the roots though). We are trying nematodes this year.
A few years ago almost everyone in our city had major lawn loss due to grubs. I’m not sure what others did but it seems under control by now. Maybe our cold Canadian winter helps. My understanding of these grubs is that they prefer dry habitat, and come to the surface when its wet. So I bit the bullet and decided the most environmentally friendly, and financially economical way to deal with them was to SOAK my lawn on a hot day. Well, soak it, I did, and grubs came to the surface. I picked as many as I could, threw them into the bird bath water and watched. Birds came flocking to the bath, ate the grubs, took a bath and went searching for more. Same treatment a few more times that summer, and I’ve seen nary a grub since then. It seems an easy solution. no pun intended.
I have used nematodes now for 5 years with great success. However, I was lazy last year and did not apply after purchasing them. Dumb I know. The grubs were worse meaning that I had a few in my st. augustine grass. So I have concluded that nematodes do indeed work. I apply them in March after last frost for sure. I purchase them at most nurseries. Good luck.
I use the catch method. I just take a peanut butter jar with a lid and put it under the plant. I catch them as they drop into the jar. I put the lid on and give it a shake . I think I will try the dishsoap and water so I will not have to shake it. I have noticed a significant decrease in their presence, both underground and above. I agree that they are more active midday, starting mid June and I usually have about 3 weeks where I spend about an hour a day picking them right off my raspberry bushes. I have done that for about 3 years and have noticed that they are much easier to control this way. Before this, I tried milky spore, which did not work, then I had tried the traps, which really do not work. ( I had huge amounts in the trap, but my yard was not better off. I guess I was getting them from the entire neighborhood)
Yes the best method for me is the picking method. It sounds crazy and like it would not work, but it really works. Picking them reduces the population on my property. It definitely disrupts the cycle, as I have fewer every year. I probably will never have none, but it is much better than before.
What I have done may seem strange, but each year I go out with a tin coffee can filled with water and beer or water and salt and if you are retired like me than this may be fun. I go around the perimiter of my yard and when I see those dreaded beetles I grab them between the cap of the coffee can and the can itself . Each day the beetles become less and less. It seems that when I did it last year there were less of them this year, I am going to continue to do this. We also did use this year grub killer on our lawn.
Happy New Year
like the idea of letting the neighbors hang up the beetle bags. One year I did this and had over 20 bags of beetles and still had them the next year. Not only do they stink when you are waiting for the next trash pick up the neighbors don’t have any beetles because you have them all in your yard. I don’t see so many bags hanging in the neighbor hood. Darn. My friend told me that using the Brand Name of BAYER in a blue bottle insecticide worked for the roses and kept the beetles off. She said it works systemically and also topically. This is not safe on vegetables that are for human consuption.
I also have problems with the colorado potatoe beetle and the earwigs. The earwigs hide in the horseradish leaves, spinach, lettuce and the clusters of grapes. I have to stem the grapes out doors because one cluster of grapes can have 15 or more beetles inside. (Don’t want to make any earwig wine, tee hee.) Also cannot spray many things on the grapes found out the hard way and it damaged alot of the crop.
The potatoe beetle keeps finding my potatoes. I have several gardens and for about 3 years they weren’t a problem but this year I found them at the new garden.
I had Japanese Beetles all over my roses this year. Of course, I hand-picked them but along with the adult bettles I picked more grubs (or what I thought were grubs) off of the leaves of the roses. These little catapillars (that’s what they looked like) were green w/yellow-orange heads w/black dots yet the real small ones didn’t have black dots on them yet. I really thought that they were JB babies! Those were worse and harder to catch and see than the beetles were. What are those horrid things if the Japanese Beetle larve are in my lawn eating roots rather than the leaves of my roses? I planted my roses on a berm I had just built (early Spring) approximately 3 feet from any lawn. I live in southwestern Michigan.
I hardly noticed any Japanese Bettles this year in the SW PA area. I thought maybe it was because we had such a dry season. I used bettle traps and barely got any bettles in the trps this year. I have a greyhound who has free run of my yard so I do not want to use any chemicals.
Thanks for the info. I did not know that the grubs became bettles. I thought the grubs were adults and ate plants.
After reading all of this information with the problems of the Japanese beetles I am miffed at what they truly look like and I am glad for the cold weather here that seems to kill off most infestations. I do have trouble every year with a tiny horned beetle that infests my hollyhocks and sucks the juice out of all the blooms – for those I have to spray every couple of weeks.
I do have woodpeckers that drill holes mostly around the edge of the lawn but I always felt they were benificial in areating the lawn. I do get some large grub worms sparsely located in my garden and I first mistook these for the dreaded Japanese beetle but felt bad after killing a few because they may be large bumble bees…I’m still not sure but I don’t kill them any more.
Happy Holidays!
The grubs you have in CO are June-beetle larvae – kissing-cousins to the Japanese beetles – their grubs are identical. (Bumblebees do not make grubs! You can kill all the grubs you want to – they are not larvae of any beneficial insect!) June beetles are brown, shaped similarly but a little bit more rounded, like a loaf of bread. They buzz around lights at night and make terrible splats on windshields as you drive around. I lived in CO for 32 years and saw loads of them, although at high altitude (9,000 ft where I was) they’re not nearly as harmful as Japanese beetles. Now I’m in upstate NY, in Japanese beetle territory, so I’ll have to use something to get them. I brought a 50-lb bag of food-grade DE (diatomaceous earth) from CO, so I’ll spread that on the lawn to get the grubs. As someone said above, the DE acts like microscopic razor-blades when bugs come in contact with it, and if they eat it. Either way, it lacerates them inside and out, then absorbs their body fluids so they dry out and die.
DE DOES NOT HARM EARTHWORMS!!! Their structure is totally different and DE passes harmlessly through their system. In fact, I was told by my supplier (the wholesaler for the entire region) that earthworm growers love to use DE in their worm beds to kill other bugs and pests that go after the worms or live in their bedding.
DE does not harm mammals, fish, birds, reptiles or amphibians – just insects. Add it to your chickens’ dusting spots – it kills mites and lice on them, and their egg production will go way up (my veterinarian reported that!). Got a stinky damp spot in the lawn or house? Dust it heavily with DE and the odor will go away. Dust it on carpet to cut down animal odor and kill fleas. Added to the diet of animals, it reduces the number of flies and the odor of the manure! Dust it on ant-hills, even fire ants, and they will carry it into the nest on their bodies, ingest it while they clean themselves, and die – the rest inside will get a dose of it and die, too.
I take about 2 Tbsp. of DE every day as a dietary supplement (it contains silica and 14 trace minerals), and give it to my five small dogs – they do not have any intestinal worms, and so far do not have fleas or ticks, but the season for those is just starting – I will dust the dogs with DE then.
Check out this website for lots of helpful DE info: http://wolfcreekranch1.tripod.com/defaq.html. Buy the largest quantity of DE you can get at one time – the bulk price is far more economical than for a 12-oz container! I bought mine in a 50-lb sack, in Silver Cliff, CO in 2010. It is completely non-toxic (unless you inhale the dust – it can cause irritation to some people), and the food-grade is exactly that – edible. DO NOT INGEST POOL-GRADE DE – IT IS NOT EDIBLE!!! The food-grade DE is extremely hydrophilic – it sucks up moisture – so keep it in a water-proof container!
For the past few weeks we noticed that the yard was turning bronw in some areas. Now it has gotten out of control. Seems like over night we lost the entire front yard. We fertalized and watered. Yesterday we raked and found that we have grubs (japanese beetle grub). This is in a big part of the yard. We put the grub killer down and watered. Now do we need to peel up ALL the old grass/turf and pick out all the grubs or can we just rake up as much as possible before we can reseed. There are a few green patches in between, but more dead than not. We would like to reseed and get our lawn started for next year. This is very disturbing. How can we bring our lawn back. By the way, we live in the Northern tip of ILL.
Help, I know this is not the subjet,but the snails drive me crazy .Any ideas?
Snails are treated just like slugs. They’re very similar except snails carry their homes around with them. This article from Mike’s http://freeplants.com/
website explains how to deal with snails and slugs: http://freeplants.com/slugs.htm
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
Dear Mike,
HELP ! ! I trimmed a low hanging branch from my Acer Laceleaf Japanese Maple and first a branch shot up from the top… I eventually cut it too and now my beautiful burgandy maple is Green !
How do I get my Japanese Laceleaf back to beautiful burgandy?
I anxiously await your reply.
Thanks
Darice
what is the best time to plant gladiola bulbs
So according to your August 3rd criteria my lawn is dead! All 10,000 sq.ft
50% weed 40% broad leaf grass 10% bare patches!
Now what do I do?
What is your take on mulching mowers?
Do they just spread the weeds?
George
I have a gopher problem and everytime I start a garden they eat up my new vegtable plants. Does anyone have a sure way to getting rid of gophers other than using the traps and the pellets that are sold in stores?
You say Aug-Sept is best time for chemical solution, but what time is best for nematodes and bacteria?
My jury is in on the Japanese beetles…….stop using the traps! I had hundreds/thousands of the beetles. They kept coming and coming. So……I decided to discontinue the traps the next year and see what happened. Nothing compared to the trap years. I also threw sevin dust on my crepe myrtle bush one evening and the next morning I had hundreds of dead beetles.
I also “hand harvest” the beetles. Really easy to do…they are rather “dumb” and busy eating and breeding. lol I have only had a handful so far this year.
Now if you don’t like your neighbors much, you can offer to install traps on THEIR property for them at no cost to them. another lol
You can also pay your children or someone else’s children a penney a beetle. Believe me you could go broke!
In my opinion, traps are not the best thing to use for controlling Japanese Beetles.
Traps work by using a powerful attractant chemical to lure the beetles in.
You will get every JB in your County & beyond ! Really, you are luring these destructive insects into YOUR yard (where you don’t want them) which to me is nonsense. Better to deter or kill them off before they get to your yard & plants.
I’ve talked with gardeners who used traps, and they have filled many trash cans or bags full every week with dead beetles. And they stink , so say some folks.
Save your $$ and use something else.
The entire city of Ottawa Ontario is suffering from this tree disease which gives the leaves brown spots. Most of the crab apple trees in the East end of the city are diseased by what looks like the same affliction. I read that a sulfur-based chemical can help, but that the main problem is that a certain part of the leaves compost themselves or get transferred by compost that isn’t hot enough and the spores just keep infecting the trees year after year.
Is there anything we can do?
Sounds like it may be cedar apple rust, which would explain the affliction on the crab apples. New York State has similar problems. Check out Cornell Univ’s site for pics and controls.
Hope this helps.
I used the bags for years with gross results. Then I bought the milky spore powder. unfortunately for my one acre lot it cost over $30, it is hard to find but look on the top shelves of home depot or Lowes. I read that it takes 6 treatments (three a year for two consecutive years. I think i did 4 total. And for the last two years I actually have flowers on my Crepe Myrtles. I encourage everyone to do Milky spore it works. I just wish I convince my neighbors to use it. Then i would not have occasional visitors.
how can I tell the difference of armodillas or gophers in my flower beds. Each morning I must rake the mulch back in the beds and it looks like something is turning up the whole bed/
yes,I have all of the above issues with my landscaping. I have tried all of the brand name chemical products and they have done nothing to stop the beetles. what now!
I like the comment on the purple martin house I must try that.
Never
There are some plants the Japanese Beetles won’t touch – such as Lilacs, Ferns, Common/Annual Begonias, Bleeding Hearts, perennial Salvia, Pine trees. And other plants that they just love – like Hollyhocks, roses, some leafy trees, Geraniums (under the flower head at the top of the stalk). I don’t know why they have these preferences. But over the years of battling them (and deer & rabbits too) in my 5 gardens in the Minneapolis/St Paul area, I have slowly replaced the vulnerable plants with less affected plants. This has caused the JB to go elsewhere. And saved me much $$ expense & work on using chemical treatments. And when they do show up every July, my bushes & flowers don’t look so devastated. Then I do chemical treatments only on the few remaining vulnerable plants -using only a light hand with the chemicals applying as little as possible & as few applications as necessary for the adult stage of one month. (grubs are another matter & I posted previously on that issue).
I have noticed & heard from other gardeners in the Minneapolis/St Paul area that the JB migrate over time. Some years they invade a part of the metro area, return for 3-4 years to the same locations, then move on to another area. Could be the natural predators knock down the populations & nature’s balance is restored, or the homeowners efforts reduce the numbers or they look for new territory, or some other factor causes their numbers to decrease. It is because of this migrating behaviour that JB have worked their way Westward across the USA over the last 50 years. Back in the late 1950’s & early 1960’s when I lived in rural New York State, my Mom would be out every day putting insect killer dust on her roses. We had JB real bad there. Now they are halfway across the country and still a problem for us gardeners.
Milky spore and beneficial nematodes are both affordable and effective solutions to Japanese beetles – killing them at the grub stage. Why would anyone spend the money to buy poison and spread it around their homes – where it is tracked in on the bottom of shoes and pets’ feet – and lingers in carpets where it exposes family members and pets even more?
They are eating my ferns up!!! This is the first year I have had this problem!!!
Milky spore is very affordable, and works for years and years after one application. Beneficial nematodes are effective against Japanese beetle grubs – and many other pests, including fleas and ticks. However, lawn chemicals, including chemical fertilizers, are toxic to beneficial soil organisms, including the nematodes that prey on Japanese beetle grubs.
My dad always kept Purple Martin houses by the garden. The martins did a good job of keeping the Japanese beetles under control.
Chickens will eat all kinds of bugs , if your city will allow them
Hello,i live in Northern Canada and have a Virginia Creeper and it’s the middle of summer and the white flies are just eat it up,the leaves are turning brown in spot’s,does ANYBODY know how to get rid of the flies,HELP.
Try caprid
If you mean aphids ( a tiny white flying insect commonly on the underside of a plants leaves, lady bugs are a natural predator.
hi mike thanks for all of your info but i gotta tell you that this one really works just put the beetles in cool water no soapand feed your neighbors fish by hand they love the beetles my brotherinlaw does this everyday the fish loves them and they (beetles) dont bite either i now collect them and take to ponds to feed fish its great thanks again for all of your articles!
Chickens love them too! I have fed thousands of beetles to my chickens this year alone, but there are still thousands that I could not reach or I did not see/did not have a chance to “pick”. I think I will try the nemotodes – I have heard good things about them. I have a thrip problem too that they might help with.
I laid Grubex down in late June or early July, and I believe that was too late — I’ve got Jap Beetles all over my roses and Basil plants. It’s a real pain to control them now — using a spray that works well, but have to reapply it after it rains.
Has anyone used Grubex with any success? If you have had good luck with it, when did you apply it?
Doug,
I did an experiment this year. I have about twenty Grape vine areas around the outside edges of my orchard. I chose two areas, mowed good and used Grub-Ex in late May. I thought even that might be too late. I am fighting the Beetles like crazy now. They have completely killed several Grape vines and two Plum Trees. However, the two Grape areas that I applied the Grub-Ex to are doing great! I have only had about 20 on them as apposed to a thousand on others. They are really doing a number on the Blackberries too so that will be one of my main targets next year.
Put out in April and August
Depending on where you live April is pretty early. You have to let the grubs work their way to the surface.
Hi, I’m New to this forum and I am in South Carolina. It is June 5th here and I am planning on spreading Diatomaceous Earth Powder on My Entire Lawn back, Front, & Corner lot. I’m just wondering do I Need to water it into the grass to reap the benefits and kill The Grubs Hopefully before they hatch into Japanese Beetles This Year?? Thanks in advance.
I used Grubex in 2012 , the first year when the JB appeared & I had a severe infestation of the adults. I applied Grubex in mid September according to the directions and ONLY on the lawn. This was to prevent the young grubs from overwintering under the grass and hopefully from becoming adults the next summer.
This worked. I have not had grass problems since that one application.
However the adults regularly return every July (from July 4th to early August). They fly in from the neighboring areas which are not using any treatments.
Catherine,
You are correct and there is no permanent solution because only some people are willing to treat for Japanese beetle grubs.
Mike, I can remember my Grandmother half filling a # 2 washtub with water and hanging a light over it all night. In the morning she would turn out the chickens and then turn the tub over. The chickens sure had a big breakfast. Also we would tie a string around the neck of the beatle and take it for a flying walk.
My fish love the larva .We even had a dog that would dig them up and eat them.
Thanks for the tip on using a clear plastic tub over the plant cuttings as I try rooting them. Joyce, from hurricane Rita and Ike area.
Thanks Mike you are the answer to many peoples problems in Lawn care asone example,mine at the moment is the japanese beetles and grubs in my lawn.What do you know about Gardeners Supply I would welcome any thing you can tell me. Keep up the good work.
Yours Aye Jim .
Jim, I really don’t know anything about them, but good luck with the Japanese Beetles, you just have to pick the treatment option that is correct for you.
we were devasted by the japenese beetles. our apple orchard, and grapevines were completely chewed up. we are trying to do all organic so we did some researching and found out that the neem oil and cinnamite both work. my husband alternates spraying every week. plus we have the traps. all 3 combined seems to be working. all our apple trees are coming back and so are the grapes. neem oil and cinnamite also works for spidermites on your tomato plants.
Heather, thank you so much for sharing this. For those who are wondering here’s information on Neem Oil: http://www.freeplants.com/neem-oil.htm
I used neem oil last year under panic mode and it worked BUT I FAILED TO READ DIRECTIONS and sprayed during hot weather and it burned the leaves.
Heather – Neem oil I have heard of, but what is cinnamite? What does it do, and where do you get it? I don’t have grapes, but my roses get chomped on every year – especially the white ones I like so well. Thank you. Lynn
I love your stories and enjoy your videos very much I am not able to do as much as some but able to do enough to make your site a favorite of mine. Thanks for all the information and keep up the good work . THANK YOU MIKE!
Thank you for being a loyal subscriber! I’m glad that what I do makes your day a little better.
We have always had Japanese beetle problems, but the past two years have been drastically different. I’m not sure why, but the grub population has all but vanished and we rarely see anymore beetles. I don’t know what happened, but am very thankful they are gone.
Miss B, when all is right the biological system tends to take care of itself.
Robins have nests low enough to reach. Could you crush up grubs and beetles and feed the babies. Teach the robins that they are a source of food. If that would work they would then teach their young..
Ed,
I’m sure you can and I know that many birds dig for grubs. I think they are already on to that.
To Miss B’s comment: I’ve experienced the same thing at my garden in South Minneapolis. Really bad JB infestation for the first 2 years (2011 & 2012), Then somewhat lesser for a couple of years (2013 & 2014). 2015 was hardly anything. I’ve heard the same thing from other gardeners in our Minneapolis/St Paul area. Seems that they ferociously invade for the first few years, then taper off. Don’t know if there are predators that control the beetles, or if home gardeners using chemical treatments knock down the populations, or that the bugs just move on to a fresh territory. But once you have them, they never completely go away.
Catherine, looks like all of them migrated south. I live in Apple Valley area and there are a ton of them here now.
I have had these critters for several years now. Even though I treat the ground for grubs, they still come by the thousands for my Porcelain Vine. I have used Sevin for the last two years and what I get is several inches of rotting insects that smell for weeks! I tried sprinkling lime on the bodies without any real success. Any ideas?
Thanks.
Marcia, about all I can suggest is try using traps away from the plants you are trying to protect. Remember that if you treat for grubs, early to mid August is usually a good time, the grubs are the easiest to control in that stage.
The Japanse Beetles just arrived in my garden. Knew they were coming as many in the area had them. I use the soapy water. Having over 300 roses, I spend a lot of time collecting these bugs.
I have ordered some Milky Spore, but there is word going around that it is not very effective in Zones 4 and 5. In Michigan we are in the middle of these zones.
Also, when reading about the parasitic namatodes species, it would seem difficult in Michigan due to the normal ground temperatures. But I might try it this fall.
Has anyone in mid Michigan sucessfully used the milky spore or nematode methods?
I used milky spore and I live in zone 5, Oswego, NY. It is a very good use of nature. I had a bad invasion of beetles about 5 years ago and that year I used milkly spore and hand killed many thousands. My infestation get smaller and smaller each and every year since application. The directions said to apply at a particular time and temperture, which I did twice and it keeps control of the grubs and spreads every year. This year I will put an application on a different part of my lawn. I saw the grubs when I was digging and then the skunks have drilled in to get them,too. Skunks are a good indicator of where they are, and then I proceed accordingly. I have a large yard and total application would have been too expensive. Hope that helps.
Help my yard is infested with grubs. We treated three times last year and I went out back feel like I’m walking on a sponge holes every were. I don’t see the actual beetle ever. Need something to get rid of them I also live in michigan. Any help would be appreciated.
Diane,
The process is pretty simple, you have to treat when the grubs are close to the surface. At this point I’d wait until mid August and treat then. Check first to see if the grubs are near the surface in late May to see if you still have them. It takes a while for the moles to move on.
I so not have problems with Grubs or Beetles at this time but the Earwigs are terrible! they love dark damp places and eat the leaves of my plants and come out at night. What do I do?
Here’s an article from Mike’s http://freeplants.com/ website that explains how to deal with earwigs:
http://freeplants.com/earwigs.htm
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
Last year and this year, when I noticed the Japanese Beetles on my purple leaf plum and my crab apple, and my royal empress tree, I sprayed the leaves with Sevin and it does discourage the beetles. They go away and don’t come back unless you get a heavy rain that washes the Sevin off. So you may have to spray again. But they only come out of the ground to chew leaves for a few weeks each summer so you don’t have to spray very many times.
Then I have also applied mikly spore to the ground after they disappear. But that only kills the ones in my lawn, it doesn’t kill the ones in my neighbors’ lawns.
The milky spores will in a couple of years migrate into the neighbors yard and will keep working pretty good for about 5 years. Then it should be reapplied to keep the beattle at bay.
A few years ago when we lived in Mass. our entire lawn (and half the town’s lawns) were destroyed by grubs. We purchased nematodes from Gardens Alive in Lawrenceburg, IN and used them on our lawn. End of problem. The nematodes come in a flat sponge and you squeeze them out in water and spread them with a hose sprayer attachment.
Joyce, thanks for sharing this. Very interesting.
Mike, good advice. Some more info from Purdue: http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tips/2010/07282010_grubs.html
mj
The big joke is: If you don’t like a neighbor, give HIM the Beetle traps. They go to his lawn and Scape. They make a great gift for your nasty neighbor. Ha Ha !!
Dear Mike, I don’t seem to see many grubs in my yard, but I do have a question — what we do have is a heavy infestation of sand burrs. Will corn gluten applied in the winter, towards springtime really help? Our lawn is mostly weeds, aside from a small patch of what remains of our St.Augustine grass. The whole yard (1 acre) was St.Augustine when we moved onto the ranch, but being from MN where I never had to water grass, I did not realize that we would lose the grass here in TX. My husband is against wasting water on grass, but I love a pretty yard. What to do? I guess I could put up with the crab grass, etc., but the sand burrs get into my dog’s paws and of course we don’t dare walk barefooted!
Gail, I’m not sure what the answer is. Watering a lawn that large would be very expensive if you have city water or a heavy load on a well. It takes thousands of gallons of water to keep a lawn healthy in hot dry areas.
Gail. where in Texas do you live? I have lived in Texas almost all my life and the difference between my yard and my neighbors is like the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and I have a St. Augustine yard. But, some places it is just impractical to grow a St. Augustine yard. I water only when necessary. I can point you toward some good resources and helpful people, like your county Ag Extension agent. One thing to do would be to overseed with Bermuda grass, Bermuda likes hot, dry summers. St Augustine, if incorrectly managed, can be very thirsty.
As we all know, it’s a big state and has many different types of soils. One thing to NOT do is cut your lawn in the winter. That prevents your grass from developing a deeper root structure which means you have to water more frequently.
Excellent bit of information on Grubs and Japanese Beetles. Thank you for the continued online education. Alerting people to the biological control is great. I have used the parasitic nematode many times and it does work, you just have to be patient.
Mike,
All the treatments you mention will work well UNTIL you get all the beetles from YOUR NEIGHBORS properties, who don’t bother to do anything. These insects simply don’t read my KEEP OUT signs.
That’s because they can’t read English, Remember…they’re Japanese. lol
Hi. A suggestion. Treat the perimeter of your property with a width of 10 feet.
That would be a lot less expensive than treating the entire yard. By keeping a cose watch on that 10 foot border should make your life a whole easier. Cheers, Cap
Carl
Mike:Sprayed earlier this summer for ALL the bugs in my small yard; but, doesn’t really seem to be working ! And, I have trouble with moles…have ruined backyard, killed NUMEROUS plantings—–very frustrating, disgusting. The association here states: “it’s because of the sandy soil in the yard behind you. We’ve tried, but can’t get rid of them.” Thus, I quit planting very much at all/mostly potted plants now—which just isn’t the same !
Thanks.
Try a peice of Juicy Fruit Gum still in the foil. Make a slit in the foil and drop it in the mole hole. They chew the gum but can’t digest it and die. Juicy Fruit is the only kind that seems to work on moles.
Chewing Gum, no matter what kind, is not consumed by moles nor does it kill them if they do. This is a myth, someone’s idea of a joke.
The moles,voles,skunks-gophers,crows, and probaly the darned armidillo’s are all after the grubs,thats why they are there. Its natures way. I hand pick with soapy water twice a day-use an organic spray like Neem or such, and we apply Milky Spore. We’ve only seen very few grubs and we’re always using the shovel. I suspect alot of them are coming in from the fields and neighbors. I’ll also set some traps away from the precious plants. I’m slowly getting rid of the wild roses I planted years ago,as they attract them,and will transplant my Rugosa Roses to the other side of property. I always use more than just one method to keep their numbers down..
Denise,
I live in a neighborhood that is infested by moles. I have tried everything from sonic chasers, moth balls, poison bait, and finally a proper Victor Mole Trap. I have caught or killed 52 moles and counting the trap works. My yard is tiny, but with my neighbors all believe the myths and commercial deceptions. There are a lot of myths and one is what moles eat. Their primary food source is earthworms, they may eat an occasional grub that happens to be in their feeder tunnels. Moles have a system that starts with a burrow, then primary tunnels that run into feeder tunnels that you see on the ground around 2″ down. Moles like moist soil with tree roots that they tunnel along. They can go as deep as 2′ or more down and can move rapidly across the ground (I know this because I have an outdoor cat that likes to bring me live presents). I have found success by installing either concrete or hardware cloth barriers in areas I wanted to prevent them from entering. you have to dig them down to the most compact soil, such as clay, and leave a border at the top that is 2″ above the ground. They can’t climb but once at the surface they can move over a buried barrier with no border. In residential neighborhoods moles become a problem, because there are no effective natural predators such as snakes.
And don’t forget those armadillos that dig for grubs here in Texas! 🙂
I think I will use the soapy approach again this year. This is the second year of fighting these beetles. My plants are starting to look pretty bad now! The soap (last yr) seemed to really help. But does it effect the grubs? Does any know? We just sprayed the soap mixture all over my gardens.
Hi Mike I used Japanese Beetle traps, wel away from my rose tree. I had two bags full by the end of august two years ago. Also I notice that water in the kids pools attract them also.
Thanks for the most lucid and comprehensive comment on Japanese Beetles I have yet read. I have had a huge infestation in my grape yard for three years, and then last year, after I used three beetle traps, I had none – absolutely zero – and NO damage. I don’t know how to account for it because I have been using traps for three years, and had nearly concluded it was worse than sprays. But they disappeared, and were no place else on the property either (I have a 45 acre farm, only six acres in woods, the rest open fields in corn, soybeans, or other familiar crops.
Where do get the traps?
Please don’t use the beatle traps as they will bring beatles to.your property from miles around. Use most any other type control but not traps.
Walmart. Or any big box store has them in the garden dept.
Japanese beetles in my yard? I take a bucket of warm water w/ a few drops of dish soap and shake them into the bucket. Have to do it almost daily, but it’s saving my plants. My plants otherwise would never make it through the summer, these guys make mincemeat out of them. Thanks for the other tips, am checking out nematodes for late Aug buffet on the lawn 🙂
what kind of chemical would I use for the Japanese beetles? Have any good ideas on how to get rid of ants on the side of a hill in our yard????
The way to get rid of ants is with good ol’ fashioned cornmeal. They take it back to the nest eat it and explode! do it during a no rain period.
Carol,
There are many chemicals you can use. We use mainly Soapy water because we have Grandchildren that graze the Grapes, Raspberries, Blackberries as lots of other berries. One the trees that don’t have fruit this year I used Bonide Organic Japanese Beetle Killer. It’s made from a flower and safer than Malathion in case the birds grab them to eat.
That was some great info about the Japanesse beetles. But what exactly do they look like?? There are so many differant and strange looking bugs out there. In fact in last couple of years… my kids (they’re 18yrs. old-and still at home….argh..) have brought bugs to me that I have NEVER seen before ( I’m 47 and have lived the majority of those yrs. in the country/rural areas). So how about a picture of the bugs that you write about ? And please don’t ask me to buy another book. You definately write ALOT of useful information-but sometimes I feel like I’m paying a membership fee. (maybe that was a bit strong…but…)
The best place for Japanese Beetle info & one that I use a lot is the University of Minnesota Extension Service website. There are some great photos, where you can see the JB and other similar beetles. Note that the JB has iridescent copper & green metallic wing covers & 5 white dots along the lower sides of the body.
To browse the entire Extension website where there is lots of useful yard & garden info, go to
http://www.extension.umn.edu/
For the page specifically on Japanese Beetle, go to http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/japanese-beetles/
For info on Fruit trees & Japanese Beetles & a great photo of one, go to
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/yard-garden/fruit/integrated-pest-management-for-home-raspberry-growers/japanese-beetles/
For info on how to manage Japanese Beetles without harming the environment, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (through the U of M Extension website) has a terrific PDF on this with a great photo of a JB. At
http://www.extension.umn.edu/b-assets/efans/ygnews/2010/04/19/May%202010/JB%20Brochure%20v3.pdf
Usually, your local or State land grant University will have some kind of Extension Service (and most are free) for all kinds of garden, yard, home, food & other topics.
Hope this helps folks to identify & control these terrible bugs.
I do see grubs in my lawn when I pull crabgrass and my dog digs for them to eat. I hesitate to use chemicals to kill them because I also have some of the nicest earthworms in there too. They are fat and healthy. I’m wondering if there is a way to kill the grubs without harming the earthworms.
Thanks for the information. I did buy your book and even though I have read it all the way through, I always pick it up and read something before going to sleep. I’ve truly enjoyed propagating all of my life and now I know more about how it should be done.
Thanks so much. I certainly enjoy all of your articles and newsletters.
I know grubs are a major problem,but my main concern is the moles and gophers that tunnel my yard and garden searching for the grubs! Last fall I noticed my broccoli plants were disappearing from my raised beds.I saw a plant shaking one evening and watched. all of a sudden the whole plant disappeared underground ! The next evening I had my .357.revolver( I live in the country with no close neighbors) and when I saw another plant shaking, I shot at the roots, lol, I wound up having to replant my broccoli in pots, and then put them back in the ground to keep the gophers from eating them!
So now guns are the answer to gardening issues?
Yep,,,, they will do the job!!!
Tide soap really helps control glubs for me. Sprinkle on dying spots and water in.
I go to the pool store and buy a large bag of Diatomaceous Earth for a total cost of $22. Spread that on your lawn (but use a mask, you don’t want to inhale it) on a non-windy day, and you will rid your yard of grubs, beetles, fleas, ticks & more. Plus, I usually will have enough for 2 more applications. Start around the walls of the house first, then work your way out to the edge of your lawn,
Saw your idea on Using Diatomacecous Earth to rid the yard of grubs, beetles etc . Do you know why it works, any precautions. Sounds like a great idea
Diatomaceous Earth is a natural product that consists of fossilized diatoms which are tiny sea creatures. Their shells have very sharp edges and the DE works by lacerating the grubs. Once lacerated, the grubs dehydrate and die. Although the DE seems sharp and dangerous to tiny insects and grubs, when we handle Diatomaceous Earth it feels more like talcum powder. It is also used in swimming pool filters. DE is not toxic to humans or pets. Matter of fact, it is sometimes used to treat fleas on pets. The only precaution when using DE is to wear a dust mask just as you would when applying any other sort of dust. You don’t want to breathe it in.
Kathy Anderson
Mike’s Assistant
Kathy
I was reading your comments on how to get rid of grub worms. I live in Mississippi and I am having the worse time getting rids or moles When do you suggest putting Diatomaceous Earth out?
Linda
Kathy or Mike, Does the diatomaceous earth Need to be watered in?? I have Already Purchased a Huge bag of Organic DE inn amazon and a Mask!! I’m SO Ready to rid My Lawn of Grubs and Hopefully NOT have to deal with the Hapanese Beetles this Year Either!! Thanks in advance.
Candace,
I’d say that watering it in would be a good idea since it will eventually get rained on anyway.
I also used DE last year and it really helped with the the beetles. I also apply nematodes every year over different parts of my lawn (I have 3 acres). You can get the nematodes from Gardens Alive. This does not at all affect the earth worms. I have lots of earthworms and haven’t noticed any decrease.
regarding diatomaceous earth. I would wear a mask and disposable gloves. Avoid inhaling it . You dont want it on your clothes or in your hair.
Hi Paula
I’m having GRUB problems and have heard that diatomaceous earth works well. You indicated that you have used it. Did it get rid of the grubs?
How did you apply it. I have 2 acres of grass so I’m wondering what to use .
David
David,
Do some research on Milky Spore for grubs. I’m not making any claims or promises, but some people swear by it. ?????
if you have the names of the chemical to get rid of japanese beetles i would like to have them please thank you very much
The most effective chemical treatment for the adult Japanese Beetles is Imidacloprid.. It is manufactured by Bayer & comes in a bright blue bottle sold as Rose & Flower spray. The label will say “treats/kills Japanese Beetles”. Costs about $20-$24 for a quart (?) size bottle. This is available as a liquid concentrate that you attach to your garden hose to spray larger plants such as bushes & trees. You should wear protective clothing covering all exposed skin, a dust mask & eye goggles when applying the concentrate with a garden hose. It also comes in a smaller size spray bottle for zapping individual JB or small infestations & protective gear probably isn’t necessary but do exercise care in using. Avoid getting the liquid in your eyes, mouth or nose or inhaling it. And wash your hands thoroughly after using this chemical. Spray in the morning or when temps are cool & the beetles are sluggish. And spray on a calm day or in the evening when there isn’t much wind to avoid over-spraying other plants.
You probably will have to spray at least twice during the adult infestation stage (here in Upper Midwest it’s all of July & early August). This is because the JB continue to arrive in your yard for several weeks, so you are always battling a fresh crop of bugs.
Bayer also makes this chemical as granules, which are much easier to use than the spray. It is also in a bright blue bottle for about the same price ($20-$24). Also sold as Rose & Flower treatment. The formula is a combination of Imidacloprid & a fertilizer. It acts systemically so this is good for larger areas or taller trees where spraying to all parts of the plant are difficult. I prefer to use the granules since I can pre-treat my garden in mid-June in one day & will have many months protection & fertilize at the same time. And it is SO much easier & neater to use than the messy spray liquid. Be sure to read the label directions for the proper application amounts you need for the size of your plants. (I tend to skimp a bit on the amounts as it is very long lasting).
Unfortunately, Imidacloprid is very toxic to bees. Do NOT use it on food crops, or any plant or herb or fruit that is to be eaten (by humans or pets). Use it ONLY when you have a severe JB infestation & then a minimal application is recommended. I would not recommend this if you are wanting to treat your garden “just in case”. Wait until the beetles arrive and treat early in the adult cycle and again later in the adult cycle for good results.
There are few other treatments for JB control that are suitable for food crops or edible plants, fruit & herbs. Usually what kills JB is also harmful to other living things. These treatments have been mentioned already-such as Milky Spore, nematodes & the ol’ fashioned bucket of soapy water. I have heard from other gardeners that Sevin isn’t very effective on JB, but I’ve never used it.
I have never had a heavy infestation with these, but I don’t care much for sod anyway, if I pull up anything and I’d see those things, I toss them to the birds, they learned to follow me when I was digging as they knew it meant dinner time! After a couple of years, the population went way down. I think the more pesticide anyone uses in a yard, the more an imbalance occurs in a whole area. My neighbors that sprayed alot, I had more pests in my yard because I did not. Neighbors that do not spray insecticide, I would tend to have less problems in my own yard. (I’ve moved alot) Oh I also would toss them onto hot cement, where they couldn’t reach the ground, that seemed to help also, usually, some critter would get them, they rarely went to waste!! My two cents! 🙂
Another method of control is to hand pick the beetles from the plants, dropping them into a little tub of soapy water. Granted, it’s slow, but it works. Early in the morning when it’s a little chilly, the beetles are sluggish and it’s easier to nab them. Also on a windy day the beetles are not so sensitive to your moving the flowers or leaves that they’re on. When you see the beetle’s legs rise up, you know that they’re about to let go of the plant and fall to the ground. If you hold your container underneath them, they fall right into the water. In my yard the beetles appear around July 4, just as the second bloom of roses arrives. But this year there were very few. Perhaps it was the heavy rains in March.
This is what I do. I have a 24 plant vineyard and I go out twice a day with my jar of olive oil( about a tablespoon,) water and a few drops of dish detergent. I hold the leaf in my fingers, trying to get them to roll off into my jar. I’ve killed thousands this way. Then I pour the solution into the bag a bug. I also have two bag a bug traps set up, one near the vineyard, the other in the orchard.
For two years I tried the trap idea. The common Japanese beetle traps I tried didn’t catch a high percentage of those it attracted. When the bag became full it appeared I had accomplished a lot, but in reality not much compared to the ones that got away. And I suspect most of those didn’t leave my property, even though they may have been attracted from neighbors’ property.
This year I adopted my father’s old method, slightly modified. When a kid I was the designated Japanese beetle trapper. I picked them off the plant and deposited in a jar half-filled with kerosene. However this year I quickly switched from kerosene to water plus a squirt of dish detergent. That kills them almost as quickly. And doesn’t hurt my plants if splashed on the leaves. Next in the arsenal I added a squirt bottle with the same water/detergent. When sprayed, the beetles act like we do when we get soap in our eyes. They are stunned just long enough to allow gathering a group or individuals or pairs on separate leaves.
Without spray, I could grab a few, but in an instant they sent a message to the others. Their normal defense is to loosen their hold on the leaf, and let gravity take them away from danger. Most will become airborne 6″ to 24″ below the leaf. But some will drop to ground and burrow immediately. About five seconds after being sprayed, they will employ the gravity defense and fly, even with “soap in their eyes.” In five seconds it’s possible to collect a dozen.
They mark delicious leaves. So more and more are attracted to that leaf. If I don’t use the spray and instead position the jar at the lower end of leaf as I position hand above leaf, they will drop into jar. Their mark remains on leaf and others will be there when I make the rounds next hour.
Best to wear light colors. Jar is clear. Spray bottle is white. Hat is white. Dark scares them. I think they sense human breath, and connect that with their only natural enemy.
Rose bushes were a problem because of the briars and thick growth. So I covered with fine netting. How to deal with netting is not programmed into Japanese beetle DNA. So they clutch tightly to the netting and can be picked off without using spray.
They don’t like rain. So after a rain there are few on the plants. Their activity is temperature related. At cool 75 degrees they are slow and scattered. At hot 90 degrees they are very nervous and numerous.
In an area about 10′ x 100′ I collected 8 oz. per day starting June 9, 2010. A couple of weeks later I was encouraged when my normal collection dropped to 4 oz. However that new level continued until July 18. Now the new normal is about 2 oz. per day. Hourly collection probably isn’t necessary, but I employed that because I wanted to learn their patterns. At 7 AM there are always very few. Sometimes I wonder if they have spent the night on that leaf. Peak collection is around noon. Last collection is 6 PM.
I have a young orchard and I can reach most leaves, or slowly bend the branch down to jar and tap gently. But with further tree growth this collection method won’t work because the beetles prefer the highest leaves. I hope I have reduced the number that hatch next year. It is amazing that within one hour a group of six beetles will completely skeletonize a large leaf. Without spraying or collecting, I would have no plums, grapes, cherries, beans or hazelnuts. And I don’t want to spray. Long-term I may try some of the biological methods Mike mentioned.
I really appreciated your post. I concur with many of your observations; I noticed that they become alarmed when I am wearing dark clothing; they like higher spots; the time of day makes a difference. Gratifying to hear from someone who has same interest. I have worn out my converation welcome at home.
any chance you have pictures of this nasty critter that you can download to us?
Thanks!
Hi cindy
Just type it into your brouser and you are bound to find pic.s.
when it rains the grubs come above the ground,spray it isopropyl alchol (available at local pharmacy ) the grubs explode and die,also clorax bleach does the same job but it is less effective and you cannot spray on the plant, but you can spray isopropyl alcohol on the plant..Egg shell repell grubs.
Make your own insect and japenese bettle trap.Put a potted plant which the insect likes in a large tray of water.Add clorax bleach in the water.When the insects come to eat the plant they get killed in the clorax bleach water.
Please do not buy asiatic lilys they attaract japanese bettles.Instead plant grass type lilys they do not attract insects.
Every day I bend the infested rose over a bowl of water to force the Japanese Beetles into the water. They are then helpless and die. Yes, this is like a grain of sand on the beach, but it is chemical free.
If the small grubs are Japanese beetles what are the large grubs that can be about 3/8″ round and an inch long….look alot bigger than a Jap Beetle will ever be?
Did you find the larger grubs near Irises? They may be Iris borers as I had them and mistook them for large grubs. I removed the Irises and dug out the borers completely. Stirred in some granular grub control and watered it in really well. I let the hole set empty for awhile before replanting anything.
June bugs are the larger ones
The small grubs are Japanese beetles and the larger ones are the June bugs. They both eat the same things.
I hate to resort to insecticides, but I definitely lost the battle this year with them because I didn’t have enough time. Last year, I took a tall glass with a little water in it and just knocked the bugs in it. They cannot fly out, so I just stepped on them all at once. I caught several hundred that way, and I do see them in the dirt in the spring. It doesn’t seem that the birds will eat them, so they are basically just useless. I have a trailing grape vine that looks like a lace curtain.
I have been putting little tubs of beer out for slugs, and am also finding these reddish color bugs in the am.
Use a grub control with the chemical MERIT in it. I battle moles that tunnel throughout my yard if I don’t apply every other year here in north/central NC. I have 1 1/2 acre yard and it cost me about $400 every other year but it is well worth it. My yard was beautiful this past year.
Great article. My customers ask what to do with bugs often. I usually just leave them and watch for the predator to show up. Balance and variety of plants has been working out pretty well so far. I have heard about nematodes but have not found any as yet. Still have a couple eco-friendly garden centers to check out.
Peace:)
I much prefer the natural way. If you have a balance, as you say, the rest takes care of itself. Using a chemical will eventually ruin the habitat for the beneficial, as well…and over time destroy the very reason you garden.
MY neighbor says knock them off in a bucket with some water and a few drop of dish soap. I do this several times a day. They are mating here so they are a bit slower and I can get them. Once they mate they disappear in the soil to lay their eggs around August sometime in the
midwest. I am in Michigan.
I knock them into a 4- or 5-quart icecream bucket, then scoop them out with my hands and drop them on the floor of my chicken coop. The chickens love them.
One of the best controls that I foound is guinea hens. I keep two hens and one rooster along with the young of the year. I let them roam on my 10 acres. They do not harm anything in the garden but are on patrol all day. First thru the vegetable garden and then thru the flower gardens. They are constantly looking up into the foilage and you can see them give a little jump and they have another Japanese Beetle. Then at night I give them a small amount of grain and in they go for the night. Next day same thing
Mike, I’ve learned so much from your email messages. Thank you so much, L. Kirby (Albany, NY)
Japanese Beetles have hit southern Missouri for the first time this summer. They must travel slowly because my friends at the nearby Farmers Market tell me they were worse at their place last year.
For me, the beetles have been devastating. They have disallowed the production of a single Kentucky Wonder Pole bean! The bean vines are heavy and full and pulling themselves over on their frame but the white flowers are nipped in the bud by the beetles and I’ve had NO beans whatsoever! I saw a tiny bean but it has since disappeared.
I’ve sprayed Sevin on the bugs with only one day of benefit. I kept spraying but then read that Sevin harms so many beneficial insects and it said NOT TO use it on beans for this reason, so I stopped and attempted to hand harvest all the beetles I could. The best luck I’ve had is using Dawn dish soap mixed with garlic powder and sprayed from a bottle, and even this has only been so-so. I have been unable to stop the Japanese beetles this year and it’s been very discouraging. They’ve attacked my rhubarb plants as well and harmed them substantially. They even got into my lemon balm, something that has had NO insect problems in the past.
These bugs are a real challenge. They like to eat everything that grows in the Ozarks. Here, we have an abundance of wild grapes. The beetles are skeletonizing every one of them! I only have one grape bush but it has been devoured by the bugs. Plans for a vineyard have been scrapped.
I wish there was something you could spray on the things and they’d all die in five minutes. If I had such a product I’d use it like crazy. …Any ideas?
Whoever comes up with this product will get rich!
I have had success by spraying with Sevin in the early morning. When spraying in the PM the beetles just fly away, but in the early AM I can kill almost all of them. I use the sevin concentrate in a 3 gal. pressure sprayer. I hope this helps.
Please, Please don’t use Sevin! It kills bees, butterflies and any other “good” bug that happens to light on the plant. Mike is right, there are other ways. They love my knock out roses so I give them a sever pruning in late May – no flowers to attract Beatles but they come back fuller and flower in July!
I’m almost afraid to say this now but so far I haven’t seen a single on e this year! Maybe they are moving farther north.
In the Old Black Cross Forest in SE Oklahoma on Lake Eufaula. The beetles aren’t as much a problem for me this year as my neighbor has brought in 25 chickens, at least 5 species, that he lets run. I grow my potatoes with a heavy layer of straw and the chickens love to root around in it. So far, the only damage I’ve encountered is inside the chicken wire screened area where I grew my corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and radish, built to keep the squirrels out. Tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries, grapes, garlic, onions, cilantro, basil, thyme, spinach, zucchini, cantaloupe, and watermelon all doing well, as are the Scabiosa, Coreopsis, Black Eyed Susan, Marigolds (5 varieties), Hydrangea in deep pink, white and blue, Bearded Iris, Forsythia, miniature and tree roses, Arborvitae, Gardenia, and Spider Wort. Had 4 color varieties of Daffodils this year that filled in the beds in abundance, as did an orange tall tiger lily like flower. Asparagus in the green house are at 8 feet now and will be next year first harvest, with seed starts growing like crazy.
Hate to spoil it all, but I’m going to have to get after the moles. In their mad search for grubs they have turned my entire property into a sponge! Set traps in their tunnels, but seems they don’t go back to the same ones. In some places they’ve literally pushed plants out of the ground. I’ve got an order in for nematodes, and may augment that with milky spore as the nematodes will increase the spread of the spore to all of the surrounding areas.
Mike’s tips and information has been a boon for me, and the envy of all the neighbors. The original 12 Scabiosa I bought now number over 150, the single Arborvitae is now 24, and the two Forsythia are now 52, thanks to Mike’s ‘rooted cuttings’ and propagation info. And to think I hated my grandmother because she always wanted me to help her in the garden when I was an adolescent.
Your garden sounds spectacular! Would love to see a picture!
Hi , what is your zone? I am in zone 6B . Thank you
I was told to get half a dozen guinea hen chicks and raise them; they can be taught to hang around your property (If you are IN TOWN you can’t have them usually) and they will eat everything bug. They are noisy; some people have gone to keeping them as intruder alarm (they say they work better than a chowchow dog). I would love to have some organic automatic bug control but I do live in town and don’t have enough land to get around the ordinance…they are supposed to be wicked on squash bugs.
Deb build/buy a couple wren houses, totally legal to have wild birds on your property, they also do a number on Japanese Beetles 🙂 Place them far apart as they are very territorial.
rent a chicken?
You might want to try covering your plants with garden netting or bird net. The finest (smallest) mesh you can get. These are sometimes called “floating plant (or row) covers” & are white color cloth. You may want to attach them with hoops to “float” above your plants. And secure them to the soil completely around all sides of your planting area. (sod clips work great & are reusable year after year). Floating plant covers are kind of a pain to install, but they could stay on as long as needed. Would have to be removed & reinstalled to harvest or weed or work in your plant bed.
Possibly a physical barrier would be the answer for any plants that are food crops and grow knee-hi or shorter. For small fruit trees, or vine-type plants such as pole beans, the netting may not work because of the height & size of the plant.
To see what these floating garden covers look like & for pricing, Burpee’s website has info:
http://www.burpee.com/Gardening-supplies/garden-growers/floating-row-cover-prod001213.html?cid=PPC&gclid=CMyrhMH_w8sCFQYuaQodjngKBQ
Or at Gardens Alive that also sells an insect barrier fabric & floating row covers. For info see
http://www.gardensalive.com/product/super-light-insect-barrier-4
I use bats by installing bat houses to control the population of Japenese beetles.
This year I thought I was smart and went for the chemical control…. It worked fine BUT, my neighbors did not take the same precaution as I did and their Japanese Beetles came onto my property and really made a mess of my plants… down to the fragile Rose bushes…..
How can I protect my plants if my neighbors are not taking precautions?
Thanks Mike, I suspect that may be what is getting at some plants in my yard!
I have used milky spore, but I skipped one year and I got them back. I was also using it during the Spring. I am going to use it in September now. Thank you Mike.
Betty Jo, as I understand it Milky Spore lasts a very long time so the more you apply over different areas you keep increasing the coverage area. I’d say just keep making those applications.
Mr:Mike I have a question, my husband and I want to start growing and selling plants next summer. My question is: ebay offers seed for flowers in weird colors. taht i know we can sell the plants very well here in Tx. Can we buy thats seeds from another country??? i hope you can help us 🙂 Thank you!!
Nelly, I really don’t know for sure, the person selling the seeds should know what he is or not allow to ship across the border. Many things you really don’t want to grow from seed. It can be slow and you won’t get plants that are true to the parent plant. Flowers are fine, many other things should be done by cuttings. http://freeplants.com/wanted.htm
Hi guys. These critters are world wide and destroy my seedlings here in Australia. I am going to boil up some neem leaves and use that as a spray. The neem tree is unaffected to my knowledge by any bugs as nothing seems to like the taste of it. Neem tree is of tropical origin so will not grow in frosty areas. Just do a google search and you will find many other uses for it.
Its a beautiful quick growing tree if your climate suits. I hope this works as I am sick of finding plants destroyed by them.
cheers
I have purchased neem oil at garden supply stores, and found it to be excellent, and very effective. I highly agree with our friend from down under. BTW, when I was in the US Navy, i had the honor to meet sever of the men in Australian Navy. What a great bunch to go on liberty with.
If you don’t mind the chemical ways Sevin dust and sprays are great. They are non-toxic to family animals and people. I’ve even used sevin dust on my dog to control fleas. I will warn you though, it will be toxic to bees and other pollinators.
But Sevin also kills butterflies,bees and other beneficial insects. I walk around my 1acre shrub border several times a day with my container of soapy water and drop those *****beetles in! Or if not in full swarm pick them off and smash them on my brick edged garden!
Those products have been removed from the shelves in Canada for residential use. Regular folk can’t follow instructions. Best leaves those to the professionals. Not sure about that. I watched “professionals” spraying on a windy day. Still shaking my head….
Please try natural sources and protect our dwindling supply of bees. Thanks
Just be careful with Neem, if you have ponds, bogs, or any water nearby that has fish in it; the stuff is highly toxic to aquatics!