Urrrrrrrg! Japanese Beetles, what can we do about them?
Okay kids, today we are going to talk about Japanese Beetles, how to control them and which methods of control really work. Like Japanese Beetle traps, do they really work?
I’ll get to that, but first let’s cover some basics. In order to beat the enemy, you have to know what makes the enemy tick.
Japanese Beetles were first discovered in the United States in or around 1916 and I think it’s safe to say that at that time, an industry was born. The industry of trying to deal with and or get rid of Japanese Beetles really is an industry in itself.
This is what we know about Japanese Beetles.
They “be chillin in the soil” most of the year. Literally, that’s what Japanese Beetles do. They hatch (from below the grass in your yard), they eat, then they mate, then they lay eggs.
They they eat some more, mate some more, lay some more eggs. This process really only lasts a few weeks and this party pretty much kicks off at the end of June here in Ohio. Warmer state they party starts earlier.
Japanese Beetles start out as a white grub living in the soil. This is pretty much what their life cycle is like.
1. June and July females mate and lay eggs about 2″ deep in the soil.
2. The eggs hatch into Japanese Beetle Grubs.
3. As the soil temperatures start to cool off the grubs start working their way deeper into the soil. This is how they prepare for the coming cold/freezing weather.
4. Come spring they start ascending toward the surface of the soil.
5. Late June they start to hatch into Adult Japanese Beetles and immediately find something to eat.
6. They have built in mechanisms that allow them to put the word out that the buffet has been located so all new emerging beetles know exactly where to go for a good meal.
7. They eat, mate, lay eggs and repeat the process for several weeks.
8. The adults die and process starts all over again.
Methods of controlling Japanese beetles are as follows.
Along with each method of control I will share with you my opinion of how effective these controls are. These are not just my opinions, I’ve researched this a number of times over the years.
But . . . before we get started, you need to know, this isn’t my first rodeo with Japanese Beetles or Japanese Beetle Grubs. We have a history!
1. Picking. You can pick the adult beetles of of your plants and feed them to your chickens. This is sort of, maybe a little bit effective and in a way you know that for each female you pick you have reduced the egg population in your lawn. Each female will lay 50 to 60 eggs, but she does it in small batches of only 5 or 6 eggs at a time. So depending on when you pick her off your plant you are without a doubt reducing the egg population by some number. But we really don’t know what that number is.
However, your chickens will absolutely love your for doing this!
That much we know for sure.
Spraying for Japanese Beetles.
Spraying for Japanese Beetles can be effective but spraying can have an adverse effect on bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. If spraying is what you want to do your local garden supply store will have a spray you can use. But . . . spraying doesn’t really do anything to reduce the grub populations, so you are only partially solving the problem.
Biological Controls.
We love biological controls! Don’t we? The only problem is is that they are only so-so effective. Those that use them absolutely swear by them and will tell you that they see immediate results. However, that alone is enough to know that they are imagining these “immediate” results because biological controls don’t deliver immediate results. They are so supposed to deliver long term results.
Bacterial Milky Disease, also known as Milky Spore.
Does Milky Spore Really Work?
The honest answer is . . . yes, to the best of my knowledge it does work. But not the way that people seem to think it works. It takes time. Lots and lots of time. It will take at least two to three years for the milky spore to build up in the soil before it can even think about effectively controlling Japanese Beetle larva in the soil.
Two to three years!
People say to me; “I saw some Japanese Beetles yesterday, I need to make another application of Milky Spore.
That’s just not how it works. You have to apply this stuff in a criss-cross, checkerboard grid pattern all over your lawn. Dumping little piles of this stuff everywhere, so many feet a apart. I think it’s one teaspoon, in a pile, in rows every four feet with the rows four feet apart. Then you have to wait.
Test trials where this stuff has been applied exactly as per the directions have shown documented results. But in other cases, such as in Ohio and Kentucky, similar test applications worked quite poorly.
So, if done perfectly I am inclined to believe that it can work. But . . . and this is the big “butt” during the two or three year waiting period you cannot apply any other kinds of controls of you mess up the natural process of the milky spore.
The milky spore needs a fairly heavy population of Japanese Beetles and Japanese Beetle grubs in order for it work as intended. The dead beetle carcases that are killed by the spores release more spores into the soil.
That’s why this is said to be a long term solution because the more beetles that are killed by the spores the more spores are released into the soil and it is self perpetuating.
So if you want to use Milky Spore, then do it right and stay the course!
Parasitic Nematodes!
Can this article get any better?
Anyway, parasitic nematodes are relative new to the scene of Japanese Beetle control and so far, the experts, (universities) are reporting that these Parasitic Nemetodes are marginally effective. Not my words, that’s what the really smart folks at Ohio State University are saying.
What about Japanese Beetle Traps? Do they work?
Here’s the thing with Japanese Beetle traps. If you want results by the pound, then Japanese Beetle traps are the ticket because you will traps pounds and pounds of Japanese Beetles.
But there is a downside to using Japanese Beetle Traps.
Most of them have two different kinds of bait to lure the beetle to the traps. A floral lure and a sexual lure. One for the boys, one for the girls, you guess which is which. These lures are crazy effective!
As soon as you even crack open the bait package, you will have company. Guaranteed! I barely peeled the cover off the bait, closed it back up and seconds later this beetle showed up for a little action.
So without a doubt, these Japanese Beetle traps and their super powerful “sexual stimulant” lure will catch beetles by the hundreds if not thousands. But a lot of experts claim that they make the situation worse because they attract beetles from other peoples yards into yours.
So if you live in area where your yard is surrounded but the yards of other homes, what you really need to do is get the whole community to set out bait traps and do a “mass trapping”. That is said to work really well.
I will tell you this from my own experience with Japanese Beetles. At home, we live in a small subdivision, all residential properties, lots of landscaping and lots of lawns. At home the Japanese Beetles devour my roses and Harry Lauder’s Walking Sticks.
At the nursery, there are a couple of homes nearby, but not a lot of lawn area. Not much for the grubs to eat. I have very little problems with Japanese Beetles at the nursery. It’s residential, heavy turf type settings that make the perfect environment for them.
Why do Japanese Beetles hang out where there are nice lawns?
I’m glad you asked that because I forgot to tell you that Japanese Beetles eat the leaves off your roses and other plants in your landscape, but as soon as that buffet ends the grubs from the eggs they laid in your lawn hatch and the grubs eat the roots off your lawn.
Literally. If you have a heavy grub infestation in your lawn, they will devour the roots of your grass and kill your lawn.
But have no fear, because if skunks and moles find out that you have grubs in your lawn they’ll come around and get rid of them for you. Of course your lawn will look like it was rototilled by one of those “BIG” rototillers, but “some” of the grubs will be gone. Not all of them of course, just enough to ruin your lawn and the critters harvest their dinner.
So Mike, what is the Solution?
In my book the solution is to treat your lawn with a good grub control product and kill the grubs when they are small and young and still near the surface of the soil. The ideal time is usually late July, early August.
At one time at our other house I had a lot of grubs in my lawn to the point that moles and skunks were digging up my lawn like crazy. I made one or two applications of a good grub control product and that took care of the problem until we sold the house. (See your local garden store of a good granular product)
We still had Japanese Beetles in the yard because of they came from the neighbors lawns, but I got rid of the grubs in my lawn along with the moles and the skunks. As far as I’m concerned this really is the best solution.
My latest article about Japanese Beetle Grubs includes ugly photos and great advice. Check it out!
Questions? Comments? Post em below.
I was told by a Master gardener to take a container with water & dawn dish soap, hold it under the little buggers then shake them into the solution. This does two things: first kills them & second it makes me feel like I kicked a field goal when one drops in or the winning touch down when 2 JB are trying to reproduce & I get both of them! YES!!! 😉
You really need to edit your work before publishing for people to believe you know what you’re talking about.
I know. I am so imperfect it’s a scary thing. But I started publishing online 22 years ago and some people kinda like me. Those who don’t? ?????
All love for you here in
NC, Mike, imperfect posts and all!
How rude! I love reading and watching Mike’s Backyard. If you don’t like it go away.
Haters are gonna hate. Go find something pleasant to do with your time.
I’ve read that four o clock flowers will kill them when they eat them, going to try it this year.
They don’t. It’s one of the garden’s myths. But they do look nice.
I read an article recently about spraying the lawn with dish soap solution in the Fall The young grubs will surface and then the birds will have a feast.
The best way to control japanese beetles is with Grubex or similar grub control products, which need to be watered in to work. The 2nd best way to control beetles is by placing beetle traps in your neighbors yards…..lol.
I had one rose bush that was plagued by JB and something else that ate the leaves before the beetles. It is all but dead this year and I have decided to dig it up and not plant anything I know that attracts them including hibiscus which I love. They don’t seem to bother any of my other plants and flowers.
You folks are really lucky. We have a herd of wild pigs that invade our lawn twice a year. The get most of the grubs, but the yard looks like its been hit with anti-personnel munitions!
can you freeze unopened Japanese beetle traps oner the winter for next year? Will the lure still be viable?
I would say not.
I called spectricide who makes the traps and bait. They said as long as it’s unopened they don’t expire. But once you open them the clock starts.
Maybe if you have one of those seal-a-meal things that sucks all the air out you can store it and try the next season. Maybe mark it so you know there might be a problem with it?
Just a thought 😃
I have this problem on a regular basis. I cannot figure out how to open things. This includes a box of Cheerios, any item that is in some kind of hard plastic. The problem is that I forget that opening items is not my gift. We were having a Japanese Beatle problem. We had hundreds to thousands of those bugs on my roses and any other flower that was an unfortunate guest in our garden. I minored in Biology in college, so the bugs don’t bother me as much as my daughter. So—I walked out the backdoor and walked towards the trap.====about two hundred feet. As usual, my brain and my hand coordination were not on the same page. So I had the sticky stuff from the trap alll over my hands and elbows and arms. Thus when I went to hang the trap food, I was covered from my head to my toes in beatles! I too, had wondered if the trap would work–YEP! IT WORKED!
Can you tell me how to get rid of click beetles?They are boreing out all the older trees and when a strong winds we have a tree or trees down with hollow trunks. Please tell we what to do. I live in Texas and depend on my trees for shade and protection from the HOT summer heat.
Charlotte,
I cannot, but call your county extension office, they’ll be familiar.
Hello, Mike,
I’m here to add to the milky spore group. We have 5 acres just SW of Cleveland, we have approx 2 acres cut for yard, the rest is left for the Good Lord’s critters. My hubs bought me a Dawn Redwood for Mother’s Day in 2013. In 2014, it was defoliated by JB. Few months later, after about 2 solid wks of rain, we got up to HUGE patches of our back yard dug and rolled up. No rain was forecast for a few hours, so I pulled out the milky spore, hubs carried the bag back for me and everywhere it was dug up I put a couple tbsp down. We did one side of the back 1/2 way up to the house. 2015, still had beetles on the redwood, but not near as bad. 2016, hardly any. Fast forward, summer of 2018, our front yard got tore up. I stayed up one night, when our motion sensor light came on, I looked. Mama coon and 3 kits. She was teaching them to look for grubs. That afternoon, milky spore went down in every spot they dug up, this time followed by a generous sprinkle of cayenne pepper. They were back that night, I stayed up to watch. They all were sniffing around where they had dug the previous night and as they went over those spots, their nostrils got a good sniff of cayenne. And they went running. Knock on wood, haven’t seen them since.
Just thought I’d share my method.
I hate these little buggers. We have tried Neem oil, traps and soap and water. The most effective so far is hand picking. I either throw them hard onto the walkway and step on them (when they really piss me off) or drop in warm soapy water. As for moles and voles my cat gets them.
About insecticide sprays: does the soap/ammonia/water mixture not harm bees?
I have a farmer who keeps many hives on my property and I would hate to hurt them.
Many thanks if anyone knows.
Marina,
I would think that if the spray does not contact the bees it shouldn’t harm them, but I won’t say that for sure.
Hello all,
I’ve heard that if you want to get rid of JB in your yard you can purchase a bunch of JB traps and gift them to your neighbors. It will lure them from your plants and your neighbors will feel like you care about their landscape too.
But the truth is, I think you have move those traps much further away from your house than just the neighbor’s yard.
Yes – I hung a new bag today and within seconds they were swarming everywhere. Two hours later and the air is full of beetles going to the bag. I think I have more.
Be sure to place JB trap upwind from what you are trying to protect so the JB find it before your plants.
Is GrubX ok for dogs, I have 4 that spend a great del of time in the yard, will it hurt them?
Terri,
I have no idea, you have to check their web page.
OK I looked up the dish soap recipe. Here is what I found on SF Gate site:
Recipe
The recipe for homemade insecticidal soap requires only three ingredients: Dawn dish soap, vegetable oil and soft water. Mix 2.5 tablespoons of the Dawn dish soap and 2.5 tablespoons of vegetable oil with 1 gallon of warm soft water. The Dawn dish soap used in the recipe must not contain bleach, which could harm the plants. Furthermore, you should always use soft water when diluting pesticides. Hard water contains minerals, which interfere with the insecticidal soap, reducing its effectiveness.
Application
To apply the homemade insecticidal soap, you will need to spray the infested plant — undersides and tops of leaves, stems, buds and blooms — thoroughly with the solution. For easier application of the homemade pesticide, transfer the solution to a clean spray bottle or garden sprayer after mixing the ingredients together. Repeat the treatment at 7- to 14-day intervals until you have controlled the soft-bodied, sap-sucking pests.
Consideration
Never apply insecticidal soap to plants with hairy or waxy leaves, or when temperatures are above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. When in doubt, always test the insecticide on a small portion of the plant’s leaves and wait 24 hours. If no damage to the plant has occurred, continue with the treatment. Furthermore, when treating outdoor plants do so on a calm day to help prevent wind drifts and on a day when no rain is expected for 24 hours after the application.
Insecticidal soaps won’t help as Japanese beetles are hard-bodied insects.
As I see the problem is that I can kill every one of these JB in my yard but the neighbors yard is where they come from to eat my goods. I do pick them off my plants, have used various methods to kill the grubs and capture the bugs. I have become so frustrated at times I have threatened to shoot them with a shotgun.. It’s like ticks If I kill everyone in my yard they just walk over from my neighbors and some and try to get us. What we need is drone beetles that kill JB’s
Roger,
We can only hope.
I feel your pain. My yard was bare up until a few years ago when I started a garden, and I didn’t know these darn things even existed until my roses were in shreds, the leaves look like lace, and the hibiscus is covered with them. I pick them off and drop into water. Unfortuately I can no longer reach some of them as the trees are over 8 feet tall. This year I’m trying the traps – two in my backyard, a few metres away from the peach trees, and a few metres away from the roses. The one near the peach trees has started accumulating. I also have grub control annually from my lawn care company. The biggest problem is if your neighbours have trees and flowers that attract them, and they don’t have any sort of control, whatever I do won’t be effective. Here’s hoping that one day there will be a natural predator…..
Also, who has time to spend the whole day picking them off. And what happens when you go on vacation !
By the way, my greenhouse inspector told me that these beetles are moving out of Tennessee and we may be beetle free in a year or two! Yea!
Please don’t send them to Virginia! Thank you. And by the way, beetle bags simply attract many, many more beetles…they die in the bag… and they stink to high heaven. And then usually the bag leaks the “juice”…oh, is that ever nasty! So a word to the wise, anything but beetle bags if you don’t want to clean up a nasty mess!
I consider it a small price to pay for relatively easy control. I have no JB in my yard anymore, and have noticed a reduction, year over year.
Hi Mike,
I’m in charge of taking care of my neighbors Red Maple! It seems to be dying from the inside out this spring! I’ve got new growth Baby leaves all over her lawn! What could be the suspect! I fertilize with stakes every year, Help me please! I’d love to save it from dying! Thanks, Jon
Jonathan,
I honestly do know, I never fertilize any of the plants in my landscape, never have. Could be too wet???
Please tell me how the neem oil works…. Can I just use neem oil and make a mixture? If so… what’s the mixture.
RE: Voles” I’ve stuffed used kitty litter in trails… they hate the scent…I’ve also used hot chili pepper and mint oil spray….. not in any combo… just experimented. they never came back.
Also Mint oil spray is good …. I buy 100 percent mint oil… put a few drops in a spray bottle … fill with water…. you’ll know the right amount…. if you smell it and it’s pungent… you’ve got the right amount. I use it all around my plants…. hostas…. rose leaves…. blackberries…. seems to have kept insects at bay….
I will continue using it… by the way… this spray I’ve used to get rid of mice in house and spray for ants… they hate it… plus I use it as a carpet freshener… makes the house smell good….
Blessings all!
Judith
Mike is correct. If you want JB by the bushel or trash can load, then use the traps. But you’ll have to find a way to dispose of the large quantity of bugs. Some people think that when the JB is crushed, they emit an unpleasant odor.
The adult stage in June/July is only the temporary symptom of an infestation.
The real damage JB do is to your lawn, by the grubs eating & killing the roots of the grass. You won’t notice the damage until the following spring when large sections of grass will be brown or dead. Doing grub control is the best way to long-term control, and knocking off adults into a bucket of soapy water is the best way to do temporary control.
Unfortunately, JB have no natural predators – they are a bothersome invasive species.
I use a spray that I make with Ammonia, water and dishwashing liquid. I spray my rose bushes and Shasta Daisies and the Japanese beetles die . That’s it, no harm to anything else. The roses and daisies are very happy after that treatment.
Norma –May I ask the ratio of water to A mona please,
What are the measurements of each product? ? Gotta get ready! TY
Since my rose bushes were affected with the beetles feasting last year I want to try your treatment Norma. Can you please share the proportions of ammonia, water and dish washing liquid you mix up and spray. Thanks I’ll watch horror your response, thanking you in advance.
May I ask what ratio you used of Ammonia, water and dishwashing liquid? Sounds great!
PLEASE – Can you reveal the ratio of ammonia to water to dish soap,
Hi Norma. Can you give us the mixture amounts? thanks
I can answer this as I do this every year. Take a gallon jug fill it halfway with water then add equal amounts (about 1/3 cup) of ammonia, dish soap and I use 4 teaspoons of tobacco juice as well. They avoid my roses and all my plants for that matter
How many parts water versus ammonia, does it really work.
Thanks
Mole trouble from Clarkston, MI.Moles oftentimes outsmart the yard traps my husband sets. Finally after spending time resetting traps and money treating grubs in the yard and the moles hardly decreased we stopped tamping down the trails (because all that did was tell my moles go tear up another area of this dumb lady’s lawn) and we spent the money and used the big toxic worms (night crawlers really) and my moles were nearly eliminated. BUT getting any neighbor with adjoining lawns must also treat or the moles will keep trying to find an adjoining yard who isn’t bring treated and they’ll come back to you. Must keep a close eye out and retreat if any new trails are seen. We do use a lawn care company called Lush Lawn and it was either their technician or a subcontractor of theirs that came and used the toxic night crawlers and they definitely work. This company also treats our yard for grubs and this year is the first time I’ve ever treated with Grub Killer now at first of season with grubs just nearing upper few inches of lawn soil and then we treat in early fall with grub preventer. These treatments are done by same lawn service but pricing it out it’s cheaper for me to have company do the work.
Colleen,
Ya know, I used to use lawn services but it was nothing but one aggravation after another with poor quality service. I fired them all and do my own with Scott’s and my lawn has never looked better. I don’t like doing it myself, but around here the lawn services don’t do anything that they promise.
Amen to that, Mike! I won’t ever hire another lawn care company. One of them actually burned my lawn! It seems to be more expensive than buying the granules and doing it myself. And now that I am moving to a smaller property, I won’t have as much to cover, meaning less cost and easier maintenance. Whew! I will finally get to enjoy my yard and the fruits of my labor, rather than only always work in it!
What are the “toxic worms” called? Where do I find them? Is there a certain brand of grub killer that works well?
I really want to control moles in my yard.
Thanks!
Pam,
When I looked grub killers they all seemed to be pretty much the same.
A guy from work used chewing gum to kill moles. Got the idea from a book by Jerry something. You chew the gum a bit to soften it. Shape it like a worm. Mole eats it thinking its a worm. He can’t digest it so he thinks he’s full and starves to death. Guy swears it works
Is that like putting out Cream of Wheat to control ants?
I used traps for moles and also did Mole treatment by Bayer I believe was company and I purchased the lawn treatment at Bordines in Clarkston and used the spreader it was a couple years ago and thankfully we’ve not gotten them back this year at all. Had only 1 affected trail last year and I would call Lush Lawn in Grand Blanc and they come out and do the worms for the customers I don’t know if you can buy them if you’re not in the landscape trade. Give them a call and ask. Good Luck
I used Bayer brand in the past years. Bordines in Clarkston carries both a Grub Killer and Grub Preventor. HOWEVER, pricing out the 23,000 sq foot yard that needs treatment I ended up with Lush Lawn in Grand Blanc doing the work with FREE re-applications of the Grub Killer earlier this Spring and I’ll have them put the Grub Preventor on in late summer/early Fall. They did retreat the Spring killer because the first round didn’t completely kill the white grubs that were in the top 2 – 3 inches of my soil when I checked within a week of treatment so I called them back to reapply and so far do good. You do need to check spots in your grass but for $120 I’ll let them get rid of the pests. Our yard last year was destroyed with Grubs and skunks also did a fair share of turf destroying so I took over the lawn care in our home this year and believe me I’m right on it. I know It’s costly but price out the stuff and the number of bags needed for coverage it was cheaper to hire it done.. Hopefully, when the fall preventer is applied wherevyou get a years warranty it will get them out of my yard for good. I don’t love putting out the money, but I do love that if you continue to see grubs this company can be called for return applications and I do call if I see any grubs as that’s what I’m paying for.and they can do the work a heck of a lot easier than I can. Good Luck.
We buy Motomco mole killer (it looks like gummy worms).
You find an active trail, poke a hole into the trail and insert the worm.
It works!
We got it at Southern States – it was about $25 for 12 worms – but well worth it to me!
You can also find it on Amazon.com
We use the “Tom Cat” brand. They sell this mole killer at Menards where I live. Works great!
I have found the BEST way to protect plants I care about is Neem soil drench. Prepare Neem as per instructions (it varies with each product), then water your plants with it. The Neem goes systemic, protecting leaves, flowers, & roots. The Neem only effects critters that chew/pierce plant parts & doesn’t harm pollinators, earthworms, etc. works for about 2wks. Topical Neem breaks down in sunlight. Also, in addition to milky spore & nematodes, there is a parasitic wasp, Tiphia vernalis, that eats JB grubs during its own grub stage in the ground. Available online.
Know thine enemy! Learn as much as you can about them.
Oh “Great Wealth of Gardening Knowledge” how do I get rid of the moles (I have two cats who do a good job on the voles and field mice)?
Thank you for all the excellent gardening information.
Phillip,
If you eliminate the Japanese beetle grubs the moles will move on.
I’m declaring war on the voles and JB in our yard. I had beautiful mums of which they ate the roots and kindly pushed the bush by the back step. The beetles attack my dogs and anyone else that enters the yard. Ive sprayed with wondercide but wondering what else is effective and pet safe?
Kenda,
Check the gardens alive website.
I pick mine off and toss them in an ice cream bucket of water and soap. They really go after my fruit trees and sweet corn. They die quickly as the soap coats their bodies and they can’t breathe.
Now here’s the trick. They are attracted to scent, and I thought if they are attracted by scent maybe they are repelled by scent. So I leave a bucket of rotting (it stinks if you get really close) beetles under each apple, peach and cherry tree. I also leave a bucket in my sweet corn patch. It seems to take 2-3 days to “brew” and then really reduces the number of beetles I find.
Where I live there are very few lawns, but i find that the grubs love composting landscape bark and the mulch you get from our local dump.
i havent tried the traps but they seem like a reasonable solution to me, I may give them a try this year.
I live in Riverside California on what we jokingly call an acre and a half of dust…
Despite that they are thick here.
I WAS TOLD THAT IF YOU USE MILKY SPORE THAT YOU CAN’T EVER USE THE AREA FOR HORSE
PASTURE AS IT WILL KILL THE HORSES !!!!
Richard,
I have no idea about that, you’d have to talk to St. Gabriels lab about that.
I operate a state run Japanese Beetle Trapping program in California. Are you still seeing adult Japanese Beetles in your area?
Paul,
I hope this person sees your message. I’d love to learn more about what you do and why you do it.
My lawn is roughly 34 Yrs. old; cut at 3. – 3.5″ high.
Applied Milky Spore about 30 yrs. ago. Have not used generalized insecticide on lawn; only unusalual infestations of Ants. Robins & other birds love to hunt insects in the lawn.
Do not have roses nor other plants that are special “draws” for Japanese Bettles.
Presently I might see 1 to 3 bettles per season in my lawn & beds..
I do use herbicides on occasiuonal weeds in both lawn & planted beds..
Location : Canton City Area, Central Stark County, OH.
Moderatly well drained silt loam over loam Till..
.. .
Our neighborhood has lots of Japanese Beetles. I used milky spore about 4 years about and my grass looks good. The lawn for some of my neighbors that didn’t treat didn’t fare too well.
When I see the Beetles, I spray them with water and dish soap. They die immediately.
I have a 1/2 acre vineyard situated amongst many miles of corn and soybean fields in south central Illinois. The Japanese beetles usually arrive on Fathers Day weekend. They are ravenous, and are capable of defoliating the vineyard in a couple of days. They eat corn silk and soybean leaves, as well as Chinese elm leaves, Chinese chestnut leaves, Cleveland select pear leaves, elderberry flowers and leaves, and Dawn redwood needles. If a grapevine is defoliated, the fruit will have to be picked and thrown away green or the vine will die during the winter. A defoliated vine will eventually grow back some leaves so it can survive.
I have learned several things during the past seven years of JB (Japanese beetle) attacks. (1) The more JBs I have, the more that I will get. (2) The JBs can travel many miles to get to my vineyard, evidenced by them hitting the windshield of my car on the way to and from my farm. (3) The only effective remedy for me is to keep spraying an insecticide every other day. (4) The JB season lasts 3-4 weeks. (5) Usually the worst outbreak is the first two weeks. (6) I have seen repeated defoliations of Chinese elm leaves in a season, but the trees survive.
Although the milky spore remedy may work in a city, I cannot see how it could work out in the country. I am open to other remedies, but insecticides have worked for me.
Thanks so much, Mike, for the article about using Round Up or a similar product which you showed a picture of. Our family always uses Round Up and will continue to use it. It does the job!
Round-Up is an herbicide. It kills plants not insects.
it is also poisonous to pollinators
And it contains glyphosate–a known carcinogen
Round up is horrible horrible stuff. All you have to do is google it, bad for the environment, bad for all life, extremely toxic and carcinogenic. Why anyone would use it, and recommend it is beyond comprehension.
Susan,
On a personal level I believe all of those statements to be untrue. To each his own.
I met a man this spring, who is dying…from cancer, stage 4…directly caused by a career of spraying lawns, parks, etc…with round up, et al. He is part of the large class action suit against Monsanto. He told me to never work with and never use those products on anything…they kill everything, including humans. I told him I never could justify fertilizing or spraying our lawn for weeds, because we had four children who play in the grass…and I wasn’t going to carry that burden and take that chance with the health of my kids…for a plush lawn. You are correct, to each their own. good luck with your choice, and own it when you get sick….or your loved ones get sick.
Milky spore also comes in a granular mix that you can run over your lawn in a regular spreader. I used this 5 years ago after spraying my purple leaf plum tree with Sevin and didn’t see any more beetles until this year. So I sprayed the tree again, and will find something to spread on the lawn later this summer.
David,
Thanks for sharing this info, I was not aware that Milky Spore was available in granular form.
Not only are you killing the beatles but every bee, butterfly and “good” insect that lands on your plants! I was guilty of that for years. I don’t do it any more but I still have not seen a Monarch Butterfly in my garden in over 10 years. This is the first year in ages that I have seen honey bees too. We are killing our pollinators with Sevin Dust.
Or, you get chickens!!! My girls and I had great bonding sessions this spring when I was digging around in the yard and came across a buffet of grubs. I had some very happy girls!! Then, if you have chickens, you need to fence off so they don’t go where you don’t want them. Its a big toss up.
We live in northern Kentucky just outside and upstream from Louisville. It seems to me that the Japanese beetles infestations have seriously leveled off from what is was fifteen or so years ago. One of my friends uses the traps, with the very bottom of the bag cut off, to hang over his large pond on his property and he feeds his fish. They love it. He has them placed about every 50′ around the three acre pond. My wife and I do a similar thing with our chickens. We hand a couple of bags, again with the bottoms cut off, over the chicken yard and they fight for the treats.
Chuck,
Thanks for sharing this. I love both of these ideas a lot because it means that you don’t end up with a bag of stinky dead bugs to deal with later. What a genius idea!
Re: Grub control products. Those often contain neonicontinoids like imidicloprid. Do they kill bugs? Yep! But those products are also taken up by the dandelions and clover in your yard, then the bees come and collect tainted pollen from those plants, and they die. Neonicontinoids are also known to be very water mobile – that is, they leach into groundwater! PLEASE reconsider your recommendation that people use those products. Stick to milky spore and mass trapping. It might take time, but you won’t poison the world.
I have used milky spore for years and it has been effective. In my experience you have to wait for a rainy day or know that one is soon coming in order get the product soaked into the groung. The alternative is to hose it down and nobody wants to use that much water in the summer when you can wait for God to do it for you. I thought it took a year to work, and can last up to 10 years. I have blackberry bushes along a fence that used to be packed with the beetles, but no more. My biggest problem is remembering ahead of time to do this.
Renee,
Thank you for giving me some feed back on Milky Spore. According to what I’ve learned about this product once you have it in place and it starts working it should work for a very long time because each beetle that is killed by the spore, the beetle carcass becomes another vehicle to help spread the spore in the soil.
I agree that the traps work…& too well! They basically draw them all to your property from everywhere else.
I say to go hang a bunch in your neighbor’s yard (especially if they’re neighbors you aren’t particularly fond of).
I honestly would never use them….because they do draw them from places that they may never had come near you if you hadn’t baited them. (Hopefully that makes sense?)
Here in southern Massachusetts we did the milky spore route about 7 years ago following the grid every foot. Only application was needed and each year we had fewer and fewer Japanese beetles. We have not had a single Japanese beetle in several years. It certainly worked for us. You can’t skimp on the process.
Great point about Milky Spore. You can’t skimp on the process, you have to follow the grid pattern closely, you cannot apply any insecticides to the lawn after you apply the Milky Spore, then you have to be patient. But most importantly, after following the protocol, you got positive results. I’m happy to hear that.
A couple of years ago (in Columbus, OH), my wife had a problem with Japanese beetles in her roses. She planted flowers called four o’clocks. They look kind of like morning glories. The Japanese beetles ignored the roses and feasted on the four o’clocks, then died. It turns out four o’clocks are toxic to the beetles. We haven’t seen a Japanese beetle since.
Beau,
That’s interesting. Never heard of this strategy.
Hi Mike,
I always told my customers at Lowes to buy several traps and give the loaded ones to your neighbors and put an empty one in the middle of your property. That would help your neighbors get rid of their beetles and also especially help your situation.
Hans
Hans,
That’s a pretty funny strategy.
We live near a creek that runs into San Francisco Bay. The raccoons, skunks and possums use it for a freeway! I think we get an occasional coyote too, but can
t prove it. They gobble up my snails and slugs but seldom dig up the lawn. I have seen lawn grubs, but my dad called them “cut worms” Different pest, right?
Charline,
Yes, I believe that is a different pest.
My yard has been treated with milky spore; however, there are still some beetles. I place ice cubes in a used (clean) mayo jar and visit my yard in the evening, when the beetles have slowed down. In my yard, their first food preference is grape leaves; they also like raspberry leaves, crepe myrtle, fern, and Japanese maples. You must hold the jar under where the beetles are; their escape method is tumbling. It’s easy to collect several dozen beetles with little effort. If you have chickens, empty the jar, ice cubes and all, into the chicken pen. The beetles won’t fly away before the chickens get them because of the cold environment you’ve created. No chickens. Just close the jar and leave it until morning and there’ll be lots of drowned beetles for your garden or compost pile.
When you go to the store to get your chemicals to spray all around where you live and your kids are and your grandchildren are, make sure you get extra. Because everyone knows that you can just never have sprayed enough dangerous chemicals all over the place where your loved ones are.
And of course you could always put some in your food in case any get in your pantry. Fry them is oil – great protein snack.
But seriously we used traps back East that filled up but I cannot recall what we used for bait or if it was just a trap. Never tried using them for bait.
I had the same thought. Some time ago a friend linked to this. I thought about designing a stand to put them over my pond.
I agree with you. I’d rather have Japanese beetles in my yard than cancer in my body…not to mention letting the bees live…so we have pollination and fruit!
So, Johnny R., what is your suggestion for ridding ourselves of Japanese Beetles?
Johnny,
I respect your opinion and I know that you are not alone in this camp. I truly believe that I use chemicals as responsibly as I can. If you really dig into everything you and your children consume on a daily basis the amount of chemicals used to make something as simple as “clean drinking water” would shock you.
I have used milky-spore as you have, Mike, many years ago. And it did indeed work after it set itself up to be in a strong enough number to do any good. At least two years. BUT, the big thing to remember about milky-spore is you would have to use it on a lawn area that you are not going to disturb. If you start to dig that soil for whatever reason, you are going to disturb and destroy the cycle of the milky-spore.
So I agree with Mike once again. I personally use Grubex. It’s worked fine for me for quite a few years now. The caveat with the Grubex is you CANNOT/should not use it on anything other than a lawn. Never use it where you have crops or veggies, etc.
I agree that grub chemical applied to the soil is the best way to control grubs. However, nothing seems to eliminate them. Our swimming pool is getting rid of a handful or two each day right now. The beetles seem to also like to go for a swim and then drown (aw-w-w).
Picking the beetles off of the rose bushes into a pail of soapy and water provides more satisfaction, I think, than effective control.
When planting the spring flowers, I always find some grubs in the beds. Hate to kill any living thing, but it’s either them or me.
Thanks Mike for your stimulating advice and go-to site.
I am new here in USA. When I arrive here last year I planted 17 young crape myrtle. Now they have beautiful blooms. But in my disappointment I saw these Japanese beetles mating and sucking the flowers. The flowers look dry and wilting. I sprayed insecticidal soap but they manage to escape and fly. I changed the recipe of my insecticidal spray. I add chili powder and garlic. Now when I spray to them, they can’t fly and so easy to hand pick them. and squeeze in my fingers.
Hey Mike, Do you have a favorite grub control product? Thanks for sharing your expertise.
I honestly don’t, it’s been years since I’ve applied any. I’d have to guess that GrubX is a good product.
What about voles. Driving me crazy. Got any silver bullets?
Ed,
No I don’t. I really have to research Voles more. I believe they live on vegetation so getting rid of their food source isn’t as easy as it is with moles. I really need to dig into voles to see what I can learn.
Ed and Mike,
I have had some decent results with my vole infestations using bi-monthly spray applications of agricultural grade castor oil for voles.
But there is a cool gadget I saw today called the Rodenator (www.rodenator.com). I’ll let the video show you how they solve the problem – warning not for the faint of heart!
Good luck!
-Tim
Thanks Tim,
I’ll take a look at the redenator. No that you mention castor oil I recently remember seeing a video about that as well for vole control. Thank you so much for reminding me of what I apparently can’t remember.
You mentioned moles being easy – Please explain. We have used grub control but the moles have taken over my flower beds. My neighbors are having problems too. Is there a sure cure for them?
Thanks,
Linda
Linda,
My experience is once the grubs are gone the moles will leave as well. It might not happen overnight, but for me it worked wonders.
Years ago had a huge mole problem-Finally put 5-6 auto flares in the holes & they were eliminated.