These beetles are one of the biggest pests to gardeners. Last year my neighbor's linden trees were so loaded with beetles that you could hear them clicking and moving around the leaves. There were thousands of them. Most of my plants they don't touch, but I have to check my roses and giant hibiscus daily.
The larva/grubs of this insect are just as destructive to lawns. They will eat the roots of the grass causing dead spots. To prevent them from causing future problems to lawns use milky spore. It's organic and won't harm pets or earthworms. You only need to apply it every 10 years as the spore multiplies. Don't let the price scare you too much, I was able to do my whole lawn with just one can of it. A little goes a long way. You can find this at places like Stein's or Jung's. It takes the spore 2-3 years to build up and do not use a lawn insecticide during this time or the bacterium cycle won't be completed when the grubs eat it.
Beetles start arriving in late June. Keep an eye out for them and destroy them right away. The first beetles act as scouts to signal other beetles of plants to feed on. Try to hand pick them off the plants and drop in a container of soapy water.
Trees and bushes that attract them can be watered with a special mixture that the plants absorb and make the plant more resistant. I know Bayer makes a concentrated formula for this and I saw another brand that I forgot the name of. Can be found almost anywhere you get garden supplies, even Menards or Home Depot.
I read somewhere you shouldn't water your lawn in summer, but let it go dormant. The females will be less likely to lay their eggs if the ground is dry.
Here's something you don't want to hear. The bugs are more active when the temps are high.
So are Japanese Beetles the same as June bugs? We started to find what I thought was June bugs out here this past week but some have what looks like stingers and others don't. But both types out here look pretty much the same with hard bodies.
At the top of the beetle menu are: linden trees, apple, crabapple, mountain ash, Japanese maple, norway maple, pin oak, birch, most fruit trees like plum, cherry, peach, black walnut, summersweet, willow, grapes, horse chestnut, althea (rose of sharon), hibiscus, virginia creeper, roses, highbush blueberry, dailah, coneflowers, vibirnum, zinnia, peony, daisies, sunflower, primrose, raspberries, sweet corn, rhubarb (never saw them on mine), sycamore, elms.
Only plants in my yard I saw them on was my big hibiscus, the roses and the mountain ash. They didn't help the mountain ash, because it died within 2 years after they chewed it all up.
So are Japanese Beetles the same as June bugs? We started to find what I thought was June bugs out here this past week but some have what looks like stingers and others don't. But both types out here look pretty much the same with hard bodies.
June bugs are harmless. Japanese beetles on the other hand will make lace doilies out of your plants. All they do all day long is eat and mate.
Ok, now we come to traps. Yes, you can catch a lot. We were catching over 1000 a day and had to empty the trap twice a day it got so full. Then it slowed down after a couple weeks of this.
The downside is that you'll attract more beetles and you only catch 75% of them. The traps are more effective as a neighborhood plan. I'd say every few houses or so would need one. Whatever you do, don't place the trap near plants they are eating, try placing them in another part of the yard.
I placed mine back by my neighbor's linden trees at our lot line since he didn't want to take care of the problem. His trees were the reason they were so attracted to our yards. Most of the things in my yard are resistant, but I still don't like seeing my hibiscus with holes in.
Judging by the number of traps I saw in people's yards last year, I'd say the population has greatly increased.
Another method of getting rid of grubs would be to use parasitic nemotodes. Those might have to be gotten at places like Jung's or you may have to order online from some place like Gurney's.
Beetles start arriving in late June. Keep an eye out for them and destroy them right away. The first beetles act as scouts to signal other beetles of plants to feed on. Try to hand pick them off the plants and drop in a container of soapy water.
You can leave the container of dead beetles in your yard to signal other beetles that this isn't a good area to eat. Use their scent against them.
I should have tried this last year since I had thousands of dead bugs.
ok...can't believe I am going to say this on here..but, hey, what a life.
They often do it at the same time and can be found piled 3 or 4 high sometimes. I took close-up pictures of them last year doing their thing and added my own captions in photoshop.
I still get the heebie geebies thinking about my neighbor's trees all full of bugs. It was making noise there were so many. I felt like I had to take a shower after going back by those trees. They pretty much stripped the leaves off of it.
Here's a good close up of their metallic colors. Now if I could find a way to make beetle art with them, I could make a ton of money. Anybody know of any?
Now I'm going to have nightmares about Japanese beetles all over me after seeing those pictures. I know how many gather at once and it's gross...thousands.
Thought I'd bring this back up again since it's the time of year when the beetles are at their worst. Now is the time to putting down the milky spore mentioned in an earlier post. This won't do much for this year's beetles, but it helps kill off next year's grubs in the lawn.
I spent the morning hand picking off the beetles from my flowers. In my yard they seem to be eating more kinds of plants this year. They are eating the purple cone flowers, annual flowering tobacco (nicotiana), mystery lilies, annual dianthus, giant hibiscus. Damage isn't real bad, but enough to be annoying.
I've used the Bayer fertilizer and insect repellent liquid. They still go after the roses. They are also on the burning bush which is supposed to be resistant. I see some damage on my choke berry bush which is a new planting this year.
It's really annoying to deal with these insects. I'm seeing more and more beetle traps out in yards, so I know they are increasing in numbers in Wis. I didn't put out my trap this year in hopes that they don't come flying to my yard.
What to look for in damage from beetles: Look for numerous holes in flowers and/or leaves. They will skeletonize the leaves and only eat the soft part of the leaves. Also, notice on flowers the black specks all over, that's their droppings.
Spray beetles with insecticidal soap or even a dish soap mixture.
Buy an old blender at a yard sale and throw in the dead beetles with some water. Strain the liquid and spray their favorite plants. Old farmers swear by this method.
Blend garlic cloves and hot pepper. Add dish soap and veg. oil/horticultural oil, then spray plants.
Use garlic spray made for mosquitoes.
Use any product made with Neem. It's natural, and kills and repels insects.
Use a clay based insect barrier like Garden Alive's Surround a Home. It coats the plant and kills bugs. I'm not familiar with this kind of product. Here's the link I found. Surround<sup>®</sup> at Home<sup>®</sup> Crop Protectant
Attract birds with birdbaths and birdhouses. They will feed on some of the insects. Starlings love to eat both the bugs and the grubs.
blasted little things are still crawling around my house!
We get one every once in awhile here too. They seem to emerge when the sun is shinning but they don't last too long....our cat chases them down and eats them! Good kitty!
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