beansprouts Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I am feeling discouraged. It seems I have had one problem after another this summer, and now I have these nasty little creatures. What have other gardeners done to control them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 I feel for you. They weren't out yet in mid June when I went out of town for a while then I came back 3 weeks later to decimated roses & bayberry bushes. When I'm home I usually control them by taking a jar of soapy water 2x's a day around to the plants they are eating & knocking the buggers into it (very easy to do). They quickly drown. A lot of plants still get eaten but it controls them somewhat. My plants are much worse off this year since I was away so long. Other than that, I don't know what to do. They are voracious! Jacqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom to Aly Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 OOH, hate these! I have heard, if you can stand to do this, if you crush a few and leave them on the flowers, they will go away (hate to see their little buddies crushed). Also, they sell beetle bags, with something that really attracts them--you put it on a stake and they will fill up the bag quick. Be careful, they bite. Once I was blackberry picking, and two got in my shirt and were biting me (people say they don't, but in mating season they do). I have a true bug phobia, especially roaches, then beetles--I ran around, waving my shirt up and down trying to get them out. I apparently gave a good show to the good ol' boy farmers who were sitting along a fence. They applauded afterwards, and asked if I could do it again after all of their friends had gotten their. I've never gone blackberry picking again. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Ooo, I didn't know they bite. I've never gotten one on me before. I'll have to try the leaving dead crushed ones on the plants. Thanks. Jacqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beansprouts Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 OOH, hate these! I have heard, if you can stand to do this, if you crush a few and leave them on the flowers, they will go away (hate to see their little buddies crushed). Where will they go? Will they just find new plants to infest or spread to a different part of my yard? We have done a lot ofgardening this year, both flowers and vegetables. I am not sure I can leave mangled beetle carcasses on everything. Right now they are on my bean plants. I think they and the Mexican bean beetles I found just a few minutes ago are becoming good buddies :banghead: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kortney in AL Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 We hung up those bags one year and I think we started attracting beetles from all over the neighborhood (in addition to ours). We did decide it just made the problem worse. I think you're better off spraying your trees and plants that they like to eat on so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayne J Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 DO NOT get the beetle bag thingees. They actually pull more beetles into your yard, as they like to congregate for mating (the beetles, not the bags;)). Control them as much as possible by hand picking them/knocking them into soapy water. Then, buy a can of Milky Spore. The beetles mate and eat, then lay eggs in your yard, which hatch into grubs which eat your grass roots and hibernate til next spring, when they grow into beetles and come out to eat your plants again. The Milky Spore is a human/pet/garden veggie safe option--it is kind of like a virus for the grubs--they eat it and it reproduces inside them til they die, and you get even more Milky Spores in your yard, killing the grubs. It won't kill them this year, but it will kill their offspring, and continue working for up to 15 years. I know all this not because I am some gardening expert, but because I face the same exact problem and have done lots of reading :D. I started this spring, and this year, so far, the beetle situation is better, but not gone. The reading I've done says that late July/early August is the best time to apply it, since that is when they lay their evil little offspring in your yard. It can take up to one full year to really control the population,and after two years it 'should' be gone. Stinks to wait so long, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen in NJ Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 We use Milky Spore every spring and fall. It is a bacteria that kills the grubs that grow into the beetles. It works wonderfully. My hardy hibiscus were covered with them the year before we used the Milky Spore. I did not see a bloom. We do use the bags since we have a large yard. We are able to keep the beetle bags 25 feet away from our neighbors yard. That is the key. If you have a large enough yard to do so, they work great. Garlic oil works a little, but not great. A non-organic option would be a product called Seven. Good luck with those pesky little @#%$#@! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asta Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Another vote for Milky Spore, which is produced by St. Gabriel's Labs. It isn't a "quick kill" solution; it has to go into the soil when they are in the grub stage. Also, it takes a few season's applications to fully wipe out a population. Once they're gone, though, they're gone (unless they come from your neighbor's house). A good "partnering" option is to plant sunflowers. They attract a type of wasp that eats Japanese Beetles but is not interested in humans. asta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I don't have the energy to fight them. Every year they destroy my roses :mad: and this year they're eating my sunflower leaves. They seem much worse this year than past years too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen in NJ Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Another vote for Milky Spore, which is produced by St. Gabriel's Labs. It isn't a "quick kill" solution; it has to go into the soil when they are in the grub stage. Also, it takes a few season's applications to fully wipe out a population. Once they're gone, though, they're gone (unless they come from your neighbor's house). A good "partnering" option is to plant sunflowers. They attract a type of wasp that eats Japanese Beetles but is not interested in humans. asta That is neat. A wasp. I like that idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretchen in NJ Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I don't have the energy to fight them. Every year they destroy my roses :mad: and this year they're eating my sunflower leaves. They seem much worse this year than past years too. I am sorry about your roses. I know how you feel. But, now that I use The Milky Spore, I have roses once more.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 True confession time - I spray the little buggers with Sevin. I try very hard to be organic, I really do, but I CANNOT stand Japanese beetles. We don't seem to have any this year. It's really weird. I don't know if last year's drought did them in, or if like my mom thought, they are in a down cycle right now, but I don't miss them. A down cycle seems unlikely since this is the first year in 10 years that we haven't had them, but I don't care - I am glad they are gone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 They have several different types of bag traps available (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.) and they seem to work very well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beansprouts Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 Another vote for Milky Spore, which is produced by St. Gabriel's Labs. It isn't a "quick kill" solution; it has to go into the soil when they are in the grub stage. Also, it takes a few season's applications to fully wipe out a population. Once they're gone, though, they're gone (unless they come from your neighbor's house). A good "partnering" option is to plant sunflowers. They attract a type of wasp that eats Japanese Beetles but is not interested in humans. asta I like the companion planting techniques. I actually did plant sunflower seeds all over my yard this spring... and the squirrels made off with every one of them, along with most of my corn and squash seeds :cursing: I have a few growing now, (and my corn and squash are doing well after mutiple re-seedings) but the sunflowers are nowhere near flowering. Maybe next year I will start them inside so I can be sure they grow. As a side note, I recently read that pole beans can be planted next to sunflowers so they have something to climb. I love this idea, and will be trying it next year :001_smile: I think I am going to look into Milky Spore. Thank you all for your suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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