Japanese Beetles - Have you been hit yet?

[Granny_Weatherwax]

The infestation is awful this year in my area. Hundreds of thousands of the JB are destroying trees, shrubs, flowers, vegetable gardens...you name it.

 

We bought one of the bag traps two days ago and have already filled three gallon sized bags.  Along with using the bag trap, we pick off what beetles we can from our plants and throw them in a pan of soapy water. We're trying not to use insecticides since we like beneficial insects, butterflies, moths, etc. 

 

We have driven through swarms of them on our way to the local nature preserve and the sound of them popping on the windshield is creepy.

 

I was changing the bag yesterday and had one fly into my ear. I could feel its little legs scrambling to get out. I was not pleased. Ok, I screamed and called for my husband to help get it out. Luckily my nails are long enough that I was able to get a nail behind it and pop it out. Just thinking about it in there gives me the heebee-jeebies. 

[MEmama]

We have just a few in the garden so far.

 

Every year I seem to inadvertently swallow at least one while cycling. Blech.

[mommyoffive]

Not as bad as you guys yet.  

 

Eww in your ear.

 

 

What are these traps? 

 

 

I heard ladybugs get rid of them?  Is that true? 

[Laurie4b]

We have them, but nothing like what you describe. My neighbor and I share a garden and morning and evening, we go down with a jar of water and pop them off into the water. Then we put the jar down and call the chickens. It is some kind of satisfying to know that they are all being turned into eggs! 

 

Sorry about your ear. That would definitely freak me out. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Never saw one around here.

 

 

[Spryte]

Whoa. I've never seen that many.

 

We order ladybugs and release them - they do a good job.

[G5052]

Our plum tree began getting them in June. We sprayed right away, and then again once a week until they were gone. We don't normally do that type of thing, but the tree is a sterile plum and is way away from the garden.

 

I don't use the traps:https://www.todayshomeowner.com/do-japanese-beetle-traps-really-work/ . I live in a semi-rural area with lots and lots of trees that Japanese beetles like, so if I put out a trap, it would be stampede to my house. The year the neighbor put out traps close to the property line, we nearly lost our plum tree despite spraying. That taught me about how many we have, and the negatives of the traps.

[mommyoffive]

Whoa. I've never seen that many.

 

We order ladybugs and release them - they do a good job.

 

so that works? 

 

Where do you get yours? 

[unsinkable]

Not yet.

 

Hopefully not ever.

 

The river has a rare overwhelming sandfly infestation. It is like it is snowing sandflies.

[Spryte]

so that works?

 

Where do you get yours?

We didn't have anything close to the numbers described. We had a good year the year we did it, though.

 

We bought some locally, and ordered some from Amazon.

 

The traps worry me - I fear we'd have a bigger problem, so we don't do the traps.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Ok, I screamed and called for my husband to help get it out. Luckily my nails are long enough that I was able to get a nail behind it and pop it out. Just thinking about it in there gives me the heebee-jeebies. 

 

:svengo:  :svengo:  :svengo:  :svengo:

 

Well, I saw your thread and was going to complain about what they're doing to my garden, but I think I'll just be grateful and shut up about it. Thanks for the reminder about the bag traps!

 

ETA: How do ladybugs control the Japanese beetle population? I thought Japanese beetle larvae were the grubs in the your soil. Which reminds me, maybe you need to treat your lawn for grubs? We have raised garden beds, and they just loooove that soft, friable soil, so every spring I squash about a million of the little SOBs while I'm prepping the beds *vomit*

 

ETA again: In case any other veggie gardeners are wondering, it looks like the milky spore grub treatment is safe for vegetable gardens, woohoo!

 

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/blmp/news/news27553.html

Edited July 18, 2017 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[MomsintheGarden]

Sorry you are having such a bad JB year!

 

Last year they were bad, but this is an average JB year here in VA. We pick them off our blackberries, rhubarb, elderberries, hollyhocks, butterfly bush, echinacea, and four o'clocks about once a day, twice if it's peak time. Wild grapevines also attract them, and they really love cherry leaves. You do not need soap; they cannot fly out of a plastic cup filled halfway with water, and chickens eat them with some coaxing.

 

Because of the life cycle of the JB I do not believe ladybugs affect their population. Milky spore works, but it takes time, and I am considering spreading it next month. An acquaintance of ours rigs a 50 gallon trashcan as a trap which takes a while to fill.

[MBM]

Beneficial nematodes help to reduce their population by eating the grubs. They need to have been stored properly and then applied according to instructions. This is what we used. Worked well most years.

 

Is it true that Milky Spore needs to be built up in the soil for 1-3 years? A nearby nursery told me it tends to work better in the east and not as well in the midwest states. Maybe something to do with soil?

 

The traps invite them into your area. Better to put those in your neighbor's yard, the one you don't like. Just kidding!

 

Every year they came a-visiting to eat my roses, quince, basil, and double-flowering Rose of Sharon. I now no longer have a garden so no JB problems.

 

Cicadas are out, though. Chirping up a storm. :)

[athomeontheprairie]

Last year or weather was PERFECT for them. They did REALLY well. By fall it was horrible. They were everywhere. Swarms were easily visible while out walking in the yard.

Most farm houses moved vacuums and brooms to prominent spaces. Vacuums were clogged. We needed to sweep multiple times a day. The north sides of farm houses.... We just vacuumed the walls, the ceilings.

 

This winter I took great pleasure in choosing logs that hundreds were hibernating on to throw into the fire.

[klmama]

They've been swarming my plum tree this week.  I've never seen them on it before.  I think part of the problem is that our close neighbor who always used a trap moved out, and they aren't drawn away from my yard anymore.  Now, they are looking for nearby things to munch.   

 

There's a lady a few blocks away that rigged up a trap that sends the beetles down a chute right into the chicken coop.  Her chickens stand at the bottom of the chute waiting to gobble them up.  Genius.

[Pawz4me]

^{We're not having any trouble with them this year, knock on wood. We learned many years ago to NOT use traps. They attract them.}

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Just to make sure we're talking about the same beetle - here's a link to a pic

 

I don't think lady bugs (which are maybe 1/4 or less of the size of these buggers) would do anything for population control.

 

I put the bag trap in the front yard far away from any flowering plants. I figure a trapped beetle cannot eat or lay eggs. We filled three one-gallon freezer bags yesterday. It's just a dent but that's fewer beetles flying around causing damage. 

 

A few friends and I were discussing the beetles last night (we were driving on the highway and drove through a swarm) and one of the women told us about how her dog ate a few and became seriously ill.  She said the medication and vet bills were expensive.

 

It's good to know chickens can eat them. I've been wondering if the JB has natural predators. It's good to know that chickens enjoy them.

[JFSinIL]

We had an infestation a few years back, not nearly as bad as what you describe, though. Bought some nematodes and next year - no beetles.  http://www.nematodes.com/

[MBM]

Just to make sure we're talking about the same beetle - here's a link to a pic

 

I don't think lady bugs (which are maybe 1/4 or less of the size of these buggers) would do anything for population control.

 

I put the bag trap in the front yard far away from any flowering plants. I figure a trapped beetle cannot eat or lay eggs. We filled three one-gallon freezer bags yesterday. It's just a dent but that's fewer beetles flying around causing damage. 

 

A few friends and I were discussing the beetles last night (we were driving on the highway and drove through a swarm) and one of the women told us about how her dog ate a few and became seriously ill.  She said the medication and vet bills were expensive.

 

It's good to know chickens can eat them. I've been wondering if the JB has natural predators. It's good to know that chickens enjoy them.

 

The problem with the traps is that although you can trap a lot of them, there are always those who don't get caught. They mate, smoke a cigarette, fly away a short distance or fall straight down to the soil, burrow in and lay their eggs. One female can lay about 50 eggs or so. So if 10 females manage to do this, you'll have as many as 500 grubs to contend with next year.

 

Look for the telltale signs of damage in your grass and whatnot and then properly put down the water solution of nematodes next year. It really works well.

[SquirrellyMama]

Yes  :crying:  We've also been driving through swarms of them. It is so gross  :ack2:  They killed our cherry tree a few years ago  :cursing:

 

Kelly

[Guest]

My Dad has been putting out bag traps and the bags will be overflowing in 24 hours. So gross.

[Critterfixer]

I don't have them here, but I remember them. Awful things. We would take bags and bags of them to the creek. The fish loved us.

[SquirrellyMama]

I don't have them here, but I remember them. Awful things. We would take bags and bags of them to the creek. The fish loved us.

 

We used to feed them to our toad :)

 

Kelly

Edited July 19, 2017 by SquirrellyMama

[unsinkable]

When I looked out the kitchen window this morning, there was one clinging to the screen.

 

It must have heard me talking about it and thought it was being summoned. LOL

[Beetkvass]

We used to get them every year and then they stopped coming. I'm not sure why but it's been since my teen boys were little. Maybe a yard full of ducks and chickens helps? Except my parents live across the street and they don't seem to get them either. 

[Lady Florida.]

Yikes! We see them occasionally and have to look out for them on plants, but I don't think we've ever had an infestation.

[kroe1]

I do not have beetles, but, I got infested with a cockroach I had never seen before. I keep my RV in north Florida. About two weeks ago, I arrived to find moths flying around inside. Only gross, they were not moths. They were Asian cockroaches. They are lighter, thinner, and longer than their German counterparts. They fly more, too. Luckily, they were no match for a professional exterminator.

[Rachel]

Thanks to this thread we got our first ever Japanese beetle infestation. In two days my roses have gone from beautiful to pitiful. There are way too many beetles to pick them off by hand.

 

I went to Home Depot to look for options. I knew Sevin was bad, found a 3in 1 that looked promising until I read the fine print, it was harmful for bees and toads. We have a ton of toads! An employee recommended neem oil which is not harmful to bees and is only mildly harmful to toads, if they ingest the plants that have been treated. I'm giving it a shot and seeing if it works.

 

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/neemgen.html

[TravelingChris]

I haven't seen any around here. But we don't have any of the plants mentioned above except roses.

[Lady Florida.]

It could be worse. It could be locusts. <--- Don't click play if you're squeamish about bugs, especially big bugs.