Japanese Beetle Control

Japanese Beetle

Each summer promises to be a banner season for Japanese beetles. The coppery-green beetles hatch in the lawn in June each year. Once they have emerged, the beetles head straight for their favorite plants nearby. The leaves of grapes, canna, loropetalum and silver lace vine look like lace doilies after the beetles have dined on them. They burrow into the center of rose and hollyhock blooms and rapidly ruin them.

The Japanese beetle is the adult form of one of the white grubs that you discovered when digging in the lawn or garden earlier this spring. The adult beetles feeds in June and July and then lays eggs on the ground in your lawn. The eggs turn into grubs, which feed on the roots of lawn grasses until next spring, when they hatch - and the cycle begins again!

SPRAYS Japanese beetles can be managed by regularly spraying with carbaryl (Sevin) or other garden insecticides. Don't be surprised if the sprays seem to have no immediate effect. You ARE killing the beetles but even more grubs are hatching to take their place. You might have to spray every few days to control the waves of beetles hatching.

HAND PICKING Hand-picking is an option if the problem is not severe. Follow these tips for successful seizure:

1. Place approximately an inch of soapy water in the bottom of a small cup. Better still is a long-handled measuring cup, which can be slipped into position without startling your prey.

2. Begin as early as possible in the morning. Beetles are cold blooded; they move more slowly when they are cool. Notice that beetles show their alarm by raising their hind legs. Stop your movement when you see the legs go up.

3. Without touching the plant, hold the container just under a cluster of beetles. Gently tap the leaf with a twig. The beetles will scramble off the leaf and drop into your cup.

4. If the thrill of the hunt pales for you after a few days, you can bet that children can be hired to do the work for you. At a nickel per bug, a trip to the ice cream store can soon be financed!

GRUB CONTROL The best time of year to control Japanese beetles with non-selective insecticides is in the fall. The eggs and new grubs are very sensitive to pesticides then. Insecticide granules are effective against the grubs.

A new chemical, imidacloprid (Grub-Ex) provides excellent control, whether spread in fall or spring. Be sure to water the lawn before putting out the pesticide: your grubs will move closer to the surface. Irrigate afterwards once again to move the chemical down to the grubs earthen lair.

Halofenozide (Grub Stop, Mach 2, etc) accelerates the molting of a grubs skin. Grubs do this several times in their lives. This chemical is most effective on young grubs that have only molted one or two times.

The best time to apply this chemical is right after beetle eggs are laid. In Atlanta, that window is mid-June to mid-July.

MILKY SPORE The white grubs that precede the beetles can be killed by infecting them with milky spore disease. This bacteria is harmless to birds and mammals but lethal to Japanese beetle grubs. For it to be most effective, you must have a moderate population of grubs in the first place. As they die, they release more spores, which infect grubs in succeeding years.

Don't forget: beetles can fly from hundreds of yards away. Unless you control them in a large area around your landscape, no amount of poisoning/trapping will eliminate them.

NO TRAPS As any parent of a teenager knows too well, hormones are powerful attractants. Scientists have discovered a hormonal lure for male Japanese beetles. They will come from afar to find the mega-mama beetle bombshell whose perfume scents the air. It is quite impressive to find a gallon of beetles in your trap - but remember that an equal number of them didn't make it to the bogus boudoir and are now munching on your landscape!

Thanks to Walter Reeves for the above Article taken from WalterReeves.com

MORE INFORMATION:

Identifying White Grubs

Japanese Beetles

Insecticides

Bayer Advanced Season-Long Grub Control Granules

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Frequently Asked Questions