Japanese Beetles
2 messages in this thread
Need advice on best way to avoid Japanes Beetles again this year. The traps
seem to attract more than if I didn't use them, and I'd rather not use
pesticides, even if I knew any effective ones./exit
Hi Alan,
You're right about the traps attracting the Japanese beetles. Where do you
garden? Another popular method is using the milky spore disease. The
milky spore is a bacterial disease that kills the grubs. There is some
question as to how effective it is, especially in cold soils (as we have in
New England). It is available under the names Doom, Japademic and Grub
Attack.
Handpicking is always an option…if you don't have the patience to pick
them one by one, you might try a vacumn cleaner! Some commercial growers
have large vacumn cleaners that they run down the rows picking up all
insects along the way.
There are some plants that attrack the Japanese beetles, such as roses, you
may want to eliminate these from your garden. Another thought…birds will
eat the beetles, so you may want to try to make your yard more attractive
to birds.
One last thought, all methods are most effective is you can get everyone in
your area to take action.
Good luck! Alison