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Vegetable Gardening

asiatic garden beetles

dave_f1 SC, USDA Zone 8a

15 years ago

Hoping to get some advice on controlling the numbers of asiatic garden beetles this season. For the unfamiliar, AGBs are small velvety, cinnamon-brown, scarab-like beetles. Look kind of like a coffee bean chewing holes in foliage all night long. They are attracted to any kind of light at night. The adults burrow into the soil to hide during the day.

Last year was the first I've seen of these guys here in SC. I think it's possible they haven;t been in this part of the country for long.

Anyway, I'm looking for non-chemical controls to limit the damage. It's not possible to pick most of them off, there are hundreds out there on warm summer nights. On basil and peppers mainly for me. I've heard that neem oil sprayed on the soil may be effective at disrupting their lifecycle. Has anyone tried that with success? Or other ideas?

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Comments (2)

digdirt2
15 years ago
Don't have them but have read that using beneficial nematodes works well on life cycle interruption.

Dave
clumsygrdner
15 years ago
Hmm... I've never tried neem oil myself. But it may work.

I've been able to successfully control them mainly by handpicking at sunup. I know it may seem impossible, but diligent picking keeps the population under control and while it won't stop them from flying into your garden, it will help prevent a whole lot from breeding there. Beneficial nematodes will also keep them from breeding only it takes a few growing seasons to work completely.

The other thing I do is attract insect eating birds to feed and nest. Ask your local bird expert about how to attract what -- but a bird bath is mostly all you need.

Finally, garlic offends the beetles, so use garlic spray on your plants once a week until their munching season is over. I use it on my roses. The internet has several useful recipes.

Try to make sure that you keep a diary of when you see the first one and when you see that they've stopped their ungodly campaign of destruction. That'll help for years to come.
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