protecting small fruit trees from JBs

16 years ago

I have about 8 small fruit trees (5-6 feet in height)

2 cherry, 2 peach, 2 pear, 2 plum

and the Japenese beetles ate them alive last year. I'm not concerned with bearing fruit this year, so my question is:

Is covering them with mosquito netting a vialble plan? Seems easier that spraying every other day.

Thanks!

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Comments (8)

jellyman
16 years ago
Tom:

If you have the time, inclination, and enough mosquito netting, go ahead and try it. I don't think it will work very well, especially if you have any winds in your area (wherever that is).

The most effective insecticide against Japanese beetles is Sevin (Carbaryl), and you shouldn't have to spray every other day. About every 5 days should be enough for adequate control. Sevin knocks them down quickly, and every one you kill is one less to lay eggs in your ground for next season. This makes more sense to me than mosquito netting, but opinions can certainly vary.

The real, long-term solution to Japanese beetles is the application of milky spore to your territory. We have been all over this lately in some adjoining threads, and, while there are all the usual doubts and objections, no one who has tried milky spore is unhappy with the results.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
pattypooh_gardener
16 years ago
I used Orkin and they sprayed "side kick" on them. The beetles that were so thick that you couldn't walk in the yard just flew away. They don't like the taste. This is the only thing that I've seen work. You can spray sevin but it is a poison that knocks them down quickly and then they are back in a day or two. Side kick keeps on working.
Try it, you'll like it.
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jellyman
16 years ago
pattypooh:

For what I would pay the Orkin man to apply "side kick", I could buy enough milky spore to rid the entire neighborhood of Japanese beetles. If you think Sevin is a "poison", what do you think side kick is? If it is persistent enough to affect JB's over a long period of time, it must be some pretty heavy-duty stuff. Did you ask the Orkin man what the residual effect might be on food crops? That is what we are talking about here, not decorative shrubs. I am no organic nut, but I do like to know what is sprayed on my fruit producers, and its likely short-term and long-term effects. I don't see anything about side kick on the web, so it must be the proprietary name for some systemic insecticide that would curl your hair if you knew what it was.

If you applied milky spore and it did not work, there was something wrong with the product you purchased or the way you applied it. If the Orkin man or any other pest control supersaleman ever shows up here, it will be the day after I have been hauled out on a gurney.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
heetol
16 years ago
Has anyone ever heard of picking the Japenese Beetles off of the fruit trees then blending them up in an old blender, and spraying them back onto the trees? A fellow told me about this and that it worked for him. Sounds crazy to me, but would appreciate some feed back. Thanks
jellyman
16 years ago
heetol:

Your instincts are correct. It's crazy.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
franktank232
16 years ago
If you've got time, some money and a little know how and just want to do it, Michigan State has covered a bunch of cherry trees with structures and the bugs don't like going inside...

http://www.hrt.msu.edu/faculty/langg/Cherry_PP/Tunnel%20Poster%202006_2.pdf

Man i'm glad i don't have those things here...............YET!
diggity_ma
16 years ago
I have about as many fruit trees as you do Tom, and like yours, they are well loved by the local JBs. I'd just like to point out that for the average backyard orchard, picking JBs off by hand is not the craziest idea in the world. In today's day and age of wonder chemicals, it seems wacko to resort to such low-tech means. But picking by hand is definitely safer for your health and the environment, definitely cheaper, and arguably more convenient. By the time you research what spray you're going to use, drive to your local Agway or whatever to buy it, shell out $10-20 cash, drive back, mix it up, and spray it every few days..... well let's just say I can pick an awful lot of JBs in that amount of time. All I need is a bucket of water to drop them into and they'll drown. No squishing! Do it in the evening when they seem to be more sluggish. Often, you can even bend a branch right down into the bucket and give it a shake and they'll all fall off. Sure, you may miss a few and your trees may incur a little damage. But if the trees are otherwise healthy, they'll be fine.

Granted of course this becomes more difficult as the trees grow large, and it's probably not an option for commercial growers. But for backyard orchardists like us, I think it's a legitimate control strategy.

-Diggity
nygardener
16 years ago
Has anyone tried vacuuming them off? Eliot Coleman, the Maine organic farmer and author, rigged up some gadget that would go down a row of plants, dislodging beetles from one side and sucking them up with a shop vac from the other. Seems to me if it would work for vegetables then it should work for trees. I'll bet the upholstery attachment would do the job.

protecting small fruit trees from JBs

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jellyman

pattypooh_gardener

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