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Fruit & Orchards

japanese beetles eating grape leaves

11 years ago

I have been attempting to control japanese beetles on my grape vines by organic spraying. The recipe is a mixture of garlic powder and cayenne pepper basically. It seemed to work at first, in late June when only a few beetles were showing up. I was gone on vacation for a few days and came back to find many beetles all over 2 of the vines in particular. I've sprayed them, but the beetles seen unfazed! I think they left their scent and the grape vines are now in trouble. The two vines they are attacking are seedless varieties called glenora and lakemont. My estimation is that the beetles prefer these because the leaves seem to be smoother and not as rough as some of the other varieties I grow like concord or niagara. If any of you have experience in controlling japanese beetles organically, please let me know what you do! Also, I'm curious if anyone of you have experiences like I've mentioned with the beetles showing a clear preference for eating certain varieties of grape leaves over others. Any anecdotal words of wisdom you can share would be greatly appreciated!!

Joe

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Comments (4)

denninmi
11 years ago
Why aren't you using traps? They are very effective, IMHO, I've had dozens go in a trap per day, and we only have very light J.B. populations in my part of Oakland County, unlike, say, the East Side around St. Clair Shores, the Grosse Pointes, etc, where I understand they can be very bad.

I would go buy a couple of traps for each vine, they should trap the majority of the offenders.
kayak_boy
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you for replying, denninmi. I haven't used traps because I've read anecdotal evidence that traps are a mixed bag. Yes you are definitely right that they trap many beetles. They work great, but do they work too well that they bring even more beetles to that area than you have traps for?
I would prefer if possible to deter the beetles from coming into my yard rather than drawing them into it with traps.

Thanks again for your response. I will think about what you wrote.
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I'm feeling your pain, jimtnc. I have two of those trees in my front yard and I used to see hundreds at a time last year. We used Sevin to really fight the population and we put down milky spore to kill the larvae in our yard. This year, we have seen a decrease in the amount, but they still eat the heck out of those leaves. Because I have created a butterfly garden and bought some ladybugs to control aphids, I decided to not use Sevin on those trees (I have a perennial garden beneath one of them). Instead, my husband and I go out at night/early morning and knock the trees with rakes so the beetles will fall in buckets of soapy water. I have even taking to squishing them with my fingers (with gloves on, of course). They are nasty creatures, and with every one I kill, I know that it's saving me more trouble next year. Good Luck!!
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Milky Spore... That's my plan. The Japanese beetles are eating the leaves off my fruit trees and corn, so I've been spraying Sevin, but I also order me some Milky Spore. Jellyman, who hangs over in the Fruit forum has been using it for years and the stuff works for over a decade after application. When I stopped by his place a couple weeks ago, he had all kinds of yummy stuff that JB's love but I didn't see any JB around and it was his Milky Spore application he did years ago. It's natural and won't harm humans or pets, but it takes a while (maybe a few years) to rid the yard of JBs. The reason is because of the way it works. Milky Spore is a bacteria that grows in the gut of JB grubs which eventually kiils them. As they die off, they produce more Milky Spore, so it will spread out on it's own from your yard to the neighbors. And since JB's don't fly far, they will eventually disappear. BTW, I bought enough Milky Spore to do 20K sq/ft but will use it on an acre since it'll propagate on it's own. It was $150, but it'll be $$$'s well spent because it's basically a one time application that'll work for years to come.
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The good news is the Jap beetles are almost done here in Madison, I've had plenty of them. Not sure about currants, never grown them. I sprayed my ferns and grapevines with Bonide 8 again this year, that does a great job. I hate using any insectacide. but that's the only option (I never eat the grapes anyway). I had a Birch tree in the front yard literally eaten alive by the beetles, had to cut it down last year. I hand pick them and drop em in soapy water on the rasperries, beans, asparagus, marigolds and morning glories. It's a constant battle (noon & night), but very satisfing! A good attractant plant is morning glories. Beetles are easy pickins from the large flat leaves at top plus MG seed is easily saved in fall for next years plants.
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Kelly, have a look THIS SITE. I know someone who had a recurring problem with this pest on a Bradford pear. Trapping the adults was the most practical solution.
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User
11 years ago
The obvious solution is to spray your grapes with an insecticide that kills by ingestion.
wiguy12
11 years ago
I have used traps, sprays, covers and so on to control these pesky insects in Wisconsin.... we have severe infestations of them.... they defoliated my cherry tree in one day! Needless to say, since then I rely mostly on netting to prevent the contact with them. Other than that, I have also tried another method, though it is not fun. If you manage to collect enough beetles from your traps, and have an old blender, Grind those suckers up with lots of water, strain the emulsion, and use a pump sprayer with a spreader sticker added to the water. They do not like the smell of dead japanese beetles, and tend to stay away from the plants sprayed with this.... it has to be applied often if you have lots of rain ( a downfall, depending on the size of your vines) but given the relatively dry summer we have had at least, the re-application has only had to be once a week or so. Some long term solutions include adding milky spore to your lawn, this takes a while for the fungus to build up in the soil, but it kills the grubs before emerging as beetles, so I have had success with this. In all honesty, a combination of all of these will do the most good, as well has hand picking in the morning while they are inactive. I hope that this helps you out!

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