pyrethrins are highly toxic to bees. You need japanese beetle traps - either bought or home made. several designs to make them online

Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese Beetle Traps

Pyrethrin sprays are toxic to bees, particularly when spraying is done when bees are active (pyrethrin breaks down rapidly in the environment). Japanese beetle traps are fairly useless in gardens however, and may well attract more of these pests than they kill. If used it's recommended that they be located on the perimeter of the property well away from valuable plants.

I will not go the trap route. Makes my stomach turn just thinking about it...

Japanese beetle traps draw the beetles to the traps, and if the traps are placed anywhere near your plants you are drawing the beetles to your traps.

I use pyrethrin in my yard, and have been for years for skeeters and other bugs such as JBs. I still get bees, but not as many as previous years.

I agree with sue36, those traps are worse than ever! They will come from miles around... stay away from them.

Looks like you are between a rock and a hard place. I guess you have to pick your battle: all insects or no insects :(

Keriann~

Those who spray pyrethrins are responsile for the decline of the bees.

Traps used correctly do not attract pests to your garden.

Isn't the whole purpose of a trap to attract bugs and then kill/trap them?

What am I missing?

Those JB traps are terrible, my neighbor hung one 100 feet from my property line and my gardens on their property line were covered in JBs. They were attracted to the liquid in them and flew from everywhere to get to it, landing on my plants, and feeding as they made their way to it.

Ant traps work the same way, but I do not see the increase in ants, I only see the population I am trying to control taken care of. But I am sure a few more come out of hiding to check out the bait as well.

Most traps work very well, but JB traps are a disaster in my opinion.

Bee population.. While I don;t like killing bees, my health comes first as well as my dogs' health. I have decided to control all of the bugs in my yard because i have not found a more effective way to only take care of the pests in my yard. I will continue to look but, pyrethrin does the trick everytime. Not to mention, I have thousdans of dollars in my gardens and you are crazy to think I would run and hide from skeeters and not enjoy my property.

I do have a bee farm way out in my orchard and I have not seen their population decrease.

Keriann~

Isn't the whole purpose of a trap to attract bugs and then kill/trap them?

What am I missing?

Those JB traps are terrible, my neighbor hung one 100 feet from my property line and my gardens on their property line were covered in JBs. They were attracted to the liquid in them and flew from everywhere to get to it, landing on my plants, and feeding as they made their way to it.

Ant traps work the same way, but I do not see the increase in ants, I only see the population I am trying to control taken care of. But I am sure a few more come out of hiding to check out the bait as well.

Most traps work very well, but JB traps are a disaster in my opinion.

Bee population.. While I don;t like killing bees, my health comes first as well as my dogs' health. I have decided to control all of the bugs in my yard because i have not found a more effective way to only take care of the pests in my yard. I will continue to look but, pyrethrin does the trick everytime. Not to mention, I have thousdans of dollars in my gardens and you are crazy to think I would run and hide from skeeters and not enjoy my property.

I do have a bee farm way out in my orchard and I have not seen their population decrease.

Keriann~

I am unaware of any research naming pyrethrin use as the cause of "the decline of the bees".

If used correctly, pyrethrin should not be harmful to the bee population. It should be applied in the evening after bee activity has ended. Because pyrethrin is not a persistant long-lived insecticide, bees can continue with their job the next morning.

That's why Sevin is not a particularly good idea. It can persist on the plant for 10 days, killing the bees or other beneficial insects that come into contact with it.

I beg to differ about the traps. I have seen how effective they are this year. I only used two and killed tons of those monsters. Nothing else works so well for Japanese Beetles besides Milky Spores.

Oh, I think they work well (the JB traps) I just think they bring way more JBs into my yard then if I didn't have one.

Keriann~

Personal opinion based on reading and the fact that DH's area of expertise is pesticides----I would avoid pyrethrin. Nasty stuff.

I have no doubt the traps work well, but I just CAN'T STOMACH the thought of emptying them - makes me want to vomit just thinking about it...

I will not get the pyrethrin stuff, then. I'll just deal with the problem with the soapy water trick best I can. I already saw a few of the beasts on my rugosa roses, I'll have to get out there this evening.