Some people pick the about-to-bloom buds in the morning before the JBs get them--lots of bouquets of roses in the house while you wait for the JBs to disappear.

Can't help you on the other questions--I won't say this above a quiet whisper (shhhh---no JBs here). Like Jim of New York, I'm superstitious about saying that very loudly in case they overhear and all decide to pay me a visit. : )

Kate

Doing nothing about the problem will make the problem worse. Each female can lay five or six eggs a day and can live for a month or two. The math of your doing nothing over a five year period becomes a staggeringly depressing nightmare.
Once I read the numbers, I decided to kill them earliest and whenever I would see one.
I would expect the houses with blooms are probably using Merit. I've seen it used and the blooms often have dead beetles in the petals, but they do look good from the street.
Once a beetle has landed on a bud, that bud is d#$%ed because the beetle leaves pheromones on the bud and more beetles will come to that bud in search of sex. (Same problem with Box Elder Beetles on the side of a house- where I see Box Elder Beetles I wash the area with high deteregent soap and the Box Elders don't come back.)

During JB season, cut your buds on modern roses as soon as the sepals are turned back. Kill the beetles whenever you can. See what's written about Milky Spore and your coldness zone; I think some research was done last year in Michigan that might help.

Kate-- maybe all the beetles in the Central Plains have been leached into the groundwater.

If you donÂt pick them there will be more next year. Many JBs will drop down to the ground from the bushes to lay eggs. So treat your rose bed with milky spore and you have less grub damage on rose roots and less JB next season. Treat your lawn too if you irrigate it.

I wait until JBs show up in large number because I donÂt have time to pick often. In fact I started picking them from July 4 holiday and this morning there were only 8. Roses bloom now with few damages, but 3 weeks earlier, all unprotected blooms were chewed up, leaves too.

Do you have a link to that article Ann? I was interested in doing Milky Spore but I heard it wasn't effective in zone 5 winters.

I kill as many of the JB as I can. It should keep their numbers manageable. I figure if I do nothing they'd kill the cherry tree and there would be a lot more next year. As it is they're doing a lot of damage to that poor tree but at least I'm fighting back.

I've got what Ann describes, and yes they get worse. I need some serious chemical measures here in this Granola Girl garden.

Will the Bayer drench kill the eggs [?] or whatever stage would be in the ground this time of year, do y'all think? Do they lay eggs by the plant they are on when they mate?

Is there a cheaper grub-killing option than Milky Spore? So much land to cover, oy.

I've GOT to start spraying the buggers. I thought predators might balance things out but I suppose that's why non-native species can take over... not enough natural predators because they aren't natural here.

Naturally I've got snakes, hawks, owls and moles/voles for the grubs and all I get is more snakes and moles/voles and no fewer JBs. And moles/voles get me MAD too, grrrr!

Meredith, you aren't going to control the beetles significantly by killing grubs in your garden soil. They are flying into your garden from 1/2 mile away, tracking the scent of roses. They could lay eggs in the garden, but the preferred site is well-watered turf, pasture, or meadow. I've never found any great number in the garden soil. I don't think mulch is the sort of environment they are drawn to.

If you irrigate your lawn, milky spore is probably the best choice, as it lasts, but you could call the county extension office and see if they recommend it for your area. The other choices are Scotts GrubEx and Bayer Merit granules. GrubEx seems environmentally preferable.

Ann and Harry say properly placed traps are very helpful (not next to the roses).

I donÂt irrigate my lawn (it would cost a small fortune), and the turfs are in uniform shade of brown. I think JBs prefer the moist, easy-to-dig soil in the cultivated garden than dry, hard clay turf to lay their eggs. From what I read, the grubs feed on roots of grass as well as shrubs. But many can fly in from surrounding areas too.

NCState Coop Extension doesnÂt think the traps have real impact on reducing the population in the area that uses them. My thoughts on this: The traps draw more beetles than they can catch, and those that are not caught would lay eggs to maintain the population. Other surrounding areas that donÂt use traps will have healthy population of beetles to continue to fly into your area because of the scents (from traps or roses).

Ann or Harry may see it differently if the traps have reduced JBs population yearly in their neck of the woods.

Here is a link that might be useful: JB info from NCSU Coop Ext

A couple of years ago Harry gave us an approximate count of the beetles in the traps vs. the beetles in the roses. I wonder if he still has a note of that. I think rose gardeners are in a different positions than other homeowners, in that rose gardens are a powerful long-distance attractant for beetles. Then once there are a few females in the roses, that strengthens the attaction. So instead of the trap attracting beetles that then find the roses, it might be more like traps intercepting beetles that would be on their way to the roses otherwise.

Roseleaf, you are probably right that if the beetles find your yard baked to brick, they would prefer the moist garden soil, but they might prefer a neighbor's irrigated yard even more. Grubs in lawns often number 10-20 or more per square foot in the top 3". I've rarely seen more than one per shovelful in the garden, but then I don't have a particularly bad beetle problem.

Here is an up-to-date survey of control methods including biological agents.

Here is a link that might be useful: JB control

My beetle problem isn't real bad but bad enough. I tried picking but even going out there 4-5 times a day or more wasn't helping. They were eating them before I even saw them. The last straw was when they ate 2 whole honey perfume blooms.

I have a half acre yard (not bad for suburbia) and I put a JB trap in the back corner of my yard far away from any roses. It has been up for 3 days and I have only picked about 2-4 beetles each day. I am actually able to enjoy double delight and honey perfume without them being munched to pieces instantly. I hope it continues!

Like Ann, I also use the bags. In one week last year I filled 24 bags to the brim! I mean to the very top of the bags... this year I have seen a lot less - meaning a maybe a hundred instead of thousands like last year. Maybe all did not go into the bags, but the ones that did were not multiplying. I put four bags up - one on each corner of my yard. I will spray Sevin on the fruit trees every two weeks - also on the roses if they get worse. I also drown them in soapy water. a friend told me she mixes the water in a sprayer bottle then sprays it on them and it kills them within a few minutes.

Ann, You said something last year about using empty jars? Can you elaborate? I was thinking about trying baited milk jugs...

The trap has rose scent to attact the females-- a tiny fragment of the rose scent coming from a garden in bloom. The traps has female pheromones to attract the males-- the rose garden has real females emitting away. The trap has a blob of bright color for visual attraction. The rose garden has 50 times as much visual appeal. . .

So why would anybody with a rose garden worry about traps attracting beetles to the yard?

Speaking from my own experience, the scent and pheromone from the traps attract more beetles to the traps and to the garden than without the traps. Scent is more powerful than visual attraction for JB IÂm afraid, as they like roses of all colors in my garden. I donÂt know if my experience is true elsewhere. Maybe you can experiment by putting out traps in the vicinity of your rose garden this summer Michael. YouÂll see ;-)

By hand picking, for several summers at this time, there are only few stray fugitives in my garden, probably flying in from those green turfs. IÂm as happy as can be.

Of course you wouldn't put traps near the rose garden, you would put them on the borders at likely flyways, downwind if there is prevailing wind. Scent is the attractor from long range; that's why there are more beetles in the rose garden than anywhere else in the neighborhood. Once again, the traps use rose scent to attract JBs, but the garden has much more rose scent to offer. If I had JBs as bad as Harry and Olga have shown us, I wouldn't let my roses flower during JB season.

We made our own disposable bottoms for the conventional traps.
At one time we had this on the net, but that site is down right now.
We took the green bags, cut the bulgy part off, and took a large light weight plastic peanut butter jar (empty of PB), drilled some holes n the bottom, and then drilled a hole in the jar lid that is wide enough for a common plumbing pipe with a lip to fit through the hole in the lid, then the plumbing pipe goes up into the green bag and an adjustable clamp (the kind used on auto hoses) holds the bag onto the plumbing pipe.
The to empty the bag, unscrew the bottom of the jar, and dump into the watery grave of choice.
A couple of years after we made this, the trap people came out with a more expensive version...
Back when we had heavy JB pressure (and rainfall) we'd put the traps around the perimeter of the mowed part of the property and then several bags within the garden, one right above The McCartney rose which was always loaded. (Yes, Michael, we did that and still got McCartney blooms.) Beetles preferred the lures to the roses.

The DOT yellow trap mouth was probably chosen after tests showed the JBs preferred that color to McCartney pink and other colors. But McCartney was the favorite rose because of its fragrance. The JBs come to the garden by smell and then dive at a bright-colored blob.

LOL Michael. You can disagree, but itÂs S.E.X! The ultimate attractant of every living creature to procreate since... well, dawn of time. ItÂs the pheromone in the lure that makes them dive in first then maybe eat later. The DOT color is pleasing to them, but not the main factor.

I followed the instructions and placed the traps as far as to the edge of the property, which was about few hundred feet from the rose garden. The bags caught them well, and there were many JBs that didnÂt get into the bags went for the nearby real scent. I didnÂt dare to place a trap within the garden as Ann did. I figured a few hundred feet of buffer was nothing. It didnÂt work for me. I wonder if you place many traps very far away like a quarter mile, half mile around the perimeter from the rose garden (thatÂs a lot of traps), that may save the roses, but itÂs not practically doable in most suburbia and lot houses. I think everyone may have to try the trap and see if it works in your settings.

If Ann's trap caught any females-- which it must have done if any flowers survived-- it was because JBs prefer DOT yellow to McCartney pink and instinctively fly to the yellow. The pheromone attracts only male beetles. The scent of roses brings females to the garden and the females generate pheromones, one might guess more than the trap offers. I suppose I'm sounding stubborn here, but I think it's important to recognize that the rose garden is a giant scent lure. It points to some possibilities for control. One is to use traps, and the other is to reduce the volume of rose scent, as well as removing the beetles that are present and sending out pheromones. I don't argue against Roseleaf's personal experience. But others have contrary experiences. How well the traps work might vary with the layout of one's yard.

That website of ours is still up!
And with it the diagram of our variation on the traps.
Also if you go to the home page of that site, the pix at the top is our front yard and we put traps along the fenceline in the foreground and several more throughout the garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: About JBs

Michael, what I see in my garden is that JBs will flock to Chrysler Imperial blooms and leave the KO blooms alone, and these two bushes are planted near one another. I donÂt see a JB preference between Frontenac and Prairie Harvest, which are side by side, and both have mild fragrance. As I see it, they choose the scent then. If a female JB is caught in the trap, then the floral lure must be stronger than McCartneyÂs, which has very powerful scent itself. The approaching male JB is definitely driven by the pheromone from the lure so he doesnÂt have choice when the trap is placed next to the bloom. I donÂt recall in any documents I read about JB that they prefer colors over scent.

I donÂt think they prefer DOT yellow over fragrant pink. But we may have to disagree then.

Not meant to be arguing. Your posts are always thought inspiring, making me think more than necessary.

I have a skinny spiny-legged hopping spider like bug that is eating the heck out of the rose blooms that the SOB JB's don't. They are a florecent green and can only hop about. I can't find it in my books. I am in SC. Any ideas what this thing is?

I have tried to compare beetle activity when I remove the traps vs. when they are present. Either way, there are many beetles on my roses. However, it seems like there are fewer when the traps are in place. Maybe I just want to believe this because I know the traps are killing thousands of beetles without insecticides.

I have created traps which use the yellow top and scent, but not the bags. The beetles fall directly into a bucket of water. During the height of the season, I have to empty or change the bags every day. The bucket can be emptied once a week.

If you want to save blooms--it is possible, but looks silly. I had a friend who wanted some roses for a party--I covered specific blooms with knee-high panty hose. It kept the beetles off and preserved the blooms. We took to calling the kneehighs "rose condoms." It looked VERY silly.

I don't irrigate my turf or my woods...and only spot irrigate my plants--so perhaps that is why I have fewer issues than y'all. I'm averaging 20 beetles or so a day.

melanie

Jmorris, take a look at some pictures of leafhoppers, related to the grasshoppers that eat anything.

Jmorris, I would guess katydid nymphs, which are like slender green grasshoppers with no wings. They will become adult katydids, nearly 2" with leafshaped green wings. Both young and adults love rose buds, which they slice in a sheer plane.

Put a house and garden aerosol in your toolkit and puff them when you see them. They are hard to catch, but you can usually spot them in the vicinity of the characteristic damage.

Roseleaf, you are right that beetles will prefer a fragrant red over a non-fragrant red. They will also go to scentless bright yellow roses like Oregold. The rose garden is flooded with rose scent and (if beetles are already present) pheromones. Flower-pest insects are definitely attracted to specific colors, generally light and bright ones. That's why sticky traps are used to monitor for small pest insects. They reflexively fly to a blob of the colors they are wired for-- yellow is the strongest attractor in most cases. Bright yellow Carefree Sunshine gets many more beetles than pale-yellow Prairie Harvest nearby.

Here are various katydid nymphs. Some do look like spiders, but mine are slender and green.

Here is a link that might be useful: image search