Japanese Beetles went elsewhere this season!

carmen_grower_2007

13 years ago

For the first summer, my Rose of Sharon bushes are just gorgeous and also my perennial hibiscus because for some reason we have very few Japanese Beetles this year. Maybe they have a predator after all.

Now if only the same thing would happen with the Asian lady bugs this fall! (We vacuum up bags full every fall from INSIDE the house.)

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Comments (13)

crm2431
13 years ago
Well we got your Japanese beetles here this year and we have had the Asian lady bugs toooooo long now.
pitimpinai
13 years ago
They are here in Chicago!
Would you like them back?
:-(
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Spraying plants with bug juice, or leaving a can of dead bugs on display, can't hurt, and probably helps. I had read that the JB sends a scout and then the scout releases a scent telling others it's a good spot. My experience last year goes along with that. I was in the garden, one arrived and I hadn't yet set up my can. I was working on putting my glove on, but before I could, two more came, started sexing on a leaf, and then a bunch more piled on. I ran and set up the can and started flicking them in and kept the can at hand, but also on display in case there was some kind of scent of death. The first year I had JB, I got the scout and stepped on him, then left his body on the ground. I definitely think there's something to this, although I've never been able to catch cucumber beetles quickly enough. They're tricky.
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buford, thanks a lot. I've put up with enough without using some pesticides. Sometimes compomises are necessary. If it was just my small yard, it might not be so bad, but so little is being done about them in my locale, they are going to get out of control from people not fighting them. Some people don't even know they are here yet because they don't grow roses. I did see two homes not far from me with beetle traps. One house less than 2 blocks from me had one hanging right by the mass of roses in their front yard, don't know how often they emptied it. I walked by there after the beetles were gone, and saw no damage to the roses there. BUT all I remember of those roses, they are pink, think Carefree Beauty. Yellow and orange ones are THE worst at attracting them. My favorites, of course. I didn't see it myself, but someone told me that in the park on the mulberry trees down the by creek along a lengthy bike path, they were so bad, they were hanging from the trees in chains. I don't know what the city will do about those, if anything. The only thing I know being done was traps in the city park rose garden. Some garden centers don't seem to get too bothered by them. I figure it's partly due to all that asphalt surrounding them because there is no place left to lay eggs, but as they get worse, the beetles will find it all if it's outside. One mailman last year went to work, came home that evening to a completely defoliated elm tree he had just planted. I will also try to do something about the grubs, but as before, with so few people fighting them, it will do little good. It takes community awareness, effort and dedicated cooperation in the worst heat of the year with high humidity which makes it even more difficult to make any significant inroads toward reducing their numbers. I think you're ok with your imidacloprid if you cut the bloom off after you spray it because of its residual effects, small price to pay for saving a few bees.
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Hugs to your poor daughter! yes, what happens is that young baby toddlers are very uncoordinated and will fall very easily. I am thinking she must have somehow fallen unto that bee when she was very young. Normally bees never ever sting unless they are in danger or their hive are being invaded; they are normally very gentle especially! the bumblebees. They themselves are very clumsy and will often tumble around on their flower. I too, if I were a Mom would hate or be afraid of a bee if that had happened to my daughter, but am hoping you will eventually understand that bees aren't pests but are essential to farmers; they have to bring beekeepers in to pollinate their fruits and vegetables. That is why so many people are concerned about their disappearance. Without bees we won't have fruits to eat and seeds to plant. That is how critical bees are. At Powell Gardens where I visit, they purposefully keep their gardens pesticide free and have butterfly and bee exhibits for the children to enjoy. There are bees everywhere! All kinds of varieties. My mom too is allergic to stings and has to be hospitalized if she were to get stung. She was stung by a yellow jacket about twenty years ago. But she loves watching the bees up close. She doesn't like yellow jackets and will avoid or walk away from them. Interestingly, I didn't see any yellowjackets at Powell Gardens. Maybe because the multitude of bees kept them away because of the food competition? sort of interesting. If this were the case than having lots of bees to keep those nasty yellowjackets away would be terrific. Some yellow jackets can have a nasty foul temper unlike the gentle bumblebee. Another wonderful thing about Powell Gardens is that they have a vegetable garden for families to eat and take free goodies with them, all thanks to the bees pollinating all the stuff (smiley face).
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prairiemoon2 z6b MA
13 years ago
I've had about 5. Instead, I've gotten the mahogany color Asiatic Beetles that feed at night and another similar beetle that is a mottled brown and white. This is the first year any beetle has been a problem. I've been going out after dark to hand pick and every night there are more. I wonder when beetle season is over? I also wonder why you suddenly didn't have the Japanese Beetles?
busylizzy
13 years ago
Jap beetles are in Pa munching on the red raspberreis till I put up a lure.

Asain Beetles come out in the Spring here, having an exterminator come in the fall to spray the South side of the house this year. 1,000's are in the bedroom windows.
dorisl
13 years ago
Its not that bad here. Ive only got one kind of plant they are seriously munching on, I think its evening primrose? I caught a couple on the raspberry and on an impatien. They also much a little on the 4:00, which, of course I planted specifically for them.

I catch 10-20 a day of them in a mug of soapy water, I just tip them in with an old fork and they do the ole drop and roll right in.

I have ALOT of lightning bugs, the larvae eat the JB grubs. My friend uses some kind of dust on them, but I think she kills the larvae predators as well. She's also got tons ofo them, only a few blocks away.
christie_sw_mo
13 years ago
I don't think we have any Asiatic Beetles here yet. We have lots of Japanese Beetles though. This is the first year I've put up beetle bags to catch them and I've caught far more than I imagined I would. I think I must be trapping every beetle in town.
Carmen if your beetle numbers are down, I think it's very possible that one of your neighbors put up traps and they all flew to their yard. They attract them from a long distance.
I wish I knew how many beetles can fit in one of these bags - more than a gallon I bet, and I've dumped my two bags many many times this summer.
{{gwi:416614}}

Yes I know I'm attracting them to my yard but I don't care. : ) It's very satisfying to send millions of Japanese Beetles to the landfill. lol
dorisl
13 years ago
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

;)
v1rt
13 years ago
Now I believe they really work! That's an amazing product!!!!!!!

Christie, did you see any damage in your plants?
christie_sw_mo
13 years ago
Yes I still have damage - less than last year, but maybe I would have had MORE otherwise. It's hard to tell whether the bags are helping much. The beetles that I put in the garbage aren't eating anything. That's for sure.
I placed my bags in the middle of our small hayfield where there's a clump of three trees hoping to draw them away from my yard.
Doris - I had never heard that Lightning Bug larvae eat Japanese Beetle grubs. That's interesting. Maybe that's why I've had so many Lightening Bugs the last couple years. There's plenty for them to eat.
just1morehosta
13 years ago
WOW,that is amazing, and Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww,also.
How long are the bags?They look very long.
My thought is this, if you trap them this summer, won't there just naturally be less next year, as they will not be laying any eggs in the ground.Maybe we should all do this?

Lightening Bugs will also eat slugs,yeaaaaa
cAROL
v1rt
13 years ago
That's what I thought too Carol. If I put 5 bags of this in my yard, maybe I'd bring all JBs of McHenry county.

Where can we buy it? I like the same product.
dorisl
13 years ago
Lightening Bugs will also eat slugs,yeaaaaa

so do skunks.......
christie_sw_mo
13 years ago
The brand in the photo is Rescue. They have a zipper at the bottom that slides like a zip-lock bag. They're hard to unzip when they're full though. The zippers on mine finally broke so I've been duct taping Walmart bags to the bottom to catch the beetles. That works almost as well.

Carmen - Do your neighbors have Asian Ladybugs too or do they all go to your house?
The article below says "Contrasting light-dark features tend to attract the beetles -- dark shutters on a light background, light shutters on a dark background..." Another article I read said they're more likely to enter homes that have a cedar shake roof or wood siding.
They invaded our shed one year but haven't moved into our house yet.

Here is a link that might be useful: Asian Lady Beetles

Japanese Beetles went elsewhere this season!

Comments (13)

crm2431

pitimpinai

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