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Cottage Gardens

homemade Japanese beetle trap

15 years ago

A woman on another Web site posted that she makes Japanese beetle traps by placing a cup of sugar, a cup of vinegar, a banana peel and water into a large bucket. She had a photo of a gallon bucket half filled with her beetle trap solution, which was loaded with drowned beetles. She said it didn't matter how much water gets added to the brew.

Lorna

Here is a link that might be useful: Japanese beetle thread

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Comments (4)

gldno1
15 years ago
I will be giving that a try next year!

Thanks for the link.

Baker Creek is one of the companies I get my garden seed from.
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DYH
15 years ago
I've decided what I'm going to do. I'm going to take a vacuum cleaner out in the garden everyday and those nasty little bugs will get dumped out of the vacuum canister directly into soapy water, maybe even HOT soapy water. Next year, I'm carrying the big weapon into the garden! LOL

Cameron
P.S. My DH thinks it's a wonderful idea...he's tired of helping to pluck-and-dunk the bugs.
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DH hired a lawn service this year and I came home one day to find a "pesticide in use" sign in my yard. Grrrr. I wasn't happy. I have no idea what they used. I do plan on applying GrubX since I don't know what they used, it will be an expensive proposition, that's for sure (40k sf of lawn). I think I will get the traps and place them far away from the gardens, I can easily place them 100-300 feet from my house and still be on my own property. Since I can put them so far from the gardens, between me and the neighbor, so you think they might work? I have no intention of emptying the bags, I'll have DH do it! Do you think the defoliated roses will make it? One is the white knock-out, one is a David Austin and the other is an heirloom climber. The pink Knockouts are the current meal, I'll start drowning the little buggers tomorrow. As much as I hate the JB's, I hate the lily leaf beatles even more (I have no lilies because of them).
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Money well spent!
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I think I found the post you were talking about in the cottage forum. There were lots of beetles in the bucket but I couldn't tell if they were June Bugs or Japanese Beetles or both. I guess it's ok to get rid of the June Bugs too. Those don't bother me as much as Japanese Beetles though. She mentions that it attracts flys and ants also. I think I'd have to blindfold myself and put a clothespin on my nose to dump it. gross lol I say every year that I'm going to try Japanese Beetle bags but I never have. If I found some on clearance, I would save them for next year and hang them at the back of our property. I think it's far enough away from my yard and it would lure them away. They start breeding within the first week of emerging so whichever method a person uses, it's best to start early before they lay a million eggs for the next year.
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Homemade Japanese Beetle Trap
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Comments (3)
No, taz. It's a cute KID project. I find it much easier and more efficient to use a can filled with soapy water in one hand and my other hand to grab the beetles. Do you think I should do a tutorial on that method? ;-) And speaking of kids, this little gadget would be a great way to get them involved. Not only would they like the 'let's make this from scratch' aspect, but I imagine that they like the idea of using such stuff to catch icky 'bugs'. Great idea for kids. I've already emailed it to a pal with 4 of the little ones!
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todancewithwolves
15 years ago
Wow! That bucket is full! Great tip, thank you.

Edna
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ashli
15 years ago
I am a doubter...wouldn't/ couldn't it be possible that the bucket-trap... attract the Japanese Beetles??

But I put the web page in favorites...so that I can remember to try it next year...
I think this past Spring/Summer was my worse year for those pesty insects...(I had planted more Roses)...Odd that I seemed to be the only one in the neighborhood lucky enough to have swarms of beetles...They came early and stayed late...and my poor Roses haven't recovered...
Thanks for the tip!
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