And when I wrote in the other thread I think I said my lilies were up 8-10". Now they are twice that and I just examined them tonight and they are still clean as could be.

My lilies are Asiatics fwiw. If this is for real, maybe I will indulge in orientals.

i think orientals rarely have this beetle, if i remember correctly.
mindy

They like the orientals just fine in my client's garden.

Been plucking them off asiatics, orientals, and tigers. Gonna neem again! If these lilies didn't have sentimental value I'd remove them.

I have dealt with these for the last 5 yrs with Sevin(sadly,) best to get them before they lay eggs and one has to deal with really gross grubs. Oddly, they showed up much later this year in my garden and they will destroy Asiatics, tiger and orientals with impunity. Another great import! When they first showed up years ago they would emit a high pitched squeal when you thrreatened them in any way (no I am not kidding they REALLY did this, very creepy) but now it appears that this trait has been bred out of them.

The little devils like ANY kind of true lily. I tried squishing, and using organic controls for a the past few years. I've given up!

I used Bayer "Rose and Flower insect killer" after finding and squishing the first few. It's supposed to "protect" up to 30 days with rainproof protection. I check every day/2 and have seen no more beetles. But using this crap creeps me right out. It's my hope that a year/2 of this garbage will get me to a point where I can go back to gentler controls...

But I have my doubts... and I tip my hat to "globalization". :(

The lily leaf beatle attacks all true lilies, which includes the asiatic ones.

The infestation got so bad in my beds that I just plain gave up and dug out all my lilies and got rid of them.

Tried everything I could find to use and it was just a temporary fix.

Chelone, the Bayer stuff doesn't end the problem and I refused to continue with the dangerous stuff.

Most of my neighbors have done the same, dug them out and gotten rid of them. Just not worth the effort to hand pick when you have hundreds of them all over the lilies and pesticides is not something any of us wanted to continue using.

Now the beds are full of other beauties that don't require the constant care to have a chance at seeing a flower.

My next door neighbor just decided this weekend to dig them up as well. Just no longer worth the effort.

Fran

Well I am pretty organic. The only time I use any type of pesticide is to use full-strength herbicide on the stumps of Norway maple, Oriental bittersweet, and Buckthorn after they've been cut.

I have a few lilies and they're gorgeous, but they aren't worth a heroic effort. And I am gardening for wildlife, so I will not use chemicals on or near the flowers that I am growing to provide nectar and pollen for the pollinators.

This year I'm going to drown the Beetles in a container of soapy water. Had to do that for the Oriental beetles that ate the Echinacea last year too. I am also hoping that the birds that are attracted to the birdbaths, feeders and plantings might eat some of the beetles! One can hope...

If that doesn't work with minimal effort, then the lilies might get shovel-pruned.

Terrene, I never found the birds did any good to keep the beetle population down.

4 o'clocks help reduce the Japanese beetles though. the leaves are poisonous to them, so plant 4 o'clocks beside and near plants that attract the japanese beetles. They will chew some of the 4 o'clock leaves, die and the others are smart enough to see what is happening and stay away.

Used this method for years, my grandmother used it for her 400 different kinds or roses and never had an infestation. Doesn't seem to help with the other kinds of beetles though.

Fran