I also was surprised by them last year for the same reason - it was our first year in this house and our first house ever, so I didn't even know JBs existed. We didn't have much landscpaig then, so I didn't lose much.

This year, I bought some bag traps to place around our property and will also spray. I was told to put the bag traps around the perimeter of our yard since it will attract JBs from all around.

Here they are like a clock, on 4th of July.
The most affected plants (in my garden):
-hardy hibiscus,
-yellow/peach roses (when nothing yellow left, pink and red would be not left alone, but whites are seems to be out of interest for them all together),
-something else from the shrub cathegory, but can't remember at the moment. Lespedeza?

Since I start spreading Milky Spores over the beds and grass two years ago, population of JB grabs is greatly reduced, but while I dig new beds I could still found pockets where these nasty creatures hiding. In existing and treated by MS beds they are virtually non-existent.

Last year I tried new remedy and it work, but I'm not sure if I'll do it again.
On July 1-2, just a few days before their arrival I sprayed the most likely affected plants with Sevin.
It works and I had roses blooming the whole July, but later I discovered a lot of dead ladybags and bees all over the garden. Stuff is nasty!

I've also read that white geraniums are a good way to combat them too. There is some chemical in the white ones that will paralyze the JBs once they are ingested.

I never saw a Japanese beetle in my life until last year, and luckily, I've never had trouble with them on my roses. But my mole/vole problem, combined with a horrible, horrible, horrible asian & oriental beetle problem last summer, led me to drop the dime and buy milky spore. While I don't think milky spore will do much for the asian/oriental beetles, I figured it was supposed to help with grubs, which would supposedly lead to a lesser mole/vole problem. And when I saw that Japanese beetle last year, I thought there would be more to come this year.

So I put down milky spore on about half my yard. I just haven't gotten around to doing the rest yet. I don't know how soon the effects will be seen - not expecting much this year between only half the yard done and being the first year, but I'm thinking long term - and hoping that the friends of the beetle I found have not heard about my yard yet!

:)
Dee

Oh, Dee, I feel so much better knowing that you STILL haven't put down that MS! I thought I was the Queen of Procrastination, a title earned by failing to get the corn gluten down yet this year. Certainly there are many weeds that don't germinate until mid-June, right? Um, at least, there must be one or two in that category. Anyway, thanks for sharing that little tidbit, it really does make me feel better.

In my garden, the JBs attack my New Dawn roses - especially when they're stressed by other factors. Supposedly, healthy plants are more resistant to beetles, I don't know if that's been proven or not.

The traps have been shown to be a little worse than ineffective, I'm afraid. They draw more JBs than they trap, so the net result may be higher levels of the pests. At least that's what I've read - but the research may have been funded by the makers of Sevin, you really never know.

Japanese beetles aren't anything I get much of either. I attribute that to a large spring/early summer population of grackles in my neighborhood. They start arriving in March and usually stay through June or July. On a normal day groups of them march through my gardens poking at the grass and beds. They must eat all the grubs. I used to keep the bird feeders out all summer but those grackles would eat me out of house and home so now I pull the plug in April. Lately a red tailed hawk has been raiding their nests. I always know when the hawk is around because they start screaming and groups of them come from everywhere to attack the hawk. Despite the onslaught, the hawk usually wins and I end up feeling bad even though I know Mr. Hawk has to eat too and grackles don't appear to be in short supply.

Last year something decimated the leaves of my Persicaria Taurus. I suspect it was asian beetles but could never see anything on the leaves. One night I went out with a flashlight to see if I could track down those elusive beetles. No luck with that just confirmation to my neighbors that I really am nuts.

Every year it's some new pest.

Sue

Best method I've ever found to eliminate the japanese beetle is what grandpa used when I was growing up.
Plant 4 0'clocks around or near the plants that the beetles attack. the leaves of the 4 0'clocks are poisonous to the japanese beetle and they love them to boot. All I've found around my roses and any other plants they go after is a few holes, but find lots of dead beetles on the ground around my 4 0'clocks. The 4 0'clocks just keep on growing and growing, holes in their leaves and all. Seemed to have some affect on the asian beetles but didn't have many 4 0'clocks around them last year. Gonna try it out this year.

Fran

Hmm, that four-o'clock remedy is interesting. I'll have to keep that in mind. Like I said, I've never had a problem with japanese beetles before, but after seeing one for the first time, I'm a bit concerned about this year. In my particular case, though, I'm more worried about the other beetles, since they go for my echinacea, rudbeckia, daisies, etc. - all the stuff I sell at the farmer's market.

BTW, while the asian beetles are more elusive, if you've got orientals, you'll know it! Not a day went by last summer where I didn't come in with at least three of them stuck in my hair. Yuck!

:)
Dee

P.S. DTD, I did get some more of the milky spore down this spring, but still haven't finished the entire yard. Speaking of procrastination, I bought some grass seed in March to put down. Was finally going to make a run at actually having a lawn, and had planned on raking up/ripping out what passes as grass now, putting down soil amendments, and spreading seed... the bag of seed is still sitting in the garage!

Sue:

Another good reason to pander to grackles in the spring! This is my first year observing grackles, and I haven't seen any moth caterpillar damage to the trees around here.

I've been trying to decide when to stop the suet feeding - I was about to stop when I discovered the grackles were taking a beakful, dipping it in the birdbaths, and flying off, presumably to the nests. Like a bucket brigade with grackles flying in, grabbing the suet, and bringing it to the babies.

They seem to be slowing down so I'm hoping the babies are fledging so I can ease off on the sticky stuff.

Claire

How interesting about the grackles! We have tons of them this year, I was hoping they were eating grubs. I've watched them and only seen worms coming out.

I'd forgotten the 4 o'clock idea, I'll have to pick up some seeds, maybe next year since it's so late already. I put down nematodes last year but I have no clue if they helped or not. I've seen tons of grubs in the garden, that's for sure.

Oh, I almost forgot. I bought my son a bug vacuum and he is eagerly awaiting the beetles! We are almost looking forward to the morning ritual of beetle hunting.

I am going to try the 4 oclocks idea and a hand held vacuum too. It is already working on the red lily leaf beetle.

:-)

Japanese beetles are fun to squish, at least that's what I've convinced myself. The juice does stain, but washes off and out. As a kid I used to watch my mother do it to them, as she tended her extensive rose gardens. I think she got out a lot of pent up aggression by squishing them. In hindsight, maybe she enjoyed it just a BIT too much. I never heard her name one after me, though.

Last year I went around every mid-morning with a pump spray of a pyrethrinÂbased pesticide meant for fruits and vegetables, which leaves no residue. I set it on jet, not spray and went JB hunting. Since it is a contact pesticide, you have to hit the buggers, hence the 'hunt.' With a judicious squirt as needed, I covered all the gardens dispensing less than an ounce of liquid. The secret is to only depress the trigger partway so an entire squirt is not wasted. Kind of like filing down the trigger on a Colt 45 in the Old West. When they have their orgies, you can nail eight or 10 in a bunch. Later in the day, I just squished the stragglers. They chewed up my hollyhocks and grape vines, but both a very vigorous plants and quickly recovered. It remains to be seen how my 24 new roses will fare this year.

With this method I avoid killing beneficial insects, like my honeybees. For the same reason I donÂt use any grub killers in my lawn. Honeybee larvae are no more than grubs in frames and I canÂt risk wind or the tracking of little bee feet leading to a disaster in my hives, which are located at the far end of my lawn.

narcnh

prairiemoon, the handheld vacuum idea is brilliant! Hmm, all I have is a ShopVac though... *LOL*

I like the vacuum idea too. Like one of those dustbuster types. I usually fill a large Stoneyfield Yogurt container with soapy water and go around and 'guide' the Japanese beetles into it with a stick. Then cover until they are dead.

Sue

Hi greening and Sue :-)

We had a dustbuster in the basement that no one was using and I walked past it the other day, just after I had come in from looking at red lily beetles on the lilies. So the lightbulb went off. :-) The reason I considered doing it this way, was the little buggers kept getting away from me when I tried to hand pick. Not that they are that fast, but their timing is good, or my timing is bad. [g] Plus they have that habit of dropping upside down on the ground and then you can't see them. Plus I hate to touch them, I don't know why, I am not usually squeemish except with very large or very numerous bugs, which these weren't.

The handheld surprised me that it worked so well. Just enough suction evidently and no damage to the leaves.

The Japanese beetles I never have a problem with doing what you do Sue, but the RLLB was different for some reason. I think the JB are slower and larger. I wouldn't think the vaccuum would be much good with JB, would it? Aren't they too large for the opening?

:-)

I go out early morning, and knock JBs into a container of soapy water or water with a thin layer (1/4" or so) of regular vegetable oil on top. They drown pretty quickly and then I compost them.

NarcNH - Check the labeling on the Milky Spore, but I'm 99% sure that it's specific to JBs, not even affecting the Asian beetles or rose chafers, so I'm pretty certain that the infection doesn't get to the bees, larval or otherwise.

nhbabs,

I'll have to check that out. I'm sure I'm going to have a gangbuster year with them again.

Wait, if I kill them all off with milky spore, does that mean I can't have the joy of squishing them between my fingers, all stained orange/brown with bug juice?

narcnh, the squishinator

fbot.....It seems the only thing the JB eat in my yard are the white geraniums. I don't know that they are dying afterwards, just seems like more and more on the plants each day.

White geraniums are also poisonous to JBs.

Yeap, they are right on schedule, just arrived to selebrate the 4th of July.

Same here! They're feasting on my cukes and melons. Strangely, haven't seen them on my roses...yet!
I hung several of those 'bug-in-bag' traps as I too am hesitant to use the milky spore for fear that it might effect the beneficials.