as with all chemical or biological products... you read the label and apply it according to those written directions ... i would not defer to other authors or sources for information, unless that source wrote the instructions on the package ... anyway .. off the soap box ... now devils advocate .... JB's fly ... how is treating your little slice of heaven.. going to stop them from flying to your yard and .. on a side note .... if you buy a lure type trap.. since we are on the subject ... give them as presents to the neighbors upwind ... so the darn things will be lured to their garden/yard.. and not yours... one year.. all of a sudden it struck me... WHAT THE HECK WAS THE GOOD OF LURING THEM TO MY GARDEN????? finally ....one years overwhelming plague does not mean it will be this years problem ... one years its the JB's... last year for me it was cicadas ... one year it was those darn biting weird ladybugs .... and they seldom ever come back in droves the following years ... go figure on that ... on that logic ... you MIGHT not need to be all that proactive in most cases ... i realize that milky spore is pretty harmless ... so have at it ... but too many homeowners use way to many controls/chemicals.. that just arent necessary ... or they use them improperly based on third hand knowledge .. or figure if they say one teaspoon per gallon of water.. then the whole bottle sans the water is even better ... etc ...oops.. sorry .. got back on the soapbox.. lol ... good luck ken

just to have at your ornamental cherry Unfortunately, yes. You have just provided a nice lunch, dinner, etc. I stopped putting out JB traps (at the front edge well, well away from the gardens) when my rear neighbor put in ornamental cherries. I didn't need them any longer--those cherries are doing a better job of attracting them. Prior to that, I put down Milky Spore (semi-rural PA here). It's a bit slow to build up, but once it does no self-respecting beetle will survive in the lawn or gardens. I haven't used the nematodes as my problem was never extreme, but I hear good things about them. They'll go for the grubs and happily reproduce in the corpse. I don't hear that they'll do anything for the adults, though.

I don't know the answer, though I'd expect it would be good to prevent it from freezing in the can. I just googled m.s. and read "For best results, apply when soil is warm." It might depend on where you are located - us coastal types may have a longer window in fall because the ground stays unfrozen for so long. Then again I don't think the grubs are actively feeding at this time, and I don't know if they're still near the surface. Is it really $90 per can? I thought it was more like 30 at my local garden center, for the kind you apply in splotches. You might try to email gardeners supply, since they sell it. They can be very helpful even if you didn't make the purchase from them. One more thing - the cans I've bought locally always look like they've been sitting around for years, so maybe the spores can survive in that can for longer than we'd imagine.

Merit is a very broad spectrum and potent poison that will kill most all of the soil life you have, although there are some of the target population that are immune to this product. Since this is such a broad spectrum poison it should only be considered for use as an absolute last resort poison. Milky Spore Disease, Bacillus popilliae, is a specific control for members of the scarab beetle family and only affects them at certain, early stages in their life and does not adversly affect the health of any other insect as Merit does. A start to growing plants that are not affected by insect pests as much as yours are is to contact your local office of the University of Connecticut USDA Cooperative Extension Service about a good, reliable soil test and then dig in with these simple soil tests to see what you have and what you need to do to get there; 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. Plants growing in a good, healthy soil are less susceptible to insect pests and diseases. Here is a link that might be useful: UCONN CES