There are some organic products people use, but from what I've read, they repel and do not kill. If you do not kill them, they will burrow in your lawn, lay eggs, and multiply. One female can create 60 beetles per season. So you need to treat for grubs as well. Milky Spore may or may not work in my zone and is expensive. I'm going to try to get some Grub-X down but don't like killing earthworms. One product is Bye Bye Beetles, used by a rose grower in the southeast and recommended, an organic and repellant. See link. I may try it at some point, but didn't want to wait while it shipped and can't remember the cost. Saw my first one June 21 which was early, picked a few off and squished, started the soapy water thing. Then I cut back all my repeat blooming roses and am watching the rest of it. Haven't seen any since but that is not to say they will not find my echinacea, cherry trees, rose leaves, pussywillow or preference du jour. If too many come back, I will spray with Sevin. My primary reservation was bees, but if there are no flowers to attract bees, there's not much chance of harming them if I spray early am or late pm while they're out. My cat heaven knows what he gets his paws into roaming around, everyone treats their lawn, and I did for the first time this year in quite a few years, just got too awful, hated to do it, and nowhere near got it all, but much better. Some people cover their roses with nylon net and cut off the blooms which are the main attractant. Hated to sacrifice the blooms but won't use anything with imidacloprid because it kills bees, saw it myself, and has residual action. Also Sevin won't protect newly-opened buds. Pyrethrin knocks them dead (in time), think it's an organic, but doesn't last as long as Sevin. Then there are several home remedies involving concoctions I found recipes for on the web by googling, said to test on a small area first. Some of the ingredients are chili peppers, garlic, dishwashing liquid, lemon juice, vinegar, not all in the same recipe. A lot of rose people use Merit which you pour on the ground, must be done earlier and is a systemic, but if I'm not mistaken, it contains imidacloprid, bees again and other beneficial insects, does not discriminate. Good luck. My roses don't do a whole lot except two so let the perennials provide the color, didn't want to go through what I did last year again, in the hottest days, ruined that whole part of summer stewing about the dratted things. The only hopeful thing on the horizon is that some are reporting seeing some with eggs on their thoraxes? (white spots) and may or may not kill those. Those are laid by a parasitic wasp that destroys them when they hatch. But the gol darn things will mate first for sure as they do it sporadically before they die. I haven't seen any like that. There is also an ongoing experiment at the U of Michigan which involves innoculating adult beetles which will spread a killer virus from one to another, have been given to a few gardeners to test, but if it is safe, who knows how long before the rest of us get access to that? There are no known predators, some say ducks, maybe turkeys, chickens may or may not eat them but can't possibly get them all. No bird I know will eat them. Praying Mantises will, but it would take thousands to make a dent in bad outbreaks where they can number in the thousands and millions. That sums up what I've found so far. Hope it's helpful. Here is a link that might be useful: Peter Beales Organic Plant Health

Hi everyone. I'm a newbie gardener so I have never had the opportunity to experience what you're talking about, BUT!, read this in the Feb/March issue of "Organic Gardening" magazine's letters to the editor. "Squash Those Bad Bugs"....I read the article on organic squash-bug control in the June/July issue (Ask OG). Years ago, I had just about given up on raising squash, as I could not defeat the bugs using Sevin dust. Then I read an article - possibly in Organic Gardening - that recommended grinding up onions and garlic in a blender, adding water, and spraying the squash requently with the mixture. The theory was that the smell kept the bugs away. This seemed like a lot of work. So, the next spring, I saved some onion bulbs and planted two with each hill of squash and cantaloupe. As an extra precaution, I took a handful of onion tops, cut them into short pieces and dropped them on and around the plants. I have not had any squash-bug damage for 15 years. I have passed this idea on to several friends and they have all had similar results. A reader from Abilene, TX" I hope that helps! I will be interested to hear a follow-up if anyone tries this because hopefully next year my squash won't freeze and die and I'll try this method to keep bugs away.

I don't think the giant japanese beetles are actually Japanese Beetles. I think, like a lot of insects, all Japanese Beetles are more or less the same size. THere are many, many species of beetles, and most are more or less harmless. One nice thing about the large, night-flying beetles is that they are an important food for large, noctunal predators like Whip-poor-wills and Screech Owls (screech owls eat lots of insects in the summer)

I am in central OH and never have seen that critter! If I were you, I'd take one (in a small container of rubbing alcohol) to my local extension office to see if it is worth worrying about. The large percentage of insects that live in our yards/gardens are benign or beneficial so there is no point reaching for the poison sprays in a panic until you Know Thine Enemy. One thing to keep in mind is that, generally speaking, most pest species will be present/visible in fairly large numbers, while predatory ones are fewer in number (similar to the ration between predator & prey species in mammals--fewer predators than prey). Also, never assume that an insect that you may see next to damage--a hole on a leaf, for example -- is the guilty party! If no one else comes up with an ID, please let us know what the extension office says! Good luck--CK