PLEASE let me know if that hot peper spray works!! I have JB's, Orientals and Asiatic beetles in my yard. I just moved into this house in January and dug up lots of lawn to put in garden beds. I amended all the beds with 3 inches of organic matter. Upon digging up the lawn I did find some grubs, but was advised that I should see at least 10 per sq ft, before it's considered a problem. I was finding about 3 per sq ft. The previous owners did not do anything for the yard. The other neighbors told me they never mowed. There were more weeds than lawn! Considering this, I have a lot of beetles in my yard. They are eating the cherry tree I planted, along with everything in the mint family. Including monarda, basil, black and blue salvia, the red annual salvia. Now that they've practically wiped those out they are onto other things such as spicebush, phlox maculata, seedlings of purple coneflower, dianthus, sunflower and zinnia. This morning I found a JB hanging out on my aster. I have to disagree that they only eat stressed plants because they don't seem to be picky in my yard. The cherry tree I planted was literally a stick when I got it. It branched and leafed out very well, this is not a sign of a stressed plant. My monarda was just gorgeous, until something started eating it. I wish there were something that could be put on the plants to help the adult infestations. Even if I do the grub control, I will probably have a problem with adults. Like so may others have said, the whole neighborhood would have to do it. It is making me feel like, being an organic gardener, means not being a gardener at all. What is the point of all the work? When the damn beetles are just going to come eat everything, before the butterflies hummingbirds and myself can enjoy the flowers! I think from now on I will just not plant things they seem to like, which is no fun, because they seem to like half the stuff I have! Oh and I have to say, to the people who have no beetles because they're yard is so healthy. You are probably just lucky enough, to not have high amounts of these pests in your area. Or, you may have lots of neighbors faithfully doing grub control.

Coming back to say I stopped by the nursery to describe my spots and actually found the same spots on their rosemary plants, so I showed them and they said the spots are due to thrips. They sold me some organic Dr. Earth spray (the kind that has different oils & such in it) so I came home and soaked the plant and moved it into the shade. Hopefully that will help with all of the "visitors"!

It seems to have been the mating season a few weeks ago. Then I was finding about 10 a day. It also turns up on my lavender and apparently you may also find them on other members of the Lamiaceae family. Because I was being vigilant I've found only one a day more recently. I find it easiest to flick them off into a plant saucer then tap it out onto the ground and squash them. I've also heard you can put something like an old sheet underneath the bush and shake the bush. But I find that also shakes out loads of spiders which are currently hanging out in the bush (I'm hoping they are getting a taste for rosemary beetles!) Since South London, where I live, apparently has more rosemary beetles than anywhere else in the country, I don't see much point in using pesticide - they'll be sure to come back from someone else's garden so I'll have to keep on using it. The main reason I'm growing rosemary is as a culinary herb.

I'm not too surprised as I do watch the linden canopies and the damage varies by area. Also I'm in the sticks surrounded by fields and wooded areas. There are tons of birds but mainly field bird species. I "think" its easier for JBs to survive and enter sandy loams vs the clay soils?