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Mixed feelings about Japanese Beetles Traps

jjpeace (zone 5b Canada)

8 years ago

I have the pleasure to speak to one of my clients who work in one of our botanical garden two weeks ago. I asked him how the garden deal with JB. He strongly suggested to use the traps. I've told him about my concerns from research that it may not be effective and probably disastrous but he strongly disagree.

He felt that you need to catch as much as possible, even if it attracts others not from your yard. Evidently they tried to put the traps far away from the rose beds but found them not to be effective. He said they moved them right in the rose beds and caught a lot of them. They have noticed the reduction in population. The ones they used are sold under NIC brand where there is a separate traps for male and female JB.

I think it makes sense for a big botanical garden to attract them to the traps but does it make sense of a postage stamp garden like mine?

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Comments (2)

wirosarian_z4b_WI
8 years ago
I know several people who have used JB traps & say all sort of positive things about because they have caught thousands...no millions of JB's. I think what has happened is a psychological, you killed large quantities of JB's.....it must be helping....you have to be controlling them! In reality if you know about insect reproduction, its just a "drop in the bucket", but it makes you feel good, it has to be working, because you think you killed so many. Second I've heard people say, "I trapped massive quantities of JB's for 2 or 3 years, and all of a sudden the numbers declined. That proves traps work." Well not really....again JB's are just like most other insects. They have up & down years in their life cycle. The drop in numbers is more likely due to a down cycle in their population than any trapping that was done. My opinion is, I don't believe traps really do anything for JB control.
stillanntn6b
8 years ago
Wisconsin,

Your time will come.

Until then, read all you can and listen.

Do the math: each female lays eggs daily often five or so a day. Up to forty a season.

Do nothing and twenty beetles this year (guess half female half male) become eight hundred. The 400 females there become 1600 the next year.

Natural predators aren't here.

You grow roses. Rose fragrance attracts beetles. Pheromones on those attracted beetles draws other JBs to you garden.

If you have grasslands, golf courses, fruit trees, and certain other trees, they are prime JB habitat.

Kill them fastest before they can reproduce. Kill them all season long, not just when it's cool enough in the evening to knock them off into soapy water.

If you have a heavy clay soil, you might get lucky and the little b&&&&&ds won't be able to burrow through clays that are dried to near pottery by spring droughts.
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