Japanese beetles killed my new sweet cherry tree around five years ago. We used to get thousands of them. Since then, I have put down milky spore in the lawn about 5 times and only see maybe a hundred in a season now. I regularly pick them and kill them in soapy water. Milky spore takes a while but it really seems to work.

In my post I did not say that it was completely safe, just that it was better than most "insecticides". I also stated "point attacks", and advised against recklessly spreading Sevin. Yes it will also kill beneficial, but again I said point attacks on the Japanese Beatles, not wholesale broadcast. "use insecticide responsibly" was the phase used. Sevin (carbaryl) does not accumulate in the environment, or in tissues, nor is transmitted up the food chain. All preferred characteristics. I also suggested that caffeine solution could possible be useful. As far as earthworms go, I reviewed again several sites such as the one linked below from Cornell, and earthworm toxicity is not mentioned, but perhaps I missed something. As for myself personally, I spread 20 pounds of "Milky Spore" last fall on our lawn, and may very well do so again this fall. I do not wholesale broadcast any "cides". I use them "sparingly". Those I do use, I research as to their impacts, and attempt to choose wisely and use carefully. I hand pull most weeds from the lawn. I allow many other plant species to stay in our lawn besides the grass. I do nothing to grasshoppers, or most other insects. Our lawn is healthy and green, and composed of a mix of cultivars so as to reduce possible disease pressures, and also a drought resistant species. We have earthworms in our lawn soil, and their numbers are increasing. I use slow release chemical fertilizers, and leave grass clippings lay to increase organic matter, and reduce the need for those chemical fertilizers. Chemically it's all the same. I have lots of ladybugs running around looking for aphids, various wasps hunting in the plants, moths, dragonflies, and bumblebees. All of which are appreciated, and facilitated where possible. The neighbors are constantly asking what I'm doing and why, as they like the results. And so I get to coach them in responsible/careful use, instead of the wholesale broadcast that they do when they take it upon themselves or feel preached to by someone that they see as unrealistic. I do, and will continue to KILL Japanese Beatles. They are NOT native, they are invasive, and they wreak ecological havoc defoliating native plant species that are not adapted to resist them. Native plants who's survival, and competitive ability is impacted by this defoliation. I will not try to simply move them elsewhere to do their damage elsewhere. I want them all dead or at least greatly reduced outside of their native range. There is much more to being responsible than whether you use a "cide" or not. Here is a link that might be useful: Carbaryl

Ken....you are soooo off base. I could just pinch your head off. Willow, this forum is perfect for a discussion about JBs and their habits. Same for those other forums, but this one is probably the most suitable. And it's a good subject, too. People could make their lives a lot easier if they gave some thought to plant selection regarding pest damage. I'm happy to report that we have carefully avoided most of the usual ornamental plants so attractive to these pesky beetles! As a matter of fact, JBs are the reason why we didn't even consider some of the plants on your list. It's the veggies that will become beetle food in my yard. In a bad year, the damage can be terrible. Some years ago, I started to apply 'Surround ', a totally organic product consisting of kaolin clay. A couple of coats does a great job of protecting my veggies from many pests, and from heat and sun scald, too. Looks funny, though. Not ideal for ornamentals because of that. In my yard, here are five plants these pests avoid : 1. All of my conifers 2. Daylilies (all varieties) 3. Angelonia 4. Spirea (we have a dwarf variety, can't recall the cultivar right now) 5. Lantana And many more.....:-) Thanks for the great topic and I hope you'll be back often. This is a slow time of year, but it'll be jumping in a few weeks.

Japanese beetles prefer feeding on foliage in full sun, and the upper crowns of mature trees generally suffer more damage than the lower portions. "They especially seem to love the leaves of the Stella Cherry and Red Oak trees" That's interesting since Red Oak is not a preferred host for JB. I have plenty of JB's here but I don't think I've ever seen a JB on the 2 red oaks in my yard. "One thing that helps with Japanese beetles is to stop killing your birds" I agree that we shouldn't be killing birds, but birds alone probably don't have a major impact when JB numbers are high. Weather factors can have a significant impact, like very dry conditions after egg laying (mid to late summer), or very low soil temperatures in winter. These factors seem to have resulted in somewhat lower JB numbers in recent years at my location, although numbers may be higher this year since we had adequate rainfall mid to late summer last year. Lots of JB activity out there today, currently 95F and sunny.