Japanese Beetles (organic, gardens, eat)

[IHeartMaine]

Anyone else have a problem with these annual pests? I do an almost daily walk this time of the year through my fruit trees with a bucket of soapy water. I've tried traps in the past.......but wonder if they actually draw more beetles to my property. I really wish that someone could come up with a permanent solution to controlling them.......they really can be devastating to so many trees and plants.

[EastMark]

Crazy amount of them on my yard flowers and a few in the vegetable gardens this week.

Been spraying them with the Japanese Beetle Killer. Works well.

[IHeartMaine]

Originally Posted by EastMark

Crazy amount of them on my yard flowers and a few in the vegetable gardens this week.

Been spraying them with the Japanese Beetle Killer. Works well.

What is the brand name?

[IHeartMaine]

Originally Posted by EastMark

Crazy amount of them on my yard flowers and a few in the vegetable gardens this week.

Been spraying them with the Japanese Beetle Killer. Works well.

Might have to try it......thanks.

[inthetrees]

Sevin should take care of them good.... more organic but less effective; spinosad and neem, neem cake or azamax/azatrol.

[EastMark]

Brand is Bonide. I use it very sparingly on the vegetable plants where needed but the beetles are mostly on our flowers. Works well.

[bangorme]

Neem Oil is an organic solution to these pests. It can be bought almost anywhere.

[Maineac]

All of the pesticides being touted and used these day appear to be doing two things: killing off pollinators and ending up in the groundwater. No wonder the honeybee populations are crashing. Monsanto, Dow and Dupont are into anything for a buck. It's my understanding that every single water supply tested in the U.S. shows levels of pthalates. We've stopped using all of that stuff altogether, and pick bugs twice a day for a few minutes. It works when used with rotation.

Last year the problem with japanese beetles (and cucumber beetles, for that matter) was ridiculous. We had to re-plant beginning of July. Cucurbits were decimated by end of June. Wiped out our grapes, roses and made a mess of the apple trees. This year, comparatively, almost nothing. The traps way up back are showing some, but not a lot. Potato beetles are up and the nymphs are all over everything, but we pick 'em and turn the runner ducks loose on the gardens. Otherwise, everything is fine. Different weather pattern, maybe, or maybe our method of rotating what we plant and where is working. The potatoes do slightly overlap last years' rows, though. Everything else was moved around dramatically, and it worked, but we've got two 80' x 80' plots.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by Maineac

All of the pesticides being touted and used these day appear to be doing two things: killing off pollinators and ending up in the groundwater...

Neem oil has no effect on honey bees (which is why I use it). It's only impact is on things that eat the leaves.

[Maineac]

Actually, you're not supposed to spray the flowers directly and some neem has additives. The neem has to be ingested and affects hormonal activity. It can affect bees, but only if ingested from the pollen they are collecting. Studies in the '80's indicated honeybee ingestion could cause egg failure in hives. This is why spraying apple trees before blossoming is important. The trouble is, the impact of neem may wear off by mid-july, when the beetles emerge, and, provided nothing is blossoming (cucurbits?, squash? etc.), you'd reapply.