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I feel like an idiot. I know what a June bug is, having grown up with them. I had no idea that the "Japanese beetles" That people were hanging out the green bags for were June Bugs. I thought they were some exotic bug that was unique to this area. Doh!
You can hand pick Japanese Beetles and put them in a container of soapy water to drown them, too. I stay away from Sevin and the harsh chemicals, personally.
We used Milky Spore and last year noticed a definite decrease in the amount of beetles in our yard. I went ahead and also treated into my neighbors' yards about 8 feet as well. I haven't seen one yet this year (knock on wood).
Is definitely worth doing to minimize them, but since the post was made on May 31 I'm a bit dubious as to success of first year application. Most homeowners haven't even seen them arrive yet so having not seen one by May 31st is not unusual. I'll be curious to know in another month how well it worked for cncsmomndad. Can you re-post to let us know?
I think the traps only attract males ... so they do their business and leave the females with plenty of eggs to roam your yard and get good n fat before burrowing back into the ground for next year's crop.
they arrive when the ground temp gets warm enough and the grub can emerge as beetles. Ugly nasty voracious animals.
I have found milky spore an effective treatment, but as stated if the whole neighborhood does it, not much good.
Even though it is too late to apply the Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub for Japanese beetles---get it down immediately for the next thing coming----white flies. My myrtle got attacked last year because I was new to NC and didn't know about all of the insects. I used Sevin to knock the bettles down and then got attacked by the white flies. I wish I would have gotten the Bayer Advanced in the ground because it would have helped all summer long. It takes 30-60 days for the whole tree to be protected.
Milky Spore is great for sure, but it takes several years to become effective. It also does not keep my neighbors pests from infiltrating my garden. Unless you get the whole community to treat it is an uphill battle. It will still help, but not 100% effective.
Thanks for the heads up on the honeybees I will be more conscientious about using it; certainly not the entire yard or all of my garden and NEVER on anything edible.
The Milky Spore will spread though as every grub that gets infected and dies, releases more spores. It will gradually go to your neighbors yards as well. Probably one of the reasons it is not that cheap as it pretty much keeps itself going for a decade or more.
I noticed a few on a Weeping Cherry we have a couple of days ago. I also noticed we have a few lizards living in our front bed and one of them was in teh cherry eating a japanese beetle yesterday. Will the Bayer Advanced stuff hurt the lizards?
I might also try Neem on the cherry this year and see if that helps. I also wonder if it can bother the lizards too?
..... Will the Bayer Advanced stuff hurt the lizards?
I'll have to ask about that, but don't think so. The Bayer stuff goes down into the roots of the trees where it is then translocated up the tree into the leaves (it's an "internal" application instead of external). The beetles start to eat the leaves and die from doing that. So, unless the lizard eats tree leaves (or a dead beetle maybe?) or happens to be there when you drench (treat) the tree, it seems they'd be okay. Hope so, anyway. I'd much rather use it than keep trying to spray a large tree and kill everything it touches, both good and bad.
Is definitely worth doing to minimize them, but since the post was made on May 31 I'm a bit dubious as to success of first year application. Most homeowners haven't even seen them arrive yet so having not seen one by May 31st is not unusual. I'll be curious to know in another month how well it worked for cncsmomndad. Can you re-post to let us know?
Thanks!
I think you're assuming the spore was just applied. We applied the spore powder (not granules) in the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009. Last year we saw a reduction and so far none on our cherry trees, plum tree or crepe myrtles. 2 years ago they chewed our weeping cherry down to nubs, last year it was manageable to pick them off and very little damage was done.
I've used Milky Spore for years and found it helpful but the real trick is to convince your neighbors to do it too. I took up a collection on my previous cul de sac and offered to treat all six yards-front and back if they would just pay for it. Some neighbors volunteered to help and the difference was remarkable. Even so I kept some sevin dust handy and a small jar of gasoline for early morning garden inspection and beetle picking. I taught the kids how to smash them with their fingers and they thoughts that was way cool.
You can hand pick Japanese Beetles and put them in a container of soapy water to drown them, too. I stay away from Sevin and the harsh chemicals, personally.
Thanks I feel mildly less idiot now. I would never use Sevin, even if they buggers ate my whole yard. I found a Japanese beetle (the green one) on my sweet peas last night and almost flipped. NOT what I want to see in my organic veggie garden, esp. with the pepper plants just starting to flower! I will try to milky spore and fortunately, I know my neighbors pretty well and am sure they'll join me in the battle.
Thanks I feel mildly less idiot now. I would never use Sevin, even if they buggers ate my whole yard. I found a Japanese beetle (the green one) on my sweet peas last night and almost flipped. NOT what I want to see in my organic veggie garden, esp. with the pepper plants just starting to flower! I will try to milky spore and fortunately, I know my neighbors pretty well and am sure they'll join me in the battle.
I have had good sucess with the Neem spray the last few days keeping the beetles off my garden and a Weeping Cherry since applying it yesterday. It is organic and also works controlling some kinds of fungus and mildew as well. Everything I have read in teh last 24 hours says that it is safe for benficial insects like ladybugs, bees and even lizards that eat bugs, as long as you use it in the amounts normal for this application. ( there is a study that suggests a super super high level of continuous application might have some negative affect on a small beehive, but this was only with continuous, direct application to flowers at the super high levels.)
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Most homeowners haven't even seen them arrive yet so having not seen one by May 31st is not unusual. I'll be curious to know in another month how well it worked for cncsmomndad. Can you re-post to let us know?
I will be more conscientious about using it; certainly not the entire yard or all of my garden and NEVER on anything edible.
I feel mildly less idiot now. I would never use Sevin, even if they buggers ate my whole yard. I found a Japanese beetle (the green one) on my sweet peas last night and almost flipped. NOT what I want to see in my organic veggie garden, esp. with the pepper plants just starting to flower! I will try to milky spore and fortunately, I know my neighbors pretty well and am sure they'll join me in the battle.
