Japanese beetles?

[mwtslf23]

We moved from Texas to Ohio last summer and I did not notice theses nasty creatures until this year, but we have Japanese Beetles invading our raspberries. Does anyone have any advice as to how to get rid of them naturally? We definitely do not want to use any chemicals. Thank you in advance.

[xoxoGOATSxoxo]

Guinea fowl can take care of them, but make sure you know alot about them before purchase. They are loud, far-roaming, and they can fly. But they are beautiful, and take care of the bugs. Like most birds, they are also fun to watch.

[TwoAcresAndAGoat]

Chickens like them also! But they like the berries too.

[CGUARDSMAN]

you can buy traps for japanese beetle that lure them into a bag hung from a tree where they enter and die. it is amazing how fast the bag fills up!

[mwtslf23]

Originally Posted by CGUARDSMAN

you can buy traps for japanese beetle that lure them into a bag hung from a tree where they enter and die. it is amazing how fast the bag fills up!

Sounds like a good idea, but does this bag actually attract more or do these bags hold quite a few of the?

[woodspirit]

Originally Posted by CGUARDSMAN

you can buy traps for japanese beetle that lure them into a bag hung from a tree where they enter and die. it is amazing how fast the bag fills up!

Yes they work too well. They will draw them from way downwind into your yard. Where you had hundreds before...the floral scent and sex pheromone lure will bring you thousands. They continue to eat and procreate all along the way causing mayhem and laying more eggs in your soil, which will develop into white grubs which destroy the roots of every plant like grass etc. For those they usually recommend diazanon granules twice a year. Milky spore doesn't work well in all soils or climates. Sevin works best onyour plants but pyrethrins woork if you spray the bugs directly. Spray when the sky is overcast so you don't burn your plants.

[MullersLaneFarm]

Milk spore will kill the grubs.

For this year, buy your neighbor a bunch of beetle traps for their yard!

[moonwolf]

Skunks love the grubs in the lawn! Though who would want skunks around for beetle control? If fact, a high infestation of jap. beetles could attract more skunks. Down in the field I see many twisted out spots that are evidence of skunks eating the grubs in late summer, early fall when the grubs are get to the root level to feed.

Bt, hand picking, and milky spore (bacillus poppilae) probably about the most
effective. Don't know about Neem Oil, but you might research that out, too.

[woodsrunner]

I work in a hardware store. I can tell you, we can't keep the traps on the shelves this year. They do seem much worse than last year.

[KCM]

Yes, the hanging traps DO attract more beetles into the area. So if you decide upon the hanging traps, do NOT put them in the center of your yard.

Buy several, and put them all around the perimeters of your yards. These should attract the beetles from your center yards to the outskirts..

Or better yet, buy the traps and give them to your neighbors and tell them to hang them in the center of THEIR yards? (No, don't do that. Not nice!)



The larvae (grubs) will attract skunks and possums. Probably will attract moles into the yard too.

[turtlehead]

We are using the traps *and* milky spore. We figure while we may be attracting bugs into our yard, we'll kill many of them in the bag and the ones that reproduce will encounter the milky spore.

Four O'Clocks and Larkspur are attractive to Japanese Beetles and they are poisonous. Plant copious quantities of these. They are poisonous to people too so I'd think twice if I had children.

Neem is not going to make things drop dead overnight like a chemical (sevin, for example) would.

Neem repels (does not kill) the Japanese beetles because it makes the plant unpalatable to them.

It controls cabbage worms because when the cabbage worm ingests the neem their growth cycle is interrupted and they don't go on to pupate and make moths.

I've seen many claims that Neem controls aphids but I've also read that it doesn't affect them because they suck the juices out of the plant rather than eat the foliage. I still have aphids after using Neem.

Neem is also a fungicide so helps with some fungal diseases.

Neem does not harm beneficials because beneficials are not eating your plants. They are eating other bugs. Still, I spray it early in the morning or late in the evening before bees are out and about, just to be safe.

[dare2b]

Applying beneficial nematodes each fall and spring will prevent the grubs from maturing. Milky spore is a long-term solution but will take a year or two to become fully effective, apply once every few years. Both methods are harmless to everything except the beetle grubs. Speaking from experience here. Good luck.

[Pony]

I'm with the Milky Spore camp. Takes time, but it's worth it in the long run. (And that reminds me that this is our year to apply it again...) I've read it can last up to five years, but my experience is that you need to apply it around every 3 if you want to make sure.

You can hand kill, but that's a royal pain in the wazoo. Still, it's better than doing nothing while you wait for the milky spore to take hold, and certainly helps to keep other beneficials alive.

Pony!

[ajaxlucy]

The Japanese beetles prefer one type of bean in my garden and hang out there in groups. I have a Rhode Island Red hen that I tuck under my arm and go hunting with. I hold her over the plants and she snaps them up by the dozens - precision beakwork! Every morning there are some more beetles, but the rest of the garden is mostly undisturbed.