Well I knew they would be back, and they are. If you haven’t seen these in your area consider yourself lucky. If you are a gardener or you care about the plants in your yard, read on.
Japanese Beetles are an invasive species which has moved into the southern Wisconsin area. They are hard to get rid of and they have a big appetite for certain plants. Any plants of japanese origin like Geraniums are especially tasty. If left undisturbed, Japanese Beetles can wipe out a good sized plant in a few days.
As mentioned above, there aren’t many options for controlling Japanese Beetles but hand picking them and dropping them into soapy water will drown them. There are beetle traps sold in stores, but supposedly they will attract them from miles around _to_ your yard. So…unless your entire subdivision puts them out, you’ll just be ringing a dinner bell for the little buggers.
We used milky spore last fall to try to combat the grubs.
Douggie!!
Its been too long. I hope all is well my friend.
That damned Japanese betele tore up my Plum tree last year. When we saw the first one, we were somewhat enamered at how shiny it was, and gold in color. When I saw the “thousands” of them on my 8 foot tall plum tree, I about wet myself. I guess they make some type of hanging trap for them. If you get one of these, hang it near your most hated neighbors house. What most people don’t realize, is that it attracts the damned things- to trap them of course, so you end with more than you wanted to get rid of….
Anyway, take care – I’ll be back soon.
Don
Comment by Don — July 10, 2009 @ 12:53 pm |
I’ve heard that the traps lure Japanese Beetles from up to FIVE MILES away so thousands seems realistic. Terrifying, but realistic. Each adult female lays 30+ eggs, and our seasons accommodate two cycles of egg laying.
I think the keys is to catch them early and get rid of the “scouts” before they bring their family.
Comment by rdata — July 10, 2009 @ 3:27 pm |
Doug,
The entire Blog is terrific! Your hyperlinks throughout, are fantastic. SMOKIN’!!
KZ
Comment by Karen Z — July 10, 2009 @ 5:56 pm |