Japanese Beetle HELP!!

[wolfie]

Ok, so I have detected I have these beetles, there are a ton of them flying around and they are LOUD!!

Is there something I can spray to kill them? I have read that the traps actually attract more and I don't know what else to do. I have worked way too hard to lose my garden to these things!!

[TheLorax]

Pheromone traps (biological control, non-chemical) work great for me-
https://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/grantspgm/projects/proj97/orn/villani.asp

Buy about 3-4 of them and empty them regularly. They'll be alive so you'll need a means by which to make sure they don't get away.

We can buy them at hardware stores in my area. You can probably buy them locally too so you'll save on shipping and handling.

I've never tried the newly available aggregate pheromone traps utilizing the combination of the pheromone and the floral but they're getting rave reviews out there from those who are using them. When I need to replace mine, I'll opt for an aggregate lure-
https://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/product.asp?PG=1557
This is the first I found online. You'll want to shop this product for best pricing.

Good luck, the pheromone traps really work!

[applestar]

Jess provided a pretty thorough reply here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8818&highlight=
I made a small contribution describing what worked for me as well

[TheLorax]

Good catch applestar!

[wolfie]

Hi Guys, I read this on another thread but wanted your opinions:

Hi everyone. I just starting using the beetle traps and I am trapping hundreds of those nasty critters. I have a great way to dispose of the beetles and re-use the bags over and over again. At night when the beetle activity level subsides, I take the bag off the trap. Then I tie a twist tie around the top of the bag. I put the filled bag into another plastic bag and tie that one. I put a fresh, empty bag onto the trap for the next day. I then put the filled bag into the freezer overnight to kill the little suckers. The next day, I sprinkle the dead beetles on the ground around the trees and shrubs that have the most damage for the birds and other bugs to feed on. I read that beetles will tend to avoid feeding from areas that have the smell of dead beetles and this does seem to work. Plus you are disposing of the dead beetles in an eco friendly way and you save money by not having to purchase more and more bags. Hope this info helps out there. Happy Beetle trappings to all!!



what do you think?

[TheLorax]

The next day, I sprinkle the dead beetles on the ground around the trees and shrubs that have the most damage for the birds and other bugs to feed on.

Ohhhhhhhhh, I like. Glad you mentioned this because I use Gypsy Moth pheromone traps over here too. Are you sure they're dead after only 24 hours? They probably are. I think I'd be inclined to stomp on the bag just to make sure. I think my birds would eat them. They've grown accustomed to me throwing earthworms up for them to eat and they sort of hang around waiting for free handouts on the driveway. A nice juicy beetle or moth would probably be a welcome change to what I normally offer.

I had been trying to re-use the bags by emptying them into 3 gallon ziplocks then I crushed them. Icky. With your way, I could avoid having to use ziplocks all together in favor of just emptying the trap bag and re-using it.

One thing I have learned is that when I use the traps, I definitely seem to draw them in but for each one I kill, that's one more that can't breed and that's about 50 less eggs that won't be laid. Having to empty the bags slows down in fall but if you get a few neighbors to do this with you, their numbers decrease over the years dramatically. They can only fly in from so far and I think their max is about 4-5 miles. I'm pretty sure I'm making a dent with the traps particularly since this year I'm noticing about half as many as last year and by now I should have been inundated.

I never did like the idea of using Bacillus Popillac (Milky Spore Disease). Most unfortunately that organism also destroys other beetles in the Scarabaeidae family and we North Americans have over 1000 that are beneficial native scarabs that it would hammer along with the "bad guys".

That left me with a choice of a few parasitic flies and wasps and getting those to build to levels that would have an impact on the Japanese beetles was tough. Simply not enough Japanese beetles to sustain populations of the "good bugs" that could parasitize them.

[Jess]

I never did like the idea of using Bacillus Popillac (Milky Spore Disease). Most unfortunately that organism also destroys other beetles in the Scarabaeidae family and we North Americans have over 1000 that are beneficial native scarabs that it would hammer along with the "bad guys".

I didn't know that! I should have thought about it though. Makes sense that it would not discriminate.
I looked up more info on the predatory flies TheLorax and one of them (the one that lays the eggs on the adult JB) is attracted by one particular plant when it is covered in aphids. It likes the flavour of that aphid honeydew more than any other apparently. Guess which plant?(remembering we are talking Japanese beetles here)..... Japanese Knotweed!!!
So, do we now plant invasive, indestructible knotweed to encourage the fly to lay the egg that eats the beetle that has come from Japan?
I remember a nursery rhyme about a woman and a fly along those lines.

wolfie, great information. We do not, as yet, have the plagues of these beetles that you seem to be getting but like all things I am sure we will soon enough. I will be prepared now for however many turn up. Milky Spore will only be used as a final stand!

[applestar]

I should've known! Nothing's easy. I must admit I was beginning to wonder since I can't distinguish between one beetle larva from another.... So what are some examples of "over 1000 that are beneficial native scarabs" and what do they do?

Makes sense that key to Japanese beetle predation lies within the same "community" or ecosystem. Very interesting Jess.

I guess if the JB problem builds up, I'll try the freeze 'n' feed method, too.

[TheLorax]

Actually, there are around 1375 North American natives with our beloved Ladybug being the most familiar and we all know and love the ever so beneficial Ladybug.

The parasitic wasps and flies (Istocheta aldrichi and Tiphia vernalis) work in many areas... if you can get them established. That can be a trick in and of itself particularly in heavy agricultural regions and getting them going in my area hasn't happened for a number of reasons. They're working on an entomopathogenic fungus (say that 3x fast if you dare) right now that looks extremely promising. Until then, I'll keep up with the traps. I'm convinced they're making a major dent in the JB population around here.

"freeze 'n' feed"... reminds me an awful lot of shake-n-bake ;) Has a nice ring to it.

Hey Jess, good analogy. Here are the lyrics just for you-

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.
I dunno why she swallowed that fly,
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a spider,
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd, to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly -
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Imagine that, she swallowed a cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die

There was an old lady who swallowed a dog.
What a hog! To swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a goat.
Just opened her throat and swallowed a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog ...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat.
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a cow.
I don't know how she swallowed a cow!
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat...
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog...
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat...
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird ...
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and wiggled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly.
But I dunno why she swallowed that fly
Perhaps she'll die.

There was an old lady who swallowed a horse -
She's dead, of course.

[applestar]

Yeah, WHY are many childrens rhymes and songs so gruesome?
I like THIS variation by Teri Sloat though it's not about flies and spiders any more:

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout!

There was an old lady who swallowed a trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

There was an old lady who swallowed a salmon
That slippity-flippity-flopped as it swam in.
She swallowed the salmon to catch the trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

There was an old lady who swallowed an otter.
With a mug of clear water, she swallowed the otter.
She swallowed the otter to catch the salmon;
She swallowed the salmon to catch the trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

There was an old lady who swallowed a seal.
She let out a squeal when she swallowed the seal.
She swallowed the seal to catch the otter;
She swallowed the otter to catch the salmon;
She swallowed the salmon to catch the trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

There was an old lady who swallowed a porpoise.
She did it on purpose; she swallowed the porpoise.
She swallowed the porpoise to catch the seal;
She swallowed the seal to catch the otter;
She swallowed the otter to catch the salmon;
She swallowed the salmon to catch the trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

There was an old lady who swallowed a walrus.
With a great deal of fuss, she swallowed the walrus.
She swallowed the walrus to catch the porpoise;
She swallowed the porpoise to catch the seal;
She swallowed the seal to catch the otter;
She swallowed the otter to catch the salmon;
She swallowed the salmon to catch the trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

There was an old lady who swallowed a whale.
From its tip to its tail, she swallowed that whale.
She swallowed the whale to catch the walrus.
She swallowed the walrus to catch the porpoise;
She swallowed the porpoise to catch the seal;
She swallowed the seal to catch the otter;
She swallowed the otter to catch the salmon;
She swallowed the salmon to catch the trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

There was an old lady who swallowed the ocean.
What a commotion! She swallowed the ocean!
She swallowed the ocean to hold the whale;
That now had plenty of room for its tail
She swallowed the whale to catch the walrus.
She swallowed the walrus to catch the porpoise;
She swallowed the porpoise to catch the seal;
She swallowed the seal to catch the otter;
She swallowed the otter to catch the salmon;
She swallowed the salmon to catch the trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about.
It wanted out!

The old lady started to wriggle and jiggle;
The swirling inside made her hiccup and giggle.
It made her laugh; it made her shout,
And when the old lady opened her mouth...
She let out the ocean, the whale, and the walrus.
She let out the porpoise she'd swallowed on purpose;
The seal, the otter, the salmon and trout,
Splished and splashed and thrashed about,
and they all swam O U T !

Illustrated by Reynold Ruffins in the Pacific Northwest theme, it's a great book and is still one of my kids' favorites. I used to be able to recite/sing the whole thing from memory.

[TheLorax]

I like the re-make version better than the original. Grimm's fairy tales could be quite gruesome so I never read them to the kids when they were little in favor of more upbeat and silly books.

[wolfie]

Ummm, I think that's why it's called "Grimm" Fairy tales!!

on another note, all the old nursery rhymes from england (no offense, just where we all started out from) like london bridges falling down and little miss muffet getting scared by a spider... they were all about stuff that was going on in those old times and were meant to teach the kids history... thats why they rhyme