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lllllllElllllll
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Bugs Eating Apple Tree Leaves [Japanese Beetles]
Hello All! Was hoping to get some help on some bugs that keep returning to my apple trees. Attached pictures. Any way to keep them off using something organic? If organic doesn't work, anything else? Thanks!
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applestar
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
What a thing to say 
Not dead really. But thank you for bumping this topic. I missed it when it was posted.
Yes agree those are Japanese beetles in the OP. Even though the posting member may not see this, Iāve modified the thread title and will contribute a meaningful answer in case others may benefit.
Japanese beetles are well known for attacking roses, and apples are related, as are strawberries and bramble berries and are also vulnerable. (Also grapes and beans, hazel ā very wide menu of garden plants are voraciously attacked).
I had a massive infestation of them for two or three years, maybe about 10~12 years ago. Lately Iām not seeing very many at all (knock on wood).
First line of defense is to gather up as many of the adults as you can so as to forestall future generations. They are fast during the day but are slower first thing in the morning and can be knocked off into cups or buckets of soapy water. Large infestation on a branch can be enrobed in a bag, shaken off or cut the branch off if dispensable. Iāve also used an inexpensive butterfly net then stomped on them over the bag or the net.
Adult beetles can also be diminished with spinosad based organic pesticides, but those must be used with care since beneficial predators as well as pollinators etc. other beneficials will be killed as well. Definitely avoid spraying/applying directly on the good/desirables or while honeybees and other pollinators are active, and avoid getting on open blossoms.
In small numbers, I found it easiest to grab them off the plants with gloved hands and throw on the ground and stomp on them ā¦ but thatās me.
While your apple tree or other plants being attacked are still small enough, completely covering them with insect mesh to protect them should be considered as an option (with caveats).
I strongly advise against getting those pheromone based traps. The established gardener joke is āget your neighbors who are downwind of you to set out those trapsā so the bugs are trapped before they ever get to your garden.
Otherwise, you are just attracting them to your garden.
There are Bt bacteria that have been bred to target the white grubs that are their juvenile form. These grubs are also bad for your garden since they live underground and devastatingly eat the roots of lawn grass as well as almost all vegetables, sometimes until completely rootless and toppling them over.
For natural biological Garden Patrol defense, there are two Asian species of known natural predatory wasps that parasitize their eggs. In my area, these tiny wasps were imported and released by department of agriculture back in the 1950ās or so, and apparently have become adapted/naturalized. I plant carrot family flowers to attract them ā ones that bloom in the spring and in the late summe/early autumn for both species.
There are also blue shiny metallic solitary wasps in North America that hover above lawn grass and deposit eggs directly on the subsurface grubs with long ovipositors. I havenāt specifically identified them in my garden, but my BIL has sent me photos of ones hovering around his lawn when he became concerned and asked for their ID. So they are around.
For best results, be mindful that these natural predators are vulnerable to indiscriminate use of pesticides.
Not dead really. But thank you for bumping this topic. I missed it when it was posted.
Yes agree those are Japanese beetles in the OP. Even though the posting member may not see this, Iāve modified the thread title and will contribute a meaningful answer in case others may benefit.
Japanese beetles are well known for attacking roses, and apples are related, as are strawberries and bramble berries and are also vulnerable. (Also grapes and beans, hazel ā very wide menu of garden plants are voraciously attacked).
I had a massive infestation of them for two or three years, maybe about 10~12 years ago. Lately Iām not seeing very many at all (knock on wood).
First line of defense is to gather up as many of the adults as you can so as to forestall future generations. They are fast during the day but are slower first thing in the morning and can be knocked off into cups or buckets of soapy water. Large infestation on a branch can be enrobed in a bag, shaken off or cut the branch off if dispensable. Iāve also used an inexpensive butterfly net then stomped on them over the bag or the net.
Adult beetles can also be diminished with spinosad based organic pesticides, but those must be used with care since beneficial predators as well as pollinators etc. other beneficials will be killed as well. Definitely avoid spraying/applying directly on the good/desirables or while honeybees and other pollinators are active, and avoid getting on open blossoms.
In small numbers, I found it easiest to grab them off the plants with gloved hands and throw on the ground and stomp on them ā¦ but thatās me.
While your apple tree or other plants being attacked are still small enough, completely covering them with insect mesh to protect them should be considered as an option (with caveats).
I strongly advise against getting those pheromone based traps. The established gardener joke is āget your neighbors who are downwind of you to set out those trapsā so the bugs are trapped before they ever get to your garden.
Otherwise, you are just attracting them to your garden.There are Bt bacteria that have been bred to target the white grubs that are their juvenile form. These grubs are also bad for your garden since they live underground and devastatingly eat the roots of lawn grass as well as almost all vegetables, sometimes until completely rootless and toppling them over.
For natural biological Garden Patrol defense, there are two Asian species of known natural predatory wasps that parasitize their eggs. In my area, these tiny wasps were imported and released by department of agriculture back in the 1950ās or so, and apparently have become adapted/naturalized. I plant carrot family flowers to attract them ā ones that bloom in the spring and in the late summe/early autumn for both species.
There are also blue shiny metallic solitary wasps in North America that hover above lawn grass and deposit eggs directly on the subsurface grubs with long ovipositors. I havenāt specifically identified them in my garden, but my BIL has sent me photos of ones hovering around his lawn when he became concerned and asked for their ID. So they are around.
For best results, be mindful that these natural predators are vulnerable to indiscriminate use of pesticides.
These pests have become the scourge of this areas fruit growers. A friend who is an apple and grape grower had his harvest cut in half by Japanese Beetles this year. On a large scale there is no real way to get rid of them.
We have several fruit trees that did OK but only because we also have a grape that acts as a sacrificial crop. It has never produced grapes but the beetles flock to the leaves and must like them better than apples or pears.
Our University Extension says there is not much that can be done...yet. As said above, there are chemicals that will kill Japanese Beetles but not without potential harm to the good guys. Pick and stomp for right now.
We have several fruit trees that did OK but only because we also have a grape that acts as a sacrificial crop. It has never produced grapes but the beetles flock to the leaves and must like them better than apples or pears.
Our University Extension says there is not much that can be done...yet. As said above, there are chemicals that will kill Japanese Beetles but not without potential harm to the good guys. Pick and stomp for right now.
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BloomingBrilliant
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- Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2023 7:01 pm
Organic options are definitely a good first step. Neem oil spray can work wonders, and milky spore parasites love taking down those beetle grubs. Plus, handpicking and dropping them in soapy water is surprisingly satisfying .
If the organic route doesn't win, insecticidal soap or pyrethrin sprays can be effective, but be sure to follow instructions carefully.
Let me know how it goes!
If the organic route doesn't win, insecticidal soap or pyrethrin sprays can be effective, but be sure to follow instructions carefully.
Let me know how it goes!
I agree that controlling the grubs is more than half the battle and that has to be done at the right time of the year. If the tree is small enough, physical barriers can work. If the tree is healthy and the infestation is not that bad, the tree won't be pretty but it will survive. Hand picking does work. The other alternatives are less friendly to beneficial insects.