Japanese bettles

Have any of you out there got a sure fire way of getting rid of or controlling these pests? For 2 years in a row now they have infested my plum, cherry,and apple trees. Also my 3 grape vines. They appear to start coming around Mothers day. I've tried malathion which temporarily helped, and a mixture of sevin concentrate mixed with dawn dish soap and water. It controlled them for a day, but the next day they were at it again. The ground would be covered with dead ones, but the next day there would be new ones that arrived. I was so fed up that I was considering cutting the trees down. I'm afraid to eat any fruit if there is any because of all the chemicals. I live in Springfield, Illinois. I've never seen any beetles until 1907. I would appreciate any help or suggestion any of you out there may have. Thanks for your help.

Reply to
Dave
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You've a long memory...

There are attractants/lures with bag systems, but they work best placed at the perimeters of large properties. And your neighbors may hate you.

Boron

Reply to
Boron Elgar

Sound advice. Nothing wrong with hand picking.

Bill

Reply to
Bill

"Dave" wrote in news:EIZhl.19475$ snipped-for-privacy@nlpi064.nbdc.sbc.com:

milky spore or bT to kill the grubs. it takes a couple years to see the effects, but it will last for over 10 years. pheremone lures work, but they need to be really far away from the trees/vines to be effective. if you can't put them several hundred feet away, then you'll only end up attracting more beetles *to* your plants. hand pick the beetles & drop into a bucket of soapy water. if you know a kid, this is a great job for them. offer a penny per dead beetle. lee

Reply to
enigma

Excuse me that was a stupid mistake on my part. I meant 2007 not 1907. I'm not quite that old.

Reply to
Dave

Lee, that would be an impossible task hand picking those battles. My trees and everyone else's are just covered with beetles. It would take forever just to pick one tree. Even if it were possible and I took the time they'd be back tomorrow and completely covered with them again. You have to see it to believe it.

Reply to
Dave

Nothing stupid about it and it made for a good smile. Good smiles are rare. We all need more of them.

Boron

Reply to
Boron Elgar

"Dave" wrote in news:0b%hl.12895$ snipped-for-privacy@nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com:

no, i believe it. they go after my hops like crazy as well. i know getting all of them is impossible, which is why i gave you several things you should try, but for every beetle you handpick & kill, there are hundreds more that won't be hatched. you already said that poisoning your fruit hasn't helped, so i gave you organic methods that *will* work, just not immediately. the first thing is to kill the grubs, which is why you need the application of milky spore or BT to your yard (& your neighbor's yards if you can get them to cooperate). if your neighbors aren't willing to cooperate, put the pheremone trap bags on your property's perimeter as far from your trees & grapes as possible. lead the beetles to the neighbors. and pick & destroy as many adult beetles as you can, to prevent them from reproducing. it will take a couple years to see a reduction, but it will happen. lee

Reply to
enigma

I agree about the milky spore. The largest problem is your yard/land has a huge amount of japanese beetle grubs. You need to call your extension agent and get his/her butt out there to determine what is drawing them in such hordes. The milky spore is awesome. And as the grubs ingest and die of it, they break down and it puts more into their environment. Hand picking isn't an option here when you have fruiting trees. Easier when things are lower and not such a physical challange. You COULD use some Japanese beetle bags at the perimeter coupled with the milky spore to double wham them. I'd see more about using something less harmful that knocks them on their asses. Anyone know the effects of spraying them with pyrethrum solution (just the Japs not anything else as it WILL kill anything else, including beneficials) maybe you could plant a draw crop for them. I DO know that if you sow 4 o'clocks underneath or nearby, it draws the Japs, but as they munch a few leaves, it too, kills them...........seen it work.....I've also seen a horrific infestation of fruiting trees at a house I had considered buying years ago that was one of the reasons I changed my mind about the house at the time. The trees and fruit were literally swarming with them! Once you use the milky spore, and some back up, you'll eventually see a decrease in their populations. (you could also hang the bags to draw them away from your yard and trees, because it uses a phermone from females to draw them) hope my agreeances helps. keep us posted. madgardener (maddie) gardening a bit in the green bowl in upper northeastern Tennessee, zone 7a feeling like zone 6a at the moment with these wintery temperatures and snows and ice!

Reply to
madgardener1

Those items work well but they do not prevent the beetles from "flying in" (from adjacent non-treated areas). I have not found a 100 percent way of getting rid of all of them but "hand picking" and the recommended items do help.

Reply to
Bill R

Snow storm reading. i/2 inch here if lucky :(((

I used milky 20 years ago but you folks got me thinking perhaps $60 is in order again. Wish there was similar for moles/voles critters ! Have not seen any beetles except a stray or few in the last ten years.. Can't imagine infestation on the order described. Sounds biblical only not locusts. Our beetles at the height of population maybe numbered 2000.

Bill

Reply to
Bill

Jangchub wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

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down the page, under biological controls.

bacterium typically used as a microbial insecticide. The Bt strain registered for the Japanese beetle is for use on the grub stage only. Bt is a stomach poison and must be ingested to be effective. Apply it to the soil as you would insecticides. Effectiveness is similar to that of insecticides. Check with your extension agent regarding the availability of Bt.

it also suggests nematodes & parasites, as well as habitat manipulation. HTH lee

Reply to
enigma

I have used a coffee can, lid, and a little soapy water. With a little practice, you can tap them and they fall in to the can. That works well in some situations. They don't have many predators but certainly don't like a soapy spray! Thankfully, the infestations are short lived.

Reply to
Phisherman

Sevin is very effective, just don't be tempted to mix it in stronger concentrations, if anything lean towards the weak side. The trick is to spray lightly every day over 5-7 days, even if you see no beetles, it takes time for Sevin to work. Spray during the warmest part of the day and if it's raining then there is no point in spraying until it's dry. And use a quality sprayer that will easily reach to the tops of your trees without your standing directly underneath. Be mindful of wind direction, keep all others clear, and you should have no problems with over spray. Hand picking and attractant traps are a waste of time, effort, and money... mostly you'll be attracting and picking beetles from your neighbor's property. Anyone who employs a few brain cells will quickly realize how idiotic it is to do anything that will attract even more beetles. I bought some of those silly traps, once I read the instructions and realized that they need to be set on a perimeter a distance from my trees that I want to protect I burst out in hillarious laughter for getting sucked in to spend my money to protect my neighbor's plants... I returned them and got my money back.

Reply to
Sheldon

You're obviously incapable of engaging in mature discussion because you're obviously an infantile pinheaded numbskull who is making ridiculous assumptions. Maybe in your world everythjing is tiny, neat, and all tied up in a little package. The trees I am protecting are strewn out over many acres and my property abuts 17 neighbors all around its perimeter including those across a road consisting of 1200 feet of frontage. You are something to be avoided, and so be it.

Reply to
Sheldon

=BDperhaps $60

You should increase the ratio of caster oil in your cocktail, you're still full of shit.

Reply to
Sheldon

Sevin is effective, but has a long retentive property. It could make the fruit inedible at the harvest time. A better choice may be Imidan, which will also kill these critters and it breaks down over a period of a few weeks, in the sun.

I would add to your spray precautions to wear some kind of breathing apparatus. I saw a scary program on Parkinson's disease where they implied it could be kicked off by exposure to pesticides. I continue to use pesticides, but wear protective gear and breathing devices, and try to stay upwind of the sprayer.

Sherwin

Reply to
sherwin dubren

A few years back, my area had swarms of the kind you mention. Tops of large trees were stripped and smaller trees were left entirely leafless. My neighbor had an apple tree that was stripped bare by the beetles. My roses were especially affected. After the first blooms came on the roses, there were no more for weeks after the japanese beetles came. I used the bags, and in the beginning, a bag would be full and touching the ground in half a day. I got immense pleasure from seeing thousands of the little buggars die that were lured into the bags and the bags did help to keep them off the plants I was protecting....you just have to be very diligent in checking the bags several times a day, and placement is important too. I handpicked and sprayed with liquid sevin all that I could that didn't land in the traps. The bags did make a difference, but not enough. After a couple of years of battling the little demons, I put out some milky spore and continued using the bags. I started seeing a huge difference in about 3 years. Now, I rarely see any japanese beetles at all. I swear by the milky spore. It's expensive if you have a large area, but worth it.

Gloria in NE Alabama

Reply to
Gloria

One big distinction Gloria. You are not spraying edibles. Sevin is not a chemical I would use on fruit, etc. It has a long retention time. Imidan, on the other hand, can do the same job and dissipates after a few days in the sun. I have heard that milky spore does not work well in harder soils, like clay. It may work in more loamy or sandy soil.

Sherwin

Reply to
sherwin dubren

No, I was not spraying edibles, but you could do without the spraying and just use the traps and especially the milky spore. It will take some time, but the end result is good. My soil is Alabama clay. hth

Gloria

Reply to
Gloria

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