Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)

[Durgan]

Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)
The Japanese Beetle skeletonizes the leaves of my grape vines. I have also seen a few on the potato plants. They appear every year, certainly over the last three years.My local control is to flip them off the vines into a pail of water, shake the vines on a windy day and they disappear.They are poor flyers. I also powder with diatomaceous earth, which is not effective. The damage is acceptable if they are not left to feed. They can skeltonize the grape leaves in an afternoon, since they are often in large numbers. Fifty to one hundred is not uncommon.

 

[lesa]

You might try treating the lawn area with milky spore. I haven't tried it yet, but have read from others that it produces amazing results... We had very few this year- my chickens were disappointed they love them as a treat! I think the drought and the mild winter did ours in.

 

[majorcatfish]

milky spores are the way to go it mite take a year or so in the mean time treat with neem oil. tried those beatle traps for a couple years but all it did is bring them in from everywhere.

had to give up on growing grapes the deer new when we were going to pick a day ahead..... now growing blackberries..

 

[Durgan]

The area of land that hangs down into the Great Lakes produces enough Japanese Beetles to populate all of North Amrica.


http://www.durgan.org/URL/?IPSJX 19 July 2011 Japanese Beetle.
The Japanese beetle appears every year. In my area it is as ubiquitous as the Colorado Potato Bug. My constant companions. This year the infestation of the adults is not too serious. They appear to be attacking only my four grape vines. They cannot be ignored, since a few can devastate the vegetation of the plants that they attack. I control by picking and flicking into a pail of water.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?NCPOI 26 June 2012 Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica)
The Japanese Beetle skeletonizes the leaves of my grape vines. I have also seen a few on the potato plants. They appear every year, certainly over the last three years.My local control is to flip them off the vines into a pail of water, shake the vines on a windy day and they disappear.They are poor flyers. I also powder with diatomaceous earth. The damage is acceptable if they are not left to feed. They can skeltonize the grape leaves in an afternoon, since they are often in large numbers. Fifty to one hundred is not uncommon.

 

[Smart Red]

I have used Milky Spore for three years in a row, gradually spreading it over more of my yard. Last year I did have fewer JBs than usual, but the drought may have been of help there.

My biggest mistake before trying Milky Spore, however, was getting those dratted JB traps. If I had the courage, I think the best way to eliminate them would be to place a trap at one mile intervals all around my acreage. That could be done without putting any near neighbors yards in my case. Until then, I'm making several trips around the property daily with my soapy water and pail.

Love, Smart Red

 

[Nyboy]

Do chickens eat them?

 

[catjac1975]

Milky spore is a great JB control. It is supposed to last in the soil for 25 years. I don't think my chickens would eat them. They would not be able to catch them so they would need to be caught and squished or they would just fly away. I have used the traps and think they attract more JB than you would normally have.

 

[Durgan]

Do chickens eat them?

I read on one forum where a lady put traps around her yard with a modified drop hole to let the beetles fall into a container of water to which her chickens had access. Her claim was she didn't have to buy any chicken feed all Summer. Certainly, I know those traps collect a large number of beetles. Talking to the City Park workers, they are astonished by the number of beetles that they collect. Apparently they use traps. Drought did not appear to reduce the numbers, judging from the results of 2012.

 

[Jared77]

They slaughtered my pole beans this past summer. I think I had a handful of fresh beans this year. The plants were literally ravaged by them. I don't know if the chemicals they use to attract them are safe for consumption (by your birds or the byproducts of chickens for human consumption) so I'd look into that first.

I wonder if you would have more success putting the traps downwind a ways of the garden so they went there before hitting up the garden. Or maybe on the opposite side of the property? I don't know I've never used the traps before since they seem to get mixed reviews.

 

[so lucky]

They don't use poison in the traps. It is a pheremone attractant. The bugs fall into the bag which is constructed so that they can't fly out. I trapped and froze them this past summer. My chickens eat them frozen, but prefer them fresh. I still have about a gallon and a half of frozen JBs that I sprinkle in the chickens' food dish several times a week.
The few that did get on my pole beans ate voraciously, but there weren't very many.I do think the traps attract more than would normally be on my property. Don't know if I will do it again this summer. The thing the JBs liked most were my roses, tho.