Japanese Beetles - Knowledgebase Question

hudsonville, mi
Avatar for lindywaites6
Question by lindywaites6
August 12, 2006
Japanese Beetles are eating our green beans and okra and even my glads. We spray liquid Sevin at least every 3 days and they are just out there by the hundreds. We put out one of those trap bags and it seems like we have more than ever. Do you have any tips to get rid of these awful pests? Please help! I'm losing all of my vegetables! Some people say the bags are not good to put out. What do you think? We have ours quite aways from the garden.


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Answer from NGA
August 12, 2006
Japanese beetles are a difficult pest to control. Your best bet is a two-prong approach: one to deal with the larvae, one to deal with the adults. Japanese beetle grubs are best controlled by spraying beneficial nematodes on the lawn and garden area. These microscopic worm-like creatures attack only the grubs in the soil and not plants, animals or humans. Spray them in spring when the temperatures are above 55F. You can buy the beneficial nematodes from Gardeners Supply, 128 Intervale Rd., Burlington, VT 05401 800-863-1700 For adult beetles, I'd try a new product called whole neem oil. This is different than standard Bioneem in that it is a stronger concentration of this organic spray. It's available from Greenlight Co., Box 17985, San Antonio, TX 78217, 210-494-3481. I would avoid using those Japanese beetle traps. In some cases, it appears that they actually draw beetles to them from the surrounding area--and you don't need to be attracting extra beetles!

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