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Avatar for Shadegardener
Jun 19, 2015 8:44 AM CST
Name: Cindy
Hobart, IN zone 5
aka CindyMzone5
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier
Aww - that's unfortunate about milky spore not being effective anymore. I think most of mine fly in but I'll still have to pursue the new stuff.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. Cree proverb
Avatar for Shadegardener
Jun 20, 2015 9:37 AM CST
Name: Cindy
Hobart, IN zone 5
aka CindyMzone5
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier
I bought a couple of zonal geraniums at the garden store yesterday - bright fuchsia and hot orange - in an attempt to try out the geranium suggestion. They'll be planted in pots so that I can move them around a bit. Will be a fun experiment.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. Cree proverb
Avatar for Plantsmylove
Jun 22, 2015 7:39 AM CST
Thread OP
Name: Alex Junge
MN st paul, (Zone 4a)
When do they come its late June and I have yet to see one.


I applied the whole bag of milky spore sprinkled it, like chicken grit over the grass and watered in well. wore gloves so I didn't get any one my hands/ the medical type work great for this I'll buy more this fall. I'm reluctant to use spray so if I see um I'll crush or soap um. If in 2 years we still have um I'll switch to nematodes
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Jun 22, 2015 9:18 AM CST
Name: greene
Savannah, GA (Sunset 28) (Zone 8b)
I have no use for internet bullies!
Avid Green Pages Reviewer Keeper of Poultry Vegetable Grower Rabbit Keeper Frugal Gardener Garden Ideas: Master Level
Plant Identifier Region: Georgia Native Plants and Wildflowers Composter Garden Sages Bookworm
What other products have you applied to the same lawn? If any of the products applied kill grubs then the use of Milky Spore is a waste of time. You need live grubs to consume the Milky Spore so the stuff can multiply in the soil to kill future grubs.

There is a listing of articles about Japanese Beetle control here:
http://www.gardensalive.com/ca...

For the Milky Spore to work it must be applied at the correct time and temperature when the grubs are actively feeding. Using Milky Spore for Japanese Beetles isn't like taking an aspirin for a headache. The results from Milky Spore are seen over the long term.
Sunset Zone 28, AHS Heat Zone 9, USDA zone 8b~"Leaf of Faith"
Avatar for Shadegardener
Jun 22, 2015 10:07 AM CST
Name: Cindy
Hobart, IN zone 5
aka CindyMzone5
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier
I'm guessing the JBs will arrive in the next week or so. Luckily, they wait until my roses are just about done blooming. They'll probably head for the azalea and unfortunately I can't reach the top so Neem or Azamax will be my spray backup.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. Cree proverb
Avatar for Shadegardener
Jun 23, 2015 7:28 AM CST
Name: Cindy
Hobart, IN zone 5
aka CindyMzone5
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier
The invasion began yesterday afternoon. I drowned the first 5 in soapy water. They all landed on a white rose bush with a few remaining flowers. Now the fun begins.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. Cree proverb
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Jun 23, 2015 8:50 AM CST
Name: Sue
Ontario, Canada (Zone 4b)
Annuals Native Plants and Wildflowers Keeps Horses Dog Lover Daylilies Region: Canadian
Butterflies Birds Enjoys or suffers cold winters Garden Sages Plant Identifier
Shadegardener said:Aww - that's unfortunate about milky spore not being effective anymore. I think most of mine fly in but I'll still have to pursue the new stuff.


It is indeed. After the talk last year I did look into this some more and found the following as well as the aforementioned article from Minnesota:

"Commercial Milky Spore powder failed to reduce grub densities in multi-year field trials as well as greenhouse assays."
From: https://esa.confex.com/esa/200...

According to an article from Cornell on biological control with milky spore, the US government applied over 100 tons of spore powder to over 160,000 sites between 1939 and 1953 which resulted in a 10 to 20x reduction in the number of larvae. But then they say "Recent research indicates that in some regions of the US P. popilliae (milky spore) appears to be losing its virulence against Japanese Beetles. Only 0.2% of larvae collected from field sites showed symptoms of milky disease compared to 1946 with 41.5%. Also, a recent field study in Kentucky showed that commercial formulations of P. popilliae were only moderatively infective (39-44%), that infected grubs consumed the same amount of roots as uninfected grubs, and that lower grub populations could not be linked to infection. Researchers concluded that earlier reports of success were limited to very high infestations of grubs where other stresses may have increased their susceptibility to diseases".

This is quoted from:
http://www.biocontrol.entomolo...
Avatar for Shadegardener
Jun 23, 2015 9:21 AM CST
Name: Cindy
Hobart, IN zone 5
aka CindyMzone5
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier
Ah - an aberration? In your post on using nematodes - how long does the soil need to remain moist? Seems like high water use for that. Sad
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. Cree proverb
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Jun 23, 2015 1:11 PM CST
Name: Sue
Ontario, Canada (Zone 4b)
Annuals Native Plants and Wildflowers Keeps Horses Dog Lover Daylilies Region: Canadian
Butterflies Birds Enjoys or suffers cold winters Garden Sages Plant Identifier
Shadegardener said:Ah - an aberration? In your post on using nematodes - how long does the soil need to remain moist? Seems like high water use for that. (


I've never used them personally. There are instructions on this product page link that might help:
http://www.arbico-organics.com...

They say after the initial waterings related to application, then every 3 to 4 days if it doesn't rain.
Avatar for Shadegardener
Jun 23, 2015 3:05 PM CST
Name: Cindy
Hobart, IN zone 5
aka CindyMzone5
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier
I know Howard Garrett recommends nematodes a lot and mentions the Arbico name. I think I only used them once or twice years ago to get rid of some pests that liked to chew on Rhododendrons.
Only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize that we can't eat money. Cree proverb
Avatar for rdoty
Sep 15, 2020 11:37 AM CST
Name: Robert/Bob
Denver, Colorado (Zone 5b)
Japanese Beetle season is over - thank goodness - but I wanted to share my personal experience with this curse.
I have numerous rose bushes, raspberry bushes and a multitude of perennials and annuals. Last year I got hit with the first onslaught of these pests and after most of my roses had been attacked I resorted to what seemed logical, I put up a Japanese Beetle trap. Then I heard from everybody how that was exactly the worst thing to do, that now I was attracting even more to my yard and I should kiss all my flowers goodbye. I did collect a fair amount of beetles but by then the damage had been done.
Fast forward to this year. When the beetles began to hatch it didn't take long to notice the damage. Leaves eaten through although nothing had yet bloomed. It wasn't unusual to kill 15-20 per day! This time I was ready - I put up not one, but two traps. The result? Within a month I had to replace the bags. Yes, they attracted lots of beetles - and frankly, that's what they are supposed to do. I did myself, and my neighbors, a great service. I don't know how much a beetle weighs but the combined weight of two bags was just short of four pounds! That's a hell of a lot of beetles. (The replacement bags are just as full now)
So, with all these beetles that I brought into my yard I suppose you think the effect was utter and total disaster. On the contrary, the daily count immediately dropped to 4-8 beetles, easily managed by pinching them (probably 1 out of 5 got away) or, my favorite, zapping them with a quick shot of insecticide spray (don't cringe, it works marvelously, none get away and the use was probably less than two teaspoons all year! And I really think the bees were thankful because the beetles rarely got to the flowers).
Yes, some of my roses suffered. Interesting was that some of them were real attractants and some of them the beetles left completely alone. But in the end I enjoyed a lot more than I had the year before. An interesting sidelight - I had no aphids this year and that I don't understand unless it had something to do with a very late freeze we had.
Next year I'm going to apply a pre-emergent spray to the lawns - and hang the beetle traps. Maybe between the two I might get even better results.
The bottom line? Beetle traps work.

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