Mother Earth’s Garden

Controlling Japanese Beetles

by linette on July 23rd, 2008

  Japanese beetles are a huge problem in almost any garden East of the Mississippi these days, so I thought I’d round up a couple control methods. Then I’m going to turn it over to you. What methods help you control your Japanese beetle populations? I’m definitely not a pro on the subject, and I’d love to hear what others have to say about these horrible pests.

A hoard of Japanese beetles can move in and destroy plants in a matter of hours, and leave behind leaf skeletons where healthy plants were.

Japanese beetles are almost impossible to get rid of completely, but there are some things you can do in your garden to help control their population.

• My dad’s favorite method of controlling Japanese beetles is to carry a jar of soapy water around with him in the garden. Every time he sees a beetle, he knocks it into the jar. He collects them until he has a jar full. He takes pride in his jars of beetles. He stores them in the freezer in between garden trips. Once a jar is full he empties it out and starts again.
• You can also set a Japanese Beetle Trap, or 3 or 4. Just remember the trap will draw the beetles to it, so you don’t want to put the trap beside your plants, or garden. Put it on the outer perimeters of your property (or better yet in your neighbor’s yard), to attract the Japanese beetles away from your plants, and capture them.
• Milky spore can be spread on the ground early in the summer to help destroy the beetles while they are still grubs. The milky spore disease takes a while to build up and be effective against the beetles, usually several years.
• Insecticidal Soap sprayed directly on the beetles can destroy them and help control the population.
• If all else fails there are a couple insecticides available to help control the Japanese beetle population, use them sparingly, and only according to the package directions.

Like I said above, I’d love to hear your favorite Japanese beetle control method.

Japanese beetle image via istockphoto

Japanese beetle trap image via Gardens Alive!

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POSTED IN: Garden Pests