Japanese Beetles

During the evening time when they are sleeping, you flick them into a bowl of soapy water.

jzmtl wrote: ↑ Just stop, they don't preferentially eat Japanese beetles, if they did we wouldn't have Japanese beetle infestation in North America. I've had both for years and they will occasionally try one but go right back to chasing grasshoppers and picking stuff on the ground and ignoring all the Japanese beetles hanging on the leaves next to them.

Very few songbirds can catch grasshoppers. Mostly larger birds like crows, grouse and turkeys do. If even Orkin is saying that birds are better at killing Japanese beetles than spraying, could you even for a minute consider that you may be wrong?

hierophant wrote: ↑ Ah ok make sense - yes I have several large trees (mostly walnut trees) as well as shrubs. Unfortunately, because of the shade and walnut trees I can't grow too much there - really wanted to have a vegetable garden. I forgot I do have a small bird bath in the back but I've never filled either one of them - it fills with the rain and then evaporates.

That is probably why they don't use the birdbath. Birds will only frequent bird feeders and bird baths if they are reliably filled. They come check everyday for a few days and if it doesn't get filled regularly, they wont routinely use it. If the water is sitting for even 1 day it grows algae and bacteria. I clean and fill my birdbaths over 4 times a day, sometime more if I can.

mrl14 wrote: ↑ During the evening time when they are sleeping, you flick them into a bowl of soapy water.

This. We used those hanging traps before but they seemed to just attract more. But been doing this now, and I am controlling their population it seems.

devmaster8 wrote: ↑ This. We used those hanging traps before but they seemed to just attract more. But been doing this now, and I am controlling their population it seems.

How many of these do you typically have per tree? When I used to have them, there were thousands if not millions on my plum trees. I couldn't hardly even see the leaves because there were so many beetles. As soon as I even tried to pick them off, many of them would fall off onto the ground.

Katedontbreak wrote: ↑ How many of these do you typically have per tree? When I used to have them, there were thousands if not millions on my plum trees. I couldn't hardly even see the leaves because there were so many beetles. As soon as I even tried to pick them off, many of them would fall off onto the ground.

Ah, mine is not on trees as I don't have any nearby. They are mostly on plants which I can access. Used to catch hundreds in traps previous years, but this year, I started catching them manually early, and have been now catching only about less than 10 a day. I think those traps do attract more than you normally would have.

If its the tree and you already have hundreds, then a trap would probably be best.

I also recommend trying to kill the grubs early in spring.

devmaster8 wrote: ↑ Ah, mine is not on trees as I don't have any nearby. They are mostly on plants which I can access. Used to catch hundreds in traps previous years, but this year, I started catching them manually early, and have been now catching only about less than 10 a day. I think those traps do attract more than you normally would have.

If its the tree and you already have hundreds, then a trap would probably be best.

I also recommend trying to kill the grubs early in spring.

I don't have any anymore. I turned my property over the decades into a garden oasis, added more trees, shrubs, flowers, bird feeders and bird baths and I haven't seen even 1 in 10 years. But when I had them, they would entirely defoliate my plum trees to the point they even killed one from constant year after year defoliation. It was impossible to even try to pick them off as more would fall to the ground and then fly away if you even tried to pick at them.

Get a long bag, like a bread bag, place it under where they are hanging out and they drop right in. I have a peice of wire that I use to disturb them, give them a poke and they just roll and drop. The bag needs to be right under them, otherwise they fly away if they drop too far, or roll and bounce off other leaves on the way down.

Mechanical removal seems to work best for me, but is not practical if you have tall trees or lots of shrubs.

I had to get rid of a rose bush, cut down 2 plum trees, and a whole row of rose of sharon bushes, the plum trees already struggled with black knot and the rose of sharons had too many rough winters and were too old anyway. That dramatically reduced the numbers of Beatles in my area, they are instead going to my neighbours and congregating there - they absolutely love rose of sharon and will just pile into the flowers 10 at a time turning them into swiss cheese looking wrecks. Picking the beatles off raspberries and hibiscuses is much easier.