Scopata Fuori wrote:

ObRoses: No Japanese beetles yet, but I'm waiting for them, with a fresh can
of oil to drown them in. I read that you have to burn the corpses, because
if you just put them in the trash or bury them in a hole, the eggs in the
female's bodies will survive and hatch out, exacerbating the problem. I can
imagine them popping in the fire like popcorn.

I thought I saw my first the other day but am praying I didn't. I
really hate the start of JB season. I think the prolonged cool weather
and rain has delayed the start down here in NC's zone 7B.

As to the eggs hatching and surviving, I don't care. I spread milky
spore last year and in putting in a new flower bed over the weekend, I
encountered a few JB larva, all with the telltale milky white colour of
spore infection. *grin* I will continue dumping 'em in a ziplock bag
of soapy water which I seal and toss in the garbage can when I'm done or
mashing 'em on the ground. They make such a satisfying snap.

I'm also planning on continuing my campaign of getting my neighbors to
put milky spore down also.

Susan
shimko at duke dot edu