Tom wrote:
Hi.

I've had two Granny Smith Apple trees for three years and they've
survived yearly bouts with Japanese beetles with only minor damage.
This year they are ten times worse than in previous yers, and I'm
worried I'm going to lose the trees. What can I do to dissuade the
Beetles w/o toxifying the fruit?

Don't know but would love to hear some options aside for Sevin...

I've heard of using Milky Spore, but will that work in time to have an
affect this season?

No, it won't help this year. However, that should not stop you from
doing it. My understanding is that it takes a couple fo years to reach
optimum. I put some down last year and have seen a marked decrease in
japanese bettles this year. In fact, I've been curious about other
people's experiences because without that, there's no way of knowing if
it's simply a low JB year or the Milky Spore.

BTW, if you're using those bag-a-bug traps, get rid of them. The
research I did on them some time ago seems to point towards the fact
that they actually attract more JBs to your garden than they kill.

Susan
shsimko at duke dot edu