On Thu, 17 Jul 2003 14:29:22 -0400, in article
, MAC wrote:

Not a good idea to have Japanese Beetle traps anywhere on your property
- they'll just attract beetles from miles around.

We tried traps our first spring at our house and were *swarmed*. The japanese
maple was ruined (for that year) - nearly every leaf was severly munched.

I use liquid Sevin to
kill beetles on my roses and other plants, then switch back to Orthene
after they've left for the year.

I'm not sure what we use, but it is some chemical thing. Bill gets after them
when he first sees them.

I also use a jar full of mineral
spirits to catch 'em and dunk 'em before they can reproduce, and have
been for the past four years.

I don't do this, but I did have one in my hair this morning (after retrieving my
fat old beagle from his apple-and-pear-fest this morning) and washed it down the
drain with soapy water. I felt briefly guilty but then remembered the battles of
previous years. Being a property owner makes you a bit less sympathetic to
wildlife, I think.

I've noticed we've had far fewer bugs this
year than in the past.

Same here. We also have lots of mole-tunnels which we do nothing to discourage
(although I suspect my cats catch a few, much to my husband's disgust). I hope
the moles don't starve this winter because of a shortage of JB grubs. It's hard
to believe they could EVER be in short supply, but since there are still leaves
on the maple, there must be a LOT fewer JBs.

--
Susan Hogarth *
Check out the new Beagle Rescue T-shirt: http://www.tribeagles.org
"If we cannot adjust our differences peacefully we are less than human." - FH