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As Baine suggested earlier, the better choice is Merit (imidacloprid) which
Bayer sells the "Bayer Advanced" label at Lowes, HD, etc. However,
as Baine also said, it works best against smaller grubs, which would mean
applying it closer to June-July when you see adults. It has about 90 days
of
activity so you have a wide window of opportunity to apply. Applying it now
has marginal value for grub control. If you want less toxic alternative
(compared
to diazinon) for now, you might consider using the nematodesl. However if
we
keep the trend of low rainfall, you'll need to water the lawn before and
after (right
after and again in 1-2 days) you make your application or the nematodes
won't
survive.


"Siouxzi" wrote in message
news
Thanks, Robert... I am pretty sure that the beetle traps do NOT work,
and simply attract all the beetles from miles around. We filled bag
after bag one year and still had our grape vines decimated. And it
doesn't help the lawn, of course, since that's grubs...

Back to Lowes for alternatives. I will check on the Bayer stuff. It
looks likely that diazinon will eventually be banned...

Sue

On Wed, 31 Mar 2004 16:46:29 GMT, "Robert"
wrote:

I'm no authority on Japanese Beetles (or much else for that matter), we
haven't had much of a problem with them here, but there are some
eco-friendlier options listed he

http://www.planetnatural.com/japanes...e_control.html

Also here is a good site to see what the deal is with various pesticides
if
you want to research the stuff they sell in Lowes, HD and other garden
places before buying:

http://pesticide.org/

For example Bayer makes some sort of grub control stuff for lawns.
According
to the label the active ingredient is Imidacloprid (Merit) which you can
look up on the pesticide.org site in their publications section:

http://www.pesticide.org/imidacloprid.pdf

There you can find all the fun facts that Bayer isn't telling you on its
label.

I've heard that the bag lure traps just attract more JBs to your lot than
they catch so they're probably a bad idea.

I saw something in the Southern Living Garden book (my current favorite
gardening book) the other night about Japanese Beetle control but I think
most of it is covered in the Planet Natural stuff. I could check after
work
and post it here if it is different.

It might be interesting to ask at some nurseries as to how they deal with
various pests like Japanese Beetles since they have a good deal to lose
from
an infestation. I'd imagine they're blasting them with chemicals but
there
might be some who take an alternative approach.

Good luck,

Robert

"Siouxzi" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks, Robert. and Wes I am going to insist that we not use it--it
scared me even before I read this stuff. We've got little puppies
playing in the yard right now.

So now the question is... what do we do about the Japanese beetles??
The milky spore is not working--and that stuff cost a bloody fortune,
BTW. I think part of our problem is clay and lack of good drainage,
but it's just not feasible to fix that entirely.

Sue

On Tue, 30 Mar 2004 18:19:21 GMT, "Robert"
wrote:

and specifically this pdf:

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/op/diazinon/water.pdf

Robert

"Siouxzi" wrote in message
.. .
The japanese beetles destroyed a lot of our garden and lawn last
year,
and we put down milky spore (expensive, ouch!) but it hasn't kicked
in
yet, judging by the grubs that I have found whenever I turn over a
log
or dig under the turf. And our lawn has become thin and full of
chickweed, not to mention moles.

Hubby is insisting on putting diazinon on the grass. The bag says
apply in 'late spring' --is it time?

I'm worried about my dogs... how long do I have to keep them off the
grass?

Thanks
Sue