Well, it sounds as though you have Japanese Beetles (JB). Welcome to "the
club no gardener wants to join"

I don't know about the basil (mine has not yet been affected by JB), and I
don't use insecticides on leafy vegetables such as lettuce, basil, spinach,
etc. (although I cannot cite a scientific reason for that). For other
veggies, I recommend Sevin (carbaryl). Sevin is available in concentrated
liquid or dust; I recommend the liquid, simply because sprayers are *much*
easier to find than dusters.

BTW, I know that some people put the Sevin dust in an old sock to apply it,
but that was not practical for me, since I wanted to apply Sevin dust around
the perimeter of my house to stop an epidemic of millipedes (it helped.)

What ever insecticide you choose, make sure to read the label so you get one
meant for use on edible crops (as opposed to "systemic" insecticides which
remain in the plant).

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh


wrote in message
. com...
Umm....newbie gardener plants' like roses : bud/leaves, persimmon leaves
and
other plants are being eaten by these fingertip size beetles with greenish
casts. What can I use to get rids of them but leaving my plants and basils
safe enough to eat ? Thanks.