Here's one way to deal with Japanese beetles--get a small bucket, fill
partially with water, and add a good squirt or two of liquid soap. The type
of soap is not important, it serves to break the surface tension of the
water. Then go in the garden early in the morning and again late in the
afternoon, when the beetles are a bit sluggish, knock them off the leaves,
and let them fall into the bucket. They will drown and you can dispose of
them as you see fit.

If you are diligent about this over the course of several days, you can make
a huge dent in the population. It doesn't take long, and no spraying is
involved. In my garden the beetles congregate on a few favored types of
plants, so I do a quick pass twice a day.

The other thing you can do is pray for starlings 8-)....I know they are
often thought of as undesirable birds, but I've never seen other birds eat
Japanese beetles. The last few summers they have cleaned up the beetles on
my cannas, and I was grateful.

Cheers,
Sue

--

Zone 6, South-central PA
Japanese beetles.... not too many years ago, I had never seen one
around here. I was kind of hoping it was too cold for them to live
here. Then one year, I found one. The next year, there were a few,
then several, then a bunch, then last year, there were enough to
actually do some real damage to the grape vines. Assuming the trend
continues, I'll probably spray them with something this summer.

SugarChile wrote:
.......The other thing you can do is pray for starlings 8-)....I know they are
often thought of as undesirable birds, but I've never seen other birds eat
Japanese beetles. The last few summers they have cleaned up the beetles on
my cannas, and I was grateful.

Cheers,
Sue



This could be a very good thing. I wonder if starlings everywhere
have learned to eat Japanese beetles? Perhaps this is a new food for
them and it may take a while for all of the starling population to
figure it out. Probably wishful thinking but it would be nice if a
natural control appeared that would keep the beetle damage tolerable.
My main control has been to grab the ones I see, toss them onto a
brick and slam another brick on top before they fly away. I do know
about the bucket of soapy water trick but never bothered to go back
to the house to get the bucket. I'll have to try it this summer.
Their habit of dropping straight down when threatened makes it
perfect for them. Thanks for the reminder.

Steve

"SugarChile" wrote in message
...
Here's one way to deal with Japanese beetles--get a small bucket, fill
partially with water, and add a good squirt or two of liquid soap. The type
of soap is not important, it serves to break the surface tension of the
water. Then go in the garden early in the morning and again late in the
afternoon, when the beetles are a bit sluggish, knock them off the leaves,
and let them fall into the bucket. They will drown and you can dispose of
them as you see fit.


It might be quicker to just use a small shop vac. Get a voltage converter so
you can run it off your garden tractor's battery. We have serious problem
here in Ohio with Asian beetles. They look like dull orange lady bugs.