From: oway (Tyra Trevellyn)
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2003 10:26 PM
Message-id:

From: (Beecrofter)
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2003 10:21 PM
Message-id:

Put a few pans or trashcan lids of water with a drop of dish soap in
thewm under the plants and overnight the feeding insect will drop into
it and drown.
My bet is on Asiatic beetles.

I am just about to go out with a flashlight to look.....and now I think
I'll
take some pans of soapy water with me. Thanks.....! I'll report back
tomorrow.

Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa z7


OK.....you got it right, you ol' bettin' man. There they were, pretty little
ruddy brown beetles, 1/2 inch or so, and I tapped a few off into the soapy
water. Geesh.....now what.....? My search found info that says if you shine a
light into the soil at night they'll come out to look (if they're not already
on the plants). Since it's raining tonight, I'll have to play that game
tomorrow night. But I really can't see how hand-picking is going to dent the
population.

Now I realize that the grubs I see when I'm digging the beds must be the larvae
of the Asiatic Garden Beetle. I've been in this location for five summers and
it's only that long since no pesticides have been put down on the grass and
surrounding areas (according to my wishes). I guess it took this long for the
population to build up to the numbers it must now have attained for the damage
to be severe enough to notice. Must research a safe way to get these critters.


Thanks so very much.....!
Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa z7

You can catch quite a few of the adults with the pans of water.
Milky spore helps with grubs other than Japanese beetles but takes a
little while to get rolling.
Wide spectrum pesticides will kill everything that eats them so they
are best avoided.

From: (Beecrofter)
Date: Tue, Jul 29, 2003 10:31 AM
Message-id:

You can catch quite a few of the adults with the pans of water.
Milky spore helps with grubs other than Japanese beetles but takes a
little while to get rolling.
Wide spectrum pesticides will kill everything that eats them so they
are best avoided.

Aside from the ones I knocked off myself, there weren't any others in the water
pans I situated around the sunflower plants. (However, there were dead
spiders, unfortunately.....) It's possible that my initial leaf checking
before I put the pans down derailed them for the night. BUT: the good news is
that the damage last night is much less than the previous two or three nights.
Perhaps there aren't that many feeding and even the absence of a couple will
make a difference. (Trying to remain optimistic.....) It's also possible that
the soap spray I applied yesterday to some of the sunflower plants kept those
plants relatively safe...?

Although there seems to be similar damage (too minor to notice otherwise) to
other plants in my garden, nothing has taken the beating that the sunflowers
have. I wonder if sunflower is a trap crop in this yard. I've grown
sunflowers every year of the five I'm been here and this is the first time
they've been noticeably attacked, though. They're extremely late this year,
first from the weather setback, and then from rabbits having a nosh and making
reseeding necessary. (Seems I should take the hint and give in to nature's
whims this year....)

I'll begin milky spore application as soon as feasible.

Many thanks again, B...

Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa z7

From: oway (Tyra Trevellyn)
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2003 10:26 PM
Message-id:

From: (Beecrofter)
Date: Mon, Jul 28, 2003 10:21 PM
Message-id:

Put a few pans or trashcan lids of water with a drop of dish soap in
thewm under the plants and overnight the feeding insect will drop into
it and drown.
My bet is on Asiatic beetles.

I am just about to go out with a flashlight to look.....and now I think
I'll
take some pans of soapy water with me. Thanks.....! I'll report back
tomorrow.

Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa z7


OK.....you got it right, you ol' bettin' man. There they were, pretty little
ruddy brown beetles, 1/2 inch or so, and I tapped a few off into the soapy
water. Geesh.....now what.....? My search found info that says if you shine a
light into the soil at night they'll come out to look (if they're not already
on the plants). Since it's raining tonight, I'll have to play that game
tomorrow night. But I really can't see how hand-picking is going to dent the
population.

Now I realize that the grubs I see when I'm digging the beds must be the larvae
of the Asiatic Garden Beetle. I've been in this location for five summers and
it's only that long since no pesticides have been put down on the grass and
surrounding areas (according to my wishes). I guess it took this long for the
population to build up to the numbers it must now have attained for the damage
to be severe enough to notice. Must research a safe way to get these critters.


Thanks so very much.....!
Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa z7