Help. Asian beetles have moved in.

[Midwestnoob]

Everything was going great in my garden and then the next morning, boooom, half my basil was gone. Crushed, buried and flicked as many as I could. But they are back in bigger numbers. Any ideas on how to control these little #&*$÷!%ers

 

[Chuck]

I don't know how many times I have to repeat this but spinosad works very well on beetles and just about everything else too. Plus it is organic and safe for everyone

 

[Beth_B]

Dish soap in a spray bottle with water (heavy on the dish soap) is a low-cost effective remedy for most bugs. Also Neem oil, which doesn't necessarily kill all bugs, but makes the plants inhospitable and not tasty.

Edit: I knew Chuck would recommend spinosad! That too.

 

[Midwestnoob]

Sorry for asking such a common question. After I started this thread I found that they are also called Japanese beetles. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Midwestnoob]

On second thought, I'm going to see if my bichir eel will eat them.

I used to feed crickets that I caught in my backyard to my old eel. And he loves them. I would stun the crickets by shaking them in my hand and toss them in the fish tank. You could see the oil or the bug pheromones spread throughout the water. When the eel caught the sent of the big he would go crazy trying to find that floating cricket and eat it alive. Pretty cool to watch.

Does this make me a monster??

 

[Durgan]

Japanese Beetle is hell on earth to a garden. There are traps that catch hundreds. They are hard on my grapes particularly but attack almost all vegetation. I flick them into a pail of water. Shake the leaves when it is windy to chase the beetles off. Spraying is not a solution. Spinosad is not panacea for anything. It is just another insecticide. Some years there are many but the infestation varies. Another pest to plague.

 

[Beth_B]

On second thought, I'm going to see if my bichir eel will eat them.

I used to feed crickets that I caught in my backyard to my old eel. And he loves them. I would stun the crickets by shaking them in my hand and toss them in the fish tank. You could see the oil or the bug pheromones spread throughout the water. When the eel caught the sent of the big he would go crazy trying to find that floating cricket and eat it alive. Pretty cool to watch.

Does this make me a monster??

For years I had multiple Betta fish. I allowed mosquito instars and bloodworms to thrive in a tiny pond, just so I could feed them to my Bettas.

I don't think I was a monster and you are not either. Feeding a biologically appropriate diet to animals in your care is the right thing to do.

 

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HKSUW 17 July 2013 Japanese Beetle
The Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica) skeletonizes the leaves of my grape vines. I have also seen a few on the potato plants in small numbers. They appear every year, certainly over the last three years.This year they are rather sparse and appear ill fed. My local control is to flip them off the vines into a pail of water, or simply squash between thumb and forefinger,or shake the vines on a windy day and they disappear.They are poor flyers.The damage is acceptable if they are not left to feed. They can skeltonize the grape leaves in an afternoon, since they are often in large numbers. Fifty to one hundred is not uncommon. Birds eat many when in the white grub stage.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

Japanese Beetle is hell on earth to a garden. There are traps that catch hundreds. They are hard on my grapes particularly but attack almost all vegetation. I flick them into a pail of water. Shake the leaves when it is windy to chase the beetles off. Spraying is not a solution. Spinosad is not panacea for anything. It is just another insecticide. Some years there are many but the infestation varies. Another pest to plague.

Try putting a bird feeder by your grape vines, the birds will find the beetles and help remove them. I have 2 feeders 1 near my patio and 1 by my grape vine and don't have a problem with the beetles any more, I have a few fat Robins now.

 

[Chuck]

Japanese Beetle is hell on earth to a garden. There are traps that catch hundreds. They are hard on my grapes particularly but attack almost all vegetation. I flick them into a pail of water. Shake the leaves when it is windy to chase the beetles off. Spraying is not a solution. Spinosad is not panacea for anything. It is just another insecticide. Some years there are many but the infestation varies. Another pest to plague.

I wouldn't disparage it until you have tried it.