Lillies Beetle are awake

[libby muller]

These little red beauties are fast! This time last year I didn't know what a lily beetle was, now
It's barely spring and many little shoots are already looking sad.
Neem was successful if you used it diligently, but I don't like it once the birds and bees come back.
Help! Is there a lily beetle expert in the house?
-Do they only eat asiatic or oriental lilies? They left the daylilies and all the other bulbs alone.
-Some sites said just kill the lilies to solve the problem. I'd consider that, but it would be a big loss.
If, instead, I move them to a spot far, far away from the infested garden, will the bugs just find them in the new spot?
- When the lilies are gone, is it safe to replant that space this year?
I don't care for bugs, but lots of them serve a good purpose so I just avoid them, but the ones that hurt my gardens make me feel a certain way.

 

[Meadowlark]

... Is there a lily beetle expert in the house?

We have a lot of lilies in our gardens especially daylilies and honestly have never seen one of these critters...so I'm not an experienced expert in controlling them unless you could say control by variety.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing with Neem oil according to online experts...but they also say persistence is very important to effective control. Neem oil is considered by many to be non-toxic to bees or birds. I use it occasionally and have never seen it harm bees. However, applying it late or early can help avoid the possibility.

Maybe biological approaches...Predatory ground beetles, frogs, ladybugs, and lacewings all feast on the beetle larvae. The parasitic wasp is a known biological control that targets lily beetle larvae effectively.