Oh no! Oh, please don't tell me! Last year was the worst year I can remember. Woe is me.

I have seen evidence of them in my purple leaf plum, which suffers greatly from the devil beetles every year. (I live just Northwest of Philly.) Time to buy the traps! I couldn't believe how full those bags got last year -- it was like a biblical plague!

They have arrived in Philadelphia!!! BOO!!!

I noticed them today on my rose bushes in Chester County.

Don't use the traps! You get many more beetles in your garden than you would if you had not used the traps. Thousands are attracted and lots of them don't go into the traps.

Its not that easy to condem traps. It is true that there is an attractant. But, if there is already someting highly attractive in your yard, like fragrant roses, the traps aren't going to add to the total you see.

Last year I used traps. I then removed them for a week. There were more beetles on my roses when the traps were sealed in a plastic bag in my garage.

The traps do not harm the environment like insecticides. And remember, every beetle you kill in a trap does not reproduce. Last summer I suspect I killed many thousands of beetles in 2 traps. I was emptying them every night into a pail of soapy water.

I think last year was the worst beetle explosion I had ever seen by far. How's that for a bouquet!

{{gwi:228687}}

Harry:

Hope that wasn't The Mayflower. I have disbudded all my roses before going on vacation. I can't stand the devastation they cause while I am away.

I saw them this week too! They get worse every year One was on top of my car.

If you can stand it you can plop them in a bucket of soapy water before noon because they are late sleepers. Sarah

holy moley harry, i never saw anything like that. i'd be inclined to use traps as well in those circumstances. best of luck.

happy blooms,
maryanne

I've put my traps out, and they're already doing the job. I saw the beetles swarming around one of the traps within a few minutes. Now they're baking in the bottom of the bags. Death to devil beetles!

annld:

The beetles here seem worse than last year. I put out 2 traps at the front of my woods in an effort to lure them off my Kwanzan cherry tree. They went for the traps before I could hang them. I have 2 up--since 1 PM--that are now weighing down the tree limbs. I think I will buy more. I also plan to clip all rose blooms tomorrow.

My last resort is to spray the cherry tree with Sevin. That got them off my crape myrtle velour last year.

There are about 5 sparrows that work on the beeltes but they are overwhelmed.

OMG Harry, that is one of the most disqusting things I have ever seen.... yet I can't look away, it's like some freakish Ripley's Believe it or not photo.

Yuck.

We never get too many beetles here.
-Oops I can't believe I said that, I hope I didn't just destroy my good luck!

have you guys tried planting garlic bulbs next to your roses and other flowers? I've used that in the past with pretty good success.

Does anyone have any homemade remedies that don't include chemicals? I do have a beetle bag out. But they are still attacking my poor rose bush. I am pregnant this summer and really don't want to be around chemicals. Thanks for any tips.

Jessica

In the Garden Clinic forum, somebody posted that Four o'clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) will repel them.

I hope they never find Ottawa. I have enough fun with slugs and earwigs and lily beetles.

Janet's Garden

Argh...

As of July 2nd, at least one has made its way to Luzerne County, I did not go searching to see if it had friends, but I am sure to find out later today or in the next few days I am sure.

I even think the evil one was eyeing my new rose bed.

Gerry

They arrived in Dover, Pa. the last week of June. They got my cana's before the roses and moved onto the marigolds and zinnia. Hand picking got to be alot of work so I plead guilty to conspiring with "ortho".

I know this sounds weird, but I have a fence line of Bonicas that are getting munched by the beetles (I hand pick 2x daily and throw them in a bucket of soapy water to drown). I noticed that one out of the dozen seems to be consistently free of beetles. I am wondering if that is because it is surrounded by feverfew that reseeded in that area. Seems to be the only difference.

It's a biblical plague! They really are worse this year. The infestation in the midwest has made the news

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060707/ap_on_bi_ge/farm_scene

I even have them on sassafras trees :-( Good thing I have no roses!

I noticed last night that one of my traps was so full of beetles that the bag was falling off of the holder. It took less than 10 days for that bag to fill up. I've never seen so many dead beetles in my life. A beautiful yet hideous site. On the bright side, it seems like the worst of the infestation has passed... or is that wishful thinking on my part? I'm not seeing as many of them lately.

It BUGS me (hahaha) that I can't get a trap anywhere. To make matters worse, stores keep out the empty displays. Don't get my hopes up!! My wife was saying she either read or heard that there isn't a single trap available in Chester County. I see some in my neighborhood, but not enough. They are definitely worse this year, as I can't say I even remember any from last year. I haven't planted anything (yet) that seems to interest them much. I've seen them on some plants, but they seem to be hanging out, not dining out. Has anyone ever used them as a fertilizer? I heard that question asked in another thread, and the consensus was to not do it on account of there being females in there that are ready to lay eggs. Seems like a waste of life, but whatever.

By the way, what are those plant getting devoured in your photo? It looks like your lilies and black-eyed susans weren't bothered...

You know, I'm going to jinx myself by writing this, but we haven't had the problem with beetles that we've had the last two years. DH and I spent the last two years diligently hand-picking them from our yard, and put a bounty on all beetles in the neighborhood. We paid the neighbor kids a nickel a piece for any beetles they brought us - it just about sent us to the poor house! Then we convinced their parents to treat their lawns after educating them about the JB life cycle and the damage they cause. (None of the neighbors were into gardening before we moved here, but after seeing what we've accomplished over the years they've gotten the bug.) I doubt we've seen more than 25-30 beetles a day this year.

I didn't want to post this before now, 'cause I was afraid if I did I'd get a deluge of beetles out of spite. But two weeks into the "JB season" with these low numbers, I'm convinced that prevention is the key, and it takes a neighborhood-wide effort to accomplish this. Now to work on the knotweed.....

I'm with floragal. I must admit, I see a few of 'em flying about. At most there are about a dozen on a grapevine from Israel that we got at a plant swap a few years ago. But I haven't seen any on my roses.

Apparently they aren't all bad...I went to pull up all the purple loosestrife growing along the road. Apparently they have an appetite for it!

The only thing I can think of...earlier this year, it was VERY weird, like Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds". There were robins all over the place! Perhaps they were eating them as they emerged?

I eliminated beatles from my garden for years because I used traps. I have 3 acres and use 5 traps at a time. They're worth every penny.