Update from lunch: They've moved on to include the hanging ivy geranium, which was filled with about thirty to forty of them. Here's the kicker: several were laying there, not moving. In fact, the only reason I looked up was seeing three or four 'dead' ones on the patio that I didn't step on. Looked it up online, and apparently if they try to eat the flowers it causes paralysis. :)

Woo! Finally good news. The bad news is that the ivy geranium may be drawing them (like the roses and the rest weren't doing that already), the good news is if they go there they will be easy picking.

My new goal in life is to kill off as many of these stupid beetles as I can by drowning them in soapy water. Maybe if I kill enough there will be less to breed in my neighborhood (since I seem to have a monopoly on them), and fewer beetles next year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Info on paralysis of Jap. Beetles

Get bags. Yes they ARE an attractant. But thats only a bad thing if you are dumb enough to stick one in the middle of the garden, like most people thinking that one is enough.

Put them on all 4 corners of your property. try to draw them AWAY from the gardens.

Also the milky spore was on YOUR property.

How much you wanna bet your neighbors don't? Trying to kill the grubs on your property is worthless if your neighbors don't.

Thanks for the info about geraniums tho. Gotta go find some. they've been attacking my rhubarb and string beans.

I tried the milky spore and it didn't work here. The guy at the store said sometimes it doesn't over winter in zone 4.
its to expensive to experiment with.
Usually I take my trusty coffee can with a couple on inches of soapy water in it and hit the garden early in the AM and later in the evening after it cools down. Then the ___bugs don't fly at you. They drown in the water and get tossed out.
I do have one of the bags AWAY from my garden and it does attract some beetles. They really like morning glorys and green bean plants. Some one once asked me why I plant green beans...the answer..to attract the japanese beetles away from my flowers.
Von

I can't put the bags at the corners of the property -- that's where the roses are.

As for the can of soapy water, I use a bottle scaveneged from my recycle bin. I have half a propel bottle filled with soapy water and half with beetles. I also have half a maple syrup bottle filled with soapy water and half with beetles. They are both really gross and contain hundreds of beetles that are now steeping like tea until garbage day. They stink when opened, and are emitting gasses. Ugh. This doesn't include the ones I had last week that I already threw out.

I finally threw in the towel yesterday. My deceased neighbor had a trigger spray bottle of some insecticide designed for beetles. When her son offered me any of the garden stuff in her garage, I grabbed it like it was providence. I sprayed last night and today only saw three beetles out on the plants. At least one was dead. It's supposed to hold for thirty days.

I was de-beetling up to four times a day, with no less than 25 beetles per time (and usually around 50 or more). I'd start in the morning before breakfast, go back out at lunch on break from work, go out after work before dinner, and once more at sunset. I was absolutely overrun.

They haven't been as bad in my garden this year.....I got rid of the rose bush, the scarlet runner beans, the holly hocks, and the morning glories, hibiscus and dmalva zebrina...anything that my hummers could live without I got rid of. I still have them but not as bad and a soapy cup of about 15 a day is about it. I have read that they can and will travel about 100 miles in any direction. My neighbor uses the bags and I think they fly through my yard to get to hersb/c I never had them until she started with the bags three years ago.

Penny

Hi All!

I don't believe I've ever seen a beetle infestion as bad as this year. I've drowned hundreds if not thousands so far. At least 50 to a 100 each day since they started.

They've done a number on my Red Canna leaves and are now stating on the blossoms. My 4's have been a magnet but the most heartbreaking is my Dahlias especially the yellow or anything with the tinge of yellow.

I've taken off as many as 12 to 15 on one blossom a number of times.

What really is heartbreaking more than that is this is the first year I haven't had a Blk/Yel Stripped Cucumber Beetle. So the Jap B's have taken over where they left off except they've been 10 times worse.

Regards
Jim

I must of collected thousands of JB. Everyday - several times a day - I go out with my soapy jar. Get 50 or so each time. My Hollyhock is stripped. Roses are sad. I see them on Zuke leaves. They ate all the wild grape leaves on the fence... thare are still gazillions left... that must mean lots of babies for next years invasion.

HELP.....me too..something about Amherst area. Can we overdo the soapy water?..a few leaves on my hardy hibs are curling (could also be the heat/sun). What brand of spray are you using and is it working? PLMK ASAP and I'm starting to lose out and my Hardy Hibs Luna Blush are beautiful, except for the holes from the JB's or should I say SOBs..Sons (and daughters) of Beetles?

Ginny B.

I went with a Bayer rose and flower spray that specifically said it killed japanese beetles, and was chosen only because it was being given away by my late neighbor's son while cleaning out her house. I only sprayed it on the plants that they went after because I felt bad about using sprays at all. I usually make do with the soapy water but the infestation was just too severe. I'd go out four times a day and still find tons each time I went back. And even though I had very few escape as I tried to dunk 'em, it was still insane.

You can't use it on vegetables or other edible plants. I just directly sprayed the affected roses, hibiscus, hardy hibiscus, kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate and one variety of perennial geranium in my yard. I chose to not spray the ivy geranium basket, as the flowers paralyze or kill them anyway. I've noticed no more than two or three total on all my plants combined now each day (I sometimes don't bother to remove them if I don't have time now), and it seems confined to just the rose blooms (which of course weren't anywhere near open when I sprayed). It's supposed to be systemic and not wash off (ha ha like we get rain anymore).

I don't usually recommend spraying because sprays kill good bugs and bad bugs, but I have never seen anything like this (OK, the carpenter ant infestation we found when we moved into our house was pretty bad too but that's a whole other story...) and was concerned they would munch the plants enough to kill them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Stuff I used on the plants

A spray that I've found helpful is Jungle Rain Clean Leaf.

It contains castile soap and citrus oils. It has almost no scent. It's available pre-mixed or concentrate.

It works on JBs, and it's easy to use.

Rose Pharm is another good product, with peppermint oil and glycerin.