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theniceguy

Does soap spray work against Beatles?

9 years ago

I lost my whole grape crop last year due to Beatles skeletonizing the leaves. If they follow the same schedule, they'll arrive next month and my crop will be destroyed in a week or two. I used dish soap mixed with water on aphids successfully. I know people drop them in soapy water, but it's going to be too difficult to do that in this case. I'm wondering if I could make a really strong soap mix and Spot spray them on the leaves. Might damage the leaves a bit, but it can't be worse than zero leaves.

Comments (4)

  • 9 years ago

    I think you mean beetles (an insect, not capitalized) instead of Beatles (a classic rock band) :-))

    You will need to identify the type of beetles to find out what is the best control. But spraying them with soapy water is unlikely to be very effective. That is only good with soft bodied insects like aphids or whitefly, as it smothers them. Will have virtually no effect on a hard shelled creature like a beetle.

    Hand picking is typically the most effective method of control, other than the use of row covers to prevent them from alighting on the grape leaves. Insecticides are more effective on the larvae but identification of the insect is critical.

  • 9 years ago

    If it is Japanese beetles you are talking about then yes, a soap spray will work on them. A tablespoon of soap per quart of water. The beetles have to be sprayed directly and they soon fall off the plant and die. I kill them like this every year. When the beetles arrive I make it a habit of walking around my yard with a spray bottle in my hand so I can quickly dispatch any I find.

    Rodney

  • 9 years ago

    Ok thx guys

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Japanese beetles are brutal on my concord grapes. They leave my muscadines alone for the most part. I have used insecticidal soap on them in the past and it has worked. It will only kill the ones that are sprayed. It seems like a new wave of them arrive on my plants every day. It got so bad last year that I ended up spraying Sevin dust on my vines as a preventive measure. It worked well. However, I really didn't like using insecticide. I will be in a bind this year because I brought two bee hives onto my property and I'm afraid to use insecticide on my property.

    I found some japanese beetle traps at walmart and I am going to give it a go.

    BTW, google "mily spores". I bought some of this stuff this year and put it out a while back. It is a spore designed to kill only japanese beetle grubs in the ground. You put a small amount in the dirt all around your property. The spores will spread and kill the grubs. It is supposed to last in the ground for many years.