Oh no, it has always been such a flawless beauty in the past!

Persicaria amplexicaulis cultivars have always been Japanese beetle magnets for me. This year was the worst and they went for the cannas and Ensetes first. A heavy dose of picking and squishing them every night limited the damage. They've been gone for at least a month now. Good riddance!

I have been told not to squish them by the local nursery manager as doing so releases the pheromones that just attract more. He told me to put them in soapy water instead.

djacobz568sewi You are correct. Mostly I pick into soapy water but occasionally when a quick response is necessary and the soapy water is not close by I resort to squishing.

They devastated one of my persicarias, but much earlier in the summer here, and the beans in the vegetable garden which was near the attacked persicaria, but my 'Golden Arrow', in another part of the yard was untouched.

They haven’t disappeared yet? That is miserable. I thought they were usually gone by August!?