Japanese beetles

[matherfish]

The beetles are here and eating on my lotuses, among other plants. Not as bad as some years in the past, though. Are they a problem nation wide?

[SueSTx]

I haven't noticed their handiwork yet, but then we are a bit wetter than usual this time of yesr.

[greenthumbnails]

My problems lately have been China Mothmark, Red Spider mites, and aphids. Do you have a close up of the Japanese Beetle? Cannot figure out where it is in your pics....

[magoo]

I've been spraying liquid BTK for the China Marks. From his photos, I've noticed Frank uses the powdered BTK on his pond? Do you think the powder is more effective? What do you use to get rid of other pests with out killing frogs, fish and most important mosquito hawk larvae.

[frogman3]

I used to have a problem until I inoculated my yard with Milky Spore. Biological remedy that makes the lawn grubs sick die and spread it throughout the lawn infecting more grubs that would have turned into the beetles that attacked my lily blooms, peaches and a host of flowers. The milky spore protects your lawn from root damage and eliminates need for the pesticide applications that most people use to kill grubs. The pesticides are of course indiscriminate in what they kill. Ever seen a lawn with a mole problem? Lawn grubs are mainly what they eat and until you get rid of the grubs it is a losing battle trying to solve a mole problem. Milky Spore needs only be applied once every 10 years from what I have read. Worked wonders for me.

[matherfish]

Thanks Frogman3. Someone else suggested Milky  spore, so I am going to get it and see what happens. Thanks

[greenthumbnails]

I used to have a problem until I inoculated my yard with Milky Spore. Biological remedy that makes the lawn grubs sick die and spread it throughout the lawn infecting more grubs that would have turned into the beetles that attacked my lily blooms, peaches and a host of flowers. The milky spore protects your lawn from root damage and eliminates need for the pesticide applications that most people use to kill grubs. The pesticides are of course indiscriminate in what they kill. Ever seen a lawn with a mole problem? Lawn grubs are mainly what they eat and until you get rid of the grubs it is a losing battle trying to solve a mole problem. Milky Spore needs only be applied once every 10 years from what I have read. Worked wonders for me.

Thanks for sharing this info. I read it to DH and he definitely likes the once every 10 yrs part. Where do you get this stuff and what is a reasonable price?

[matherfish]

I looked it up on line and see that Amazon has it for sale, but so does Lowes. The powder form at Lowes was priced at around $40 for 10 pounds. I did not check it elsewhere.

[frogman3]

A little goes a long way. The way you apply it is a spoonful every 4-5 feet in each direction while the grubs are actively feeding which is when the surface soil is damp. Then water it into the soil. The feeding grubs spread the milky spore throughout the area. They go deep when summer drought forces the grass to go dormant so as long as your sod is green it's a go. I bought mine at a hardware store when they had it on close out.

[greenthumbnails]

Cool! Can't wait to get our hands on some of this stuff. The "moths" that fly up out of the lawn when you walk through it is getting annoying every year....and that pesky mole keeps digging tracks in my yard and always manages to evade my feral cat. I learn so much extra stuff on here, thanks guys! 

[frogman3]

I did quite a bit of research before applying Milky spore. It's only proven to affect Japanese beetle grubs. FYI there are other lawn grubs and moths that munch on your lawn roots. Over time the bio agent can spread to your neighbors lawn if they have the same beetles present. Until that time the adults can assault your plants by flying in after morphing into beetles but you have to start somewhere.

[CoolShades]

In PA I had ~ 1 acre of lawn and it took about 3 years to establish and mitigate the Japanese beetle issue.  However, this does not eliminate the problem as was pointed out by frogman.  However the invasion is significantly less and the plants were much healthier even 10+ years later.

Gary