I think I'm turning Japanese Beetle!
Accidentally introduced in 1916 to the United States, the Japanese Beetle has become an unsightly nuisance to our horticulture. The adult beetle is usually one-half inch long, oval shaped, and has a shiny, metallic green body with copper brown wing covers. The Japanese Beetle has a one-year life cycle, beginning as a grub living in the soil. Adults emerge from the soil beginning late June lasting until August.
The Beetles feed during the day on over 300 different species of ornamental plants. They prefer roses, lindens, crabapples, elms, birch, and maples. Though the adult beetles only live for 30 to 45 days, they can do tremendous damage to plant material within that time. The result of a Japanese Beetle feeding resembles the horticultural form of your high school skeleton model.
The beetles are usually very easy to spot, as they feed in large groups (sometimes hundreds) on their preferred plant material. We recommend that you do not use commercial Japanese Beetle traps or lures as they tend to make your beetle problem worse – rather than better the situation. Imagine a brand new restaurant opening in your neighborhood, and you’re one of the first ones to patronize the establishment. The food is so good that you tell your friend, who tells a friend, who tells another friend. By the time you’re ready to revisit the restaurant a week later, it’s so packed that you decide to visit another restaurant in the same area. Same goes for the beetle traps – they become so crowded that the beetles begin to feast on plants surrounding the traps at a rate much greater than if there was no trap at all.
So what can I do?
Chemicals can be used to control the problem once the beetles have begun to feast, but they do not last for the second, third, or fourth wave of beetles that come (meaning that they need to be sprayed three or four times a season). A more practical solution is to fill a bucket one-half way with soapy water and knock the beetles from their “tables” (the plant’s leaves) into the bucket. This will exterminate the beetles and help reduce the overall population in your area.
|
William Quinn and Sons, Inc.
3860 W. 127th St.
Alsip, IL 60803
Phone: 708-389-8119
|
|
|
Home 
Contact Us | Site Map
