In my never ending quest, I once again am considering this years method of attack on the cursed japanese beetle. I don't really like using heavy duty chemicals. I'm considering importing moles via live traps, to eat them in the grub stage. I could deal with a lumpy yard better than them d**n bettles. Any thoughts or ?

-- indiana jack (injack1@aol.com), January 20, 2002

Answers

Well, if you don't mind a lumpy yard....maybe you could till the critters up and let the chickens eat the larvae. That is how I get rid of them in my garden. I let a chicken into the garden as I till and she eats them. Make a mess of a lawn though....

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), January 20, 2002.

Diatomaceous earth? Won't harm earthworms, the environment or you or your animals. Just don't breath it in--not good on lungs. I will be using it for flea control on my dogs/cats and beetle control on my roses. Check out older threads in this forum. Good luck.

-- Susan in Northern Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002.

No problem at my home base but 15 miles away finds lots of them in Madison, WI. 3 years ago, landlords of our shop came to me with some beetles in a jar for indentification. Japanese beetles. Since they live in a mobile home park, can't go with chickens or spray the whole area. When they asked for control methods, I advised thumb and forefinger or right foot. Since they are the only ones with a large garden and lots of shrubs in that park, all of the bugs concentrated on their property. As soon as they saw a beetle, it was killed. Thousands in 1999, hundreds in 2000, and a few dozen in 2001. If we have to look for a magic elixir to solve the problem, it will only be to our own detriment. If you see an adult Japanese beetle, simply kill it. Do it enough times and the cycle is broken. Otherwise, trust the insecticide producers to prove that their products are safe enough to become part of our food system.

Marty

-- Martin Longseth (paquebot@merr.com), January 21, 2002.

We had the same prob years back. A bied called a "grackle" used to eat all of them, so we started feeding the grackles" as soon as they arrive in the spring.

-- julie britt (jbritt@ceva.net), January 21, 2002.

We had the same prob years back. A bird called a "grackle" used to eat all of them, so we started feeding the grackles" as soon as they arrive in the spring.

-- julie britt (jbritt@ceva.net), January 21, 2002.

Don't have them that bad where I live but found these two sources that propose the use of nematodes, but it takes a year to get results.

http://people.mw.mediaone.net/cappaert/bc/jbsurvey.html David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Dept Entomology, East Lansing, MI 48824, 517-432-0739, cappaert@mediaone.net March 2001 presentation and neat slide show. Nematodes can suppress a high density of JB below threshold at least a year after treatment

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2504.html 1991 County Extension Publication Option 5: Biological Control - Entomophagous Nematodes - The insect parasitic nematode, Steinernema (=Neoaplectana) glaseri Steiner, was used before 1940 and had considerable promise but this agent was not developed further because of problems of rearing and expense. This nematode may be economically available in the future. Commercially available products containing strains of S. carpocapsae have been marginally effective. Preparations containing Heterorhabditis spp. seem to be the most effective of the currently available nematodes. Apply the nematodes when the white grubs are in the second instars. Irrigation before and after nematode application with 1/4 inch of water minimum greatly increases the efficacy of the nematodes.

-- BC (desertdweller44@yahoo.com), January 21, 2002.

When the adults start attacking my corn, we like to bring out the "Bag-a-Bug", which lures the beetles in with pheromones or something. Works quite well.

-- Walt K. in sw PA (kraterkrew@lcsys.net), January 21, 2002.

Check out Gardens Alive! They only carry natural products and they have a product called Grub-Away Nematodes. wayoutfarm@skybest.com), January 21, 2002.

Wow! That's weird! Sorry, can't do a link so you'll just have to cut and paste - www.gardensAlive.com

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), January 21, 2002.

The only thing that works over a long period is Milky Spore. Look it up on a Google search. A bit pricey, not an instantaneous solution, but an absolutely wonderful answer. Even more so if you can get your neighbors to join in. Manually, I go out in the mornings, when it is still cool and the Jap Beetles are lethargic, and drop the adults into a can of kerosene. Seems to stop them. I may be wasting time and money. Any better ideas out there? BTY, I am a Maine-iac. GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@SacoRiver.net), January 21, 2002.

Make sure if you use the traps to put them far away from your yard, and garden. It draws in all the beetles in the area. The year we used them, we caught tons of them, but there were tons more. I did not use them this last year. I would go out with a bucket that had a little water in it. I would knock them off the plants into the water. This kept them from flying away. Then I would go to my pasture fence. Yell ...here chick chick chick. All of the chickens would come running. I would heave the water and bugs over the fence. The chickens ate them like M & Ms. I did this every day for awhile and then I would rarely see one.

-- Mike & Marci (TheBlubaughs@amazinggrazefarm.com), January 21, 2002.

If you use the Bag-A-Bug method, don't stick your nose in the full bag of dead bugs "to see what it smells like", as my 10 year old son did a few years ago. Some things you just don't think you need to warn your kids about, y'know?

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), January 21, 2002.

MILKY SPOORE!!! spread over the ground, kills the neomatodyes, kill the bettle. Works for twenty years so I'm told. Complete organic. good luck Herb

-- Herb (hwmil@aol.com), January 21, 2002.

I've never tried this, but I've read (somewhere), that the beetles are attracted to larkspur and the larkspur is poisinous to them. Going to plant some around the perimeter of the yard and see if it works. Heck, even if it doesn't, I'll have some pretty flowers.

-- Annie (mistletoe6@earthlink.net), January 21, 2002.