From: langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston)
Newsgroups: rec.gardens
Subject: Re: Japanese Beetles everywhere
Date: 23 Jul 92 13:59:24 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of Tennessee
Distribution: world
Reply-To: langston@langston.cs.utk.edu (Mike Langston)
NNTP-Posting-Host: langston.cs.utk.edu
Keywords: beetle feast

fred rump writes:

> Japanese Beetles everywhere...All of a sudden we are being invaded
> by these little brown critters. They seem to love my marigolds.

i don't recall where you live fred, but we have them here
in east tennessee from roughly the first week in june until
the second week in august -- if you're just now noticing them,
you must be farther north

japanese beetles are, by far, our *number one* pest -- they
have sent any number of commercial growers off to easier
pursuits -- japanese beetles communicate by smell (pheremones),
and swarm on hot days, especially right after a good rain --
i have seen them completely skeletonize their favorite foods
(e.g., grapes, brambles, stone fruit, and most nut crops) in
just a coupla days unless control measures are used -- as an
introduced pest, they have few natural preditors 

> I quickly bought two beetle traps and they are slowly
> filling up.

then you don't (yet) have a very bad infestation -- those
who have tried the traps around here have had to empty them
as many as 4 times a day

> I put one right next to this large container I have with various
> flowers in it but with a big yellow marigold in the middle.

no no -- you'll only attract more beetles to your plants
this way -- manufacturers generally recommend placing traps
at least 50 ft away from the plants you want to protect --
(depending on wind speed and direction, we have found that
even a quarter mile can be too close, especially if you live
out in the country)

let me paraphrase the advise of our county agent:
   don't buy traps, because they do more harm than good -- if
   you simply must see it for yourself, then buy a whole bunch
   of traps but give them to your neighbors :)

> if you I see 10 to 20 beetles sitting there at any one time -
> all the time. Are some Japanese beetles not turned on by a beetle
> trap with its sweet smell?

there are usually 2 lures (one floral, one sex) -- if you
think they smell sweet, wait until you have to empty the
bags and get a load of the smell of a gallon of rotting
beetles -- blech

> These buggers are eating my flowers. Should I spray with something?

strictly a personal choice, natch -- many who prefer flowers
to food crops try to plant flowers not favored by the dreaded
beetle (don't even think about growing roses unless you *really*
love roses and are prepared to wage full-scale chemical warfare!)

at least these things are easy to kill -- i prefer sevin 50wp
for quick knockdown, but it's not for homeowner use -- i think
5% sevin will work, but you'll probably have to use several
tablespoons per gallon -- many other products work too, although
they may not give very good control (japanese beetles will be
back on your plants within 36 hours if malathion is used)

alas, organic controls are generally ineffective/uneconomical
on any large scale -- if you have only a small area to deal
with, you may have some luck with any of several organic
alternatives (caution: intense japanese beetle pressures
have caused many purely-organic folks to change their
philosophies on the use of pesticides) -- and milky spore
(very expensive) only helps reduce grub populations -- it
seems to have little effect on adult pressures unless applied
on say a county-wide scale

as always, read and follow label directions, and consult
your county extension service for local advise/conditions

good luck

-- mike
Newsgroups: rec.gardens