Montgomery County sentinel., 1954-06-24
Beetle

NSOIltlIlucu 1IOI1 rage
not typical-if that's any consol-
alton.
According to Mr.. Anderson,
Montgomery County has led all
other Counties in the State in
warning on the beetle. 1t had to,
he says, because Montgomery
offered just about the choicest
location in the State for the in
creasing prosperity of the beetle
because of soil conditions and
climate.
The County Council kicked in
with over $1,000 and the County
was able to launch an extensive
spray and tiphia wasp program.
In fact, the County really buzzed
with the wasps. And the wasps
obligingly sought out their ma
tural enemy - the beetle - vile
that insect was in a comparative
ly defenceless grub state. And
there were II spray machines
that went up one road and down
the next street.
Today, because the bettle prob
lem is licked as we say, Mr..
Anderson asked for and received
mere S1,250. from the Council
for beetle battles. And there are
no spray machines. The wasps
are supposed to have pretty we'll
established themselves and are
not being brought into the Coun-
ty in any heavy numbers. In this
respect, the bite is off the tax
payer although he may have
traded it for an occasional sting.
Despite his faith in his scienti-
fic findings on the decrease in the
County's beetle population, Mr..
Anderson is willing to allow that
some" County residents still are
annoyed by beetles. This is be-
cause said residents keep buzzing
in his ear via telephone calling
for help.
To help the a-typical but beetle
embattled resident, Mr.. Ander.
son suggests:
Spray foliage with a solution
of DOT or BHC or dust with
either of these products while
dew is on the plants. If you real
ly want to save some particular
plant, cover it with muslin or
keep it sprayed with any white
powder-such as hydrated lime.
The beetle, it seems, is choosey.
1t won't "work" in any white
dust-gets all powdered up and
takes a powder in a sulk.
If you've really got a bad case
of the bettle-that is, if they are
attacking the foundations of the
house drop around to Mr..
Anderson's office in the old Coun-
ty building at Rockville and lay
in a supply of free beetle traps,
But don't, Mr.. Anderson ad-
vises, turn trapper except as a
last resort. 1t seems that the bait
in the traps pulls the beetle from
a half-time radius. And only 2
out of every 5 beetles drawn by
the bait get caught in the trap.
That leaves three more out of
every five that you didn't have
to start with free to help you
prune your plants.
Seems there was a man in
Gaithersburg who thought the
traps were a great thing. Got
five at first, and found them full
of beetles. Got 20 more. Found
them full of beetles, too. But the
beetles drawn by but not caught
in the traps made a desert out of
the mans place Of course, he
caught a lot of beetles and his
neighbors thanked him for lur-
ing them away from their home
steads.
Later on - after the beetle
quiets down a bit-Mr. Ander-
sons men will distribute Milky
White Spore Dust where the
need is greatest The dust kills
the beetle grubs.
In short, take it easy. Remem-
Der, the beetle problem is in hand.
The worst - including the best
of your garden - will soon be
over. And anyway that cloud of
insects you see over the rose bed
may be wasps killing beetles, not
the beetle. Don't get beetle trap
ped and don't get stung.