Japanese Beetles

ERG... Anyone else having Japanese Beetle 'issues'.... My grape vines are 75% gone... They are having an orgy out there... At least 100 critters.

Last week we noticed a very heavy infestation of our basil plants by these beetles. They did not bother any of the other close plants including the tomatoes. Several applications of harmless (to us) powdered elemental sulfur totally eliminated them.

ERG... Anyone else having Japanese Beetle 'issues'.... My grape vines are 75% gone... They are having an orgy out there... At least 100 critters.

Someone get Stephen on the bat phone...There's an idea for a drink or appetizer here somewhere.

Never heard of the elemental sulfur thing- I'll have to check into it.

I've used Japanese beetle traps for years. They work extremely well to catch and dispose of the beasts. Only challenge is you need to place them AWAY from your plants- which can be hard in some suburban yards. They have a pheromone ( sex scent) that attracts the bugs; unfortunately they like it so much that you also risk attracting bugs from your neighbor's yards to yours.

Deb

I have yet to see one this year, after a terrible 2008 with them eating up the leaves on everything in sight (notably roses). I did see my first cicada today, however (which, strangely, I kind of like).

I found this site discussing organic/household remedies for getting rid of Japanese beetles. Might be interesting to try these. Since you've probably got some of the items already sitting in your house. Baby powder, garlic, dishsoap, cayenne pepper etc.
http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Baby_ ... se_Beetles

I went to Bunton's and picked up some pheromone box traps. They did not have the jar traps but suggested we use a yellow jacket trap. We placed the JB pheromone in the trap and it caught 90% of the beasts in a day. I'm also going to try is a one gallon pickle jar with holes drilled in the top then add bait. As for attracting the neighbors' critters, I'm certain they would appreciate their critters taking a death plunge into the trap too.

Glad that worked, JP.
While you are right about the neighbor's bugs , it draws many bugs to the trap but some lose their way and end up on your plants. You can end up with more bugs/damage if you are not careful. with placement.
Deb

Just went outside to nip back my basil plants. The spicy globe was fine; as was the ruffled leaf and the plain old basil, but the ruby basil was another matter. Looks like I have a new variety - the lace leafed ruby basil!

The bonus is the now my hands are reeking of basil and I'm not gonna wash them for a while. Just gonna enjoy.

Looks like I have a new variety - the lace leafed ruby basil!

The bonus is the now my hands are reeking of basil and I'm not gonna wash them for a while. Just gonna enjoy.

You're taking it well, Gayle!

Why thank you, TP. I just harvested some rosemary and now my hands smell even better.

Why thank you, TP. I just harvested some rosemary and now my hands smell even better.

Can't beat that ... I've really enjoyed cooking with the fresh herbs so far this year (and we just harvested our first dozen of about 50 garlic plants - can't wait to break into those!).

An interesting thing pointed out to me. They preferred the vines in direct sun...

Before:




They were actually much more lush a week and a half ago but then.... THE BUGS..
After:

Those little beggers ate the living daylights out of our outdoor non-food plants (ornamentals?) back in Maine, to the point that they almost laid to waste our young crab apple trees and lilac bushes. I hit 'em with the heavy stuff, seven, though understandably you wouldn't use these on food-producing plants.

One thing to be aware of with traps that contain bait, and that's that they can attract beetles from your neighbors' yards. Because of this you should make sure you place the traps in a back corner, far away from the plants themselves.