Japanese beetles-oh my

[Crow Hunter]

I don't believe I ever saw a japanese beetle before last year, now we are inundated with them. They are mobbing my wife's roses, I have a bottle of spray and a bottle of powder which both say they are good for these beetles but nothing works. When her hibiscus plants bloom, it will get even worse. I have two traps out, I empty them both every other day and there is nearly a POUND of them to throw away every time. What is causing these things to be so plentiful in the last couple of years? Is there any point to doing a grub treatment of my lawn? I have to believe most lawns in the neighborhood must be full of them.

[Dotch]

These have been a major pain to crop producers to the east over the years. They clip silks on corn and defoliate soybeans to the point that treatment has been warranted in places such as OH, IN and IL. You folks around the Twin Cities and Sand Plains areas have been blessed with these little devils for quite some time. I can recall harvesting strawberry and blueberry plots at Becker back in the late 70's and having to pick them out of the fruit we brought back in coolers to eat. Ick! The recent dry late summer and fall conditions have been ideal for their survival and warm winters don't hurt. Here is a U of M Extension publication you may or may not have seen that does a good job of detailing the life cycle, management and control options. Hope it helps. We see the false Japanese beetles occasionally but you have the real McCoy. Good luck!

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/DG7664.html

[masoct3]

You really do not want to use traps, as they will call in more. You can google to find out more, but no traps here.

[Powerstroke]

Grub treatments need to be done when the grubs are still in the soil. If you use a lawn company, talk to them about scheduling your grub treatments for next year.

If you're doing it yourself, then its important to get the proper timing for japanese beetles. Usually this is mid June.

I am also inundated with them and have been for a couple years. We put out a couple traps this year in the hopes of collecting several adults, but I also spray Sevin insecticide on the plants I want to protect.