Gardening & Landscaping
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Japanese Beetles... The Horror.
I live in Northeast Ohio. The japanese beetle epidemic last year was catastrophic. Every rose that even thought of blooming was immediately attacked, as were all the flowering bushes around the yard. They decimated our basil. They were EVERYWHERE.
I asked around and tried the soda-pop thing... that didn't help... so I ended up spraying everything with an insecticide... which made me cringe a little every time I picked a tomato.
I want to get rid of these things naturally this year. Do they have any natural predators? What can I plant to attract native species capable of driving those buggers out?
These things would hang out around our hammock, too, and our little wading pool was their morgue. It was disgusting. Please help me.
Re: Japanese Beetles... The Horror.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
Ditto Milky Spore.
And don't spray insecticide indiscriminately. Japanese Beetles feed primarily on tender buds and foliage, so that is where you would spray, but it is most effective to spray the beetle directly (except for the fact that Japanese Beetles have a very tough shell).
If you use traps, place them AWAY from the plants you are trying to protect, or you'll be making the problem worse.
Drowning is effective, but labor-intensive. You have to go out in the morning before the beetles become active, carrying a pail of soapy water, and knock the bugs into the pail.
It also helps to not plant plants they like to eat, such as roses and hibiscus. Good luck.
Milky spore will kill Japanese beetle grubs in your lawn but won't kill adults.
I use the traps. As pp said, put them away from the plants you want to protect. Mine fill up quickly, so if you use them, check and empty them fairly often--the smell of dead Japanese beetles drives live ones away.
I am in Cincinnati and my radio show gardener guy recommends a product called Imidicloprid. I think the long name is Systemic Soil Drench. You mix in a bucket and pour around the base of the plants...if you do it in the spring, it will last all summer. You could ask about it at a garden center and see what they recommend also!