Japanese Beetle Mix

Japanese Beetle Mix

This recipe is to be used in the height of the Japanese Beetle season.

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 mashed banana
1 pkg yeast

Mix all ingredients in a milk jug. Place the jug (with the top off) in an area where Japanese Beetles gather. The bugs get in but not out.

A very organic way to go after those beetles.

Thanks Darius,
Sounds like somrthing I will definitely try.

I just hung some earwig traps. I need to camouflage these containers somehow. Maybe a quick spray can paint job will help ?

Tnx,
>^,,^< SB

Thanks Darius,
I am also plaqued by Japanes Beetles by the Thousands each season and I am so sick of them ,I'll try anything .
***
I usually go out 3x daily starting in the beginning of July to catch them.
I use a small bucket filled half full of very hot water and a little dishsoap.Hold the Bucket under the roses or other plants,shake the branch,they fall in and it kills them immediately.
*****
I used to have those traps 5-6 years ago but I think that attracted them from the whole area.
******
How long have you used this formular ? how far away from the garden do You place it ?
Brigitte

You can place this where you would have placed traps before. Hpwever, since there's no sex scent, it only attracts beetles close by, not from the neighbor's yards.

I might have to give that a shot. So far I have only seen one this year. Ditto on the traps...a neighbor had one several years ago and I came home one afternoon to find a flowering peach made into a laceleaf as well as a small tulip poplar along with serious damage to some rose bushes!!! I wish they wouldn't even sell them they are so bad- heck, they ought to be banned! I had a problem a few years back too but when I rode around the circle a neighbor there had one. He must have gotten the message though as he has not had one for several years and I have only seen a couple per season.

I've not seen the Japanese beetles yet. I keep having this silly hope that they'll pass us by...but that's not too realistic!

Kim, Maybe JB larvae (grubs) are hatching late due to all the rain or hopefully DROWNED hehehehe

Wouldn't THAT be nice? Drowned and turned into nice organic matter.

I am a animal lover but I sure hope mine all froze to death this last winter,
Brigitte

Darius, I am starting to see beetles, and hate to even think of spraying or dusting as I have lots of ladybugs this year.

I think I will supplement my hand picking with your mix and see if I can stay ahead of them before the majority hatch out.

I also planted a few 4 o'clocks as they are supposed to be poisonous to the beetles. While I have seen leaves on the 4 o'clocks that have obviously been eaten by Japanese beetles, there are no beetles to be found on the plants. Maybe they died! :)

I'm suprised you haven't seen any Brenda, count yourself lucky. I have them by the hundreds/thousands in my yard right now. I haven't seen a David Austin rose bloom in weeks. I've been picking them off into the soapy water, but I can't keep up. They seem to be feeding off of the wild blackberries and things that I can't get to in the woods and then up into my yard for rose desert. I might have to give this a try darius. It sounds like it could get stinky pretty fast though. lol

Hi ,
ecobioangie...I feel for you and just tread the time when they reach my gardens.....it seems like I give up every year after the Japanese beetles come and detroy my beautiful roses and vines.

to nathalyn.......YES count yourself lucky..hopefully they migrated somewhere else.......BUT please don't send them my way ...I have more than I can handle,handpicking them 3x daily for weeks,
Brigitte

Ah Brigitte, I was going to send you some priority mail!!!

Oh that would suck! It'd be a good way to be mean to somebody though! lol

I think they hatched overnight here. They were buzzing all around today, and the bad part is they look like Beetles on Steriods. These are the biggest we've had in a number of years.

I'm going to mix up this potion and set it out tomorrow, Thank you Darius!

What does a JB grub look like?

I'm pretty sure it's the fat white grub with the golden brown head and feet. I find them mostly about 3-6" down in solid clay, especially in the grassy areas.
My bluebirds love them ;>}

http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/project/pestmngt3/AG268/html/japanese_beetle.htm
Yuck ! So far , so good . Shouldn't have said that out loud ...... they'll be waiting for me now =(

Bleah...I saw them starting yesterday, just a few days behind you, Melissa. I have everything except the yeast! I have beer, though, and it has yeast....Nah, they're not worth a good beer.

"Told ya so ! "
Last evening I found 3 of them over in the fruit/grape area =(
Grrrr !

Those are the grubs I squash bt my fingers when I dig them up. I just squeeze till they pop!

Giving it a whirl tomorrow (one batch next to the roses and one out in the garden....)

Darius, I do not have sugar in the house so I will try some of my AG Molasses instead. Ya think ??

I don't see why molasses wouldn't work.

Hehe- my jays eat those nasties up. Stupid jap beetles. Good for nufin!

Why is it we have the grubs but don't see the beetles? They don't seem to be eating our stuff?

I have Jap. Beetles--they are eating my Hollyhocks up. I just pinch them and squeeze their guts out. haha

Me too, PosiePatch. The little girl next door was following me around last night and asked what I was doing. When I told her, I think it grossed her out - - as she went home!! LOL

This message was edited Jul 2, 2004 12:37 PM

hposiepatch/nathalyn....Hah! Squish em! I'm in ya'lls group, too!

"It's back breaking work, but somebody's gotta do it!" :>)

i have them but always on the four o clocks. i have plenty of them planted through out the yard. i also have a few in pots so i can move them to trouble areas.

also every year at the old place i have had plenty of mantsis which i think help as the egg sacks are always layed on the four o clocks.

then the neighborhood kids help by swatting them in fun. and my outside cat helps too.

so far at the new palce i havent seen any but do know i have plenty of four o clocks there too.

but will keep this recipe handy just in case. thanks

hi,
well I saw the first JB today and caught them my " regular" way with very hot soapy water.
**
How is everyone doing with the JB Mix Darius shared with us ? any Luck ?
Brigitte

I never did make any up. They weren't that terrible in our yard and I don't see many of them now at all. Saw one on a brug, but it was just resting, not eating. Killed it, anyhow, 'course. It's a matter of principle. ;)

Late June or early July we can plan on a herd of Japanese Beetles coming in to eat up every leafy plant I have. I took out all my roses last year because they LOVE roses and anything that is red in color. I have tried so many different concoctions. Everytime I lose a pretty flower I replace it with a shrub, they don't like evergreens! Snowing today in Michigan, yuck hope it doesn't freeze all my blooming flowers and perennials. I will keep my fingers crossed.

I killed my first one today, VERY unusual to see them this early here. I also dug up and killed a June Bug... it's only May!

SO HOW DID IT WORK FOR YOU FOLKS THAT TRIED IT LAST YEAR?!?

Bleah, sounds like I need to save a milk jug and make this mix up if you're already seeing them, Melissa.

Yes, it definitely attracts them. Way cheaper than a store bought trap. Just kinda icky to look at all those nasty things. :-)

Yes, Kimberley, I was really surprised to see one this early. Maybe they know something we don't, and summer is officially HERE. it sure feels like it's here
today with a vengence! 2 weeks ago it was snowing... today it's nearly 90

Guys I have the end all CURE to rid yourselves of Jap. beetles, junebugs and grubworms. This will also keep the moles away as they thrive on high number's of grub worms.
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/milky-spore.html
http://www.planetnatural.com/site/beneficial-nematodes.html
The first link is for milky spores and the second is for beneficial nematodes. Rather than explaining how they work, I'll let you read for yourselves.
Milky spores are the long term fix but don't begin killing immediately. If you need something to kill yesterday, buy scanmask. I've used these 2 products on over 12 different properties for the last 9-10 years and I promise your grub problems will become comical as these invisible killer's work like magic. Plus they also help control other pests like flea larvae, ticks and dozens more.
I still find 1 or 2 grubs every once in a great while but it is now a good thing as I know they're merely helping the number's of my benefical killer's grow by the millions by being a host.
I tried every other product on the market to no avail and I was very skeptical about these products too. Now I can't say enough for this company and I now turn to them for all my pesticidal needs across the board.
OH BTW, you can save $ by buying scanmask and hetromask from the maker's of the product. You can find their name and website by doing a search on the product on any search engine.
You'll be so happy if you do buy these products. It's been 10 years since I first put the milky spores down and not only is my lawn void of grubs...They have multiplied so much that they have spread into my nieghbor's yards on either side of me and we all have a healthy balance keeping many pests at bay. I should of charged my nieghbor's! LOL They got the remedy for free.
Goodluck all.
JD

Japanese beetles have really done a number on my hollyhocks, and pole beans. They also have ruined some clematis flowers but appear to have left everything else alone. I read in the paper that this is bad year in terms of Japanese beetle infestation in this area, following several very light years. The article also said that around mid July the begin to disappear as they burrow into lawns (to lay eggs???). And I find that it's true. Two weeks ago was the peak and now I'm finding only a few. This plague is over I hope!

You must be getting the plague we had last year. The beetles don't seem to be that terrible here for us this time. I see them on my plants, but usually single ones and not disgusting clumps o' beetles doing the nasty. My hollyhocks' leaves were already skeletonized by caterpillars or something by the time the beetles came; at least this year I've had blooms to enjoy!

sawone yesterday, my child picked it up in the potato patch, then it clicked & he dropped it, so i stomped it dead..... better not get anymore!