Japanese beetles eating blueberry leaves

Last year the foliage on my blueberry bushes was almost completely eaten off. The only thing I can come up with is Japanese beetles. Does anybody know of a way to control them?

Sevin works for me, unless you garden organically. They've been so bad here the last couple of years they'll nearly strip all my bean leaves. So, I had to go with the chemicals, apply as soon as you see them and after each rain.

I have read somewhere online before that they have not reached this far south, but i'm sure that is what I saw last year. That must have been an old website.

A light cloth like Reemay, secured at the base, works very well at keeping the JBs off. Even laying the cloth over the top of the bush will help, but covering as much as possible is better.

Do I dare mention Milky Spore?
I know someone is going to say I'm full of 'it', but it has worked for 15 years for me.
One application.
Andy P

Milky Spore worked fantastic in the community where I grew up: lasted 15 years. But that was because everyone went in on it together. I thought if you just treat your yard, the neighbor's beetles will come on over anyway. How much area did you treat?

I treated about 8,000 sq. ft. of my 15,000. I'm the only one in the area that treated.
Yes they fly around but the numbers have greatly decreased.
The grubs got so bad that skunks would roll up my sod to get at them. No more.
I don't use insectacides on the lawn any more either.
Andy P

Good to know! We may up and spring for it this year.

If you only have a limited area to control, and don't want to use chemicals, try this. Get a plastic container about 5" wide, add 1-2" of water and a squirt of dish wasing detergent. Make a round of the aread, and where you see jap beetles, slowly move the contrainer under them, then reach for the beetles. They will jump or slide off of the plant and fall into the container and die within a few minutes. The usually fall several inches before trying to fly. A few may try to fly before falling. A daily round of targeted plants will help keep the population down, and reduce breeding for the next year, and limit damage to the plants. Start early in the season and keep at it. It gives me a chance to daily check out the plants. Also, kids love to do this and you can reward if appropriate for number of beetles collected. Gets them interested in the plants, nature, etc.

If you have a large area to control, like me, A multipronged attack has helped a lot for me.

1. Smart use of double lured type traps started very early
2. Hand picking and collecting.
3. Sevin on plum type tree tops and on wild grape vines and outer soybean rows alongside sod .
4. Milky spore.

Much better this year. It took more than one year to gain control. I trapped about 280,000 beetles 3 years ago.

I spray them with water with some dawn dishsoap in it. Works for about a week. ~ Suzi :)