Rose Chafer & Japanese Beetle Control

I haven't tried milky spore yet...its quite expensive and we have alot of lawn....and does Milky Spore really work and when do you apply it?
Is there anything else you can do besides traps and hand picking which seems futile.

This message was edited Jun 10, 2006 10:07 PM

Milky Spore will take up to two years to really work for you. And your neighbors, if any, will also have to use it as well, otherwise their J-Beetles will surely fly in on you!

You might want to give Neem oil a try...this a very safe-to-the-enviroment oil that will control many pests, including J-beetles. (It also doesn't affect the bees and ladybugs, yay!)

Shoe.

Shoe does Neem prevent them from eating the plant for just kill on contact?

Neem will interrupt the life cycle of a gazillion bugs/pests (meaning it'll either kill them or halt them from pupating/moving into their next life stage). It has great repellant properties and that is what it is known to do to J-beetles, act as more of a repellant. However, if contact is made directly on the beetles there is a great chance it'll have the same affect on them as it does other pests.

Since it is a fairly new product (only 10 years in USA) there is much more research to be done, mostly in the area of zero-ing on certain bugs/pests and how it affects them.

You might like to read the following for more info.
http://homeharvest.com/BioNEEMInstructions.htm

From a personal viewpoint, I've used it with great success for several years now and feel very safe with it as it doesn't hurt many of the beneficials. (I'm still of the mindset that we don't need to eradicate all the bugs in our gardens but simply keep them in balance.)

Wishing you great success in your garden!
Shoe.

thank you very much taking the time to help! :)