![]() A Pound of Cureīecause of the mobility of these pests, it’s difficult to truly control them without applying nasty chemicals. We have an excellent feature on xeriscaping that explains this process very well. Take care and be aware that there’s a difference between letting your yard go dead, and minimizing your water use. By allowing our lawns to go dry we are minimizing our water usage, and making the landscape far less attractive to Japanese beetles.įor those who simply don’t want to let their lawn go dry, consider letting it go high instead! Mike McGrath of the You Bet Your Garden radio show suggests that allowing your lawn to stay at a height of about three inches, coupled with no watering during dry spells, can prevent the female beetles from laying eggs in the soil. Many areas in California and Washington state are promoting the slogan “Brown is the new green” in an effort to minimize water use in drought-stricken areas. When amassed and in the morning hours, simply pick up or shake the beetles into soapy water. One of the most effective methods for limiting future generations of the pest is to limit how often you water your lawn. As touched upon earlier, America’s obsession with a vibrantly green and thick lawn has provided the perfect nursery for these invasive pests. In addition to selecting plants that are generally avoided by the bugs, we can help to make our lawns unappealing and inhospitable during the grub stage of their life cycle.įemale beetles are drawn to well-irrigated turf to deposit their eggs, and the grubs happily chew up the roots of our nice, green lawns. But what can we do to limit their damage, short of altering the entire landscape? An Ounce of Preventionįortunately, there are a few easy, low-impact methods we can employ to protect our gardens. So, some of our favorite and most useful plants are also highly favored by Japanese beetles – sounds like they’ve got good taste. Every stage in the lives of these insects is destructive. ![]() So, my trick for minimizing their dinner visits is to revisit my favorite Central American recipes and cook up a spicy meal so hot it’ll make their heads spin.Īs for turf, the grubs will tear apart the roots of your lawn and leave vast swaths of brown and dead turf to repair. They’ve got bland taste buds boiled potatoes and cabbage with a sprinkle of pepper is the limit for what they will tolerate. ![]() I’ve got some in-laws I don’t care for (who doesn’t?). Read our guide on grub identification and control here. They’ll emerge from the soil and start the life cycle all over again. They cause no small amount of damage to turf at this point, as they prepare themselves for their change to adulthood. When the weather warms up, these babies will perk right up and burrow their way to the roots of your lawn, munching away. ![]() They don’t do much damage throughout this brief stage, but just you wait until spring. They’ve been observed to dig themselves as far as a foot into the soil during these cold spells. I don’t recommend traps as most experts agree that traps attract more beetles into your yard.The grub phase as seen in its incubatory soil.ĭuring the winter months, the grubs will typically dig themselves into the soil to wait out the cold. Systemic insecticides such as Bayer Tree and Shrub Insecticide are applied to the soil at least 20 days before feeding is expected to begin. Healthy plants can tolerate the damage.Ī bit more information: Organic insecticides such as Neem, pyrethrin, rotenone and spinosad will provide some control. Some gardeners find it easier to embrace the damage, calling it “Japanese lace” and give up the fight. And, keep in mind the adults can fly up to 2 miles and move in from surrounding areas. In the meantime, you can’t use other pesticides on the lawn. It takes several years for the disease to build up and provide control. Milky spore disease applied to the lawn kills the larvae of the Japanese beetles. This reduces the plant damage and your frustration. Those fighting large populations may want to plant resistant species such as coreopsis, ageratum, lilies, pansies, arborvitae, and juniper. Try doing this in the morning when the beetles congregate on the plants. Knocking the beetles off the plants into a bucket of soapy water is the most environmentally-friendly method of control. These voracious pests eat and mate in broad daylight and feed on the leaves and flowers of over 300 different types of plants and the roots of turf grass. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |