I just found Japanese Beetles in my garden! Help?
I have a 10'x10' flower garden over the grave of my German Shepherd who passed away in April. I filled it with knockout roses, general rose bushes, and an assortment of perennials. It has started to flourish just this month, but I have noticed parts of the garden dying, for which I blamed the neighbors cat. Today during watering, I found five Japanese Beetles on one rose bud. Two of them were mating.
I live in Southwest Missouri. What can I do to keep them from destroying my dog's memorial?
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Spray them with a mixture of about 10 parts water to 1 or 2 parts alcohol with a couple of drops of soap like Dawn in a glass of water. This mixture works on other bugs both in the garden and on delicate house plants.You can use commercial sprays that are effective. I'm an organic gardener so I avoid those. In a space that size I take a container and put some water in it, I add a little Dawn soap and knock the beetles into it. It kills them dead in no time. By the third day it stinks so I change water and soap.
I also found that nothing draws them away from the garden like a fence full of wild grape vines. They just love them.. About the only thing I've found that they like better is my red raspberries. Those spores they sell to kill the grubs takes at least three or four year to make a difference. Sometimes that doesn't work. I always have my pail of water and soap with me when I make my rounds of the garden. They seem to like warm sunny places where the fresh leaves are growing as their favorite spots.
In order to get rid of them you can buy a hanging device that attracts the beetles with a fermion.
They should be up-wind of plants that they might be feeding on. They should be hung in a sunny area. You want to place it maybe 10 feet away from the plants that they're feeding on to draw them off and you'll replace the bags as they fill up.
Unless you have an infestation, do not put up the traps because they will attract Japanese beetles from all over.
For smaller cases, you can use insecticide or soapy water, but experts say the beetles should be gone in three weeks anyway. It is the end of their life cycle.
Early morning, before it warms up, take a coffee can with one inch of water (plus a drop of dish washing liquid) and go to the plants. The bugs cannot fly until it gets warm.
Hold the can under a low branch that has bugs. Gently shake the are with the bugs. Continue higher and higher up the bush until all the bugs are in the can.
Do this every day. Bugs come from the neighbors' yards and there is NO REMEDY. Sorry. They are a pest. IF you go daily, the bugs will not do much damage to the roses. You can miss a day here and there, but you may enjoy being there with your dear puppy's site.
I use seven dust to get rid of those pesky things.