The Baddest and Ugliest of all – Japanese Beetle

IMG_1248, originally uploaded by theGardenDeva.

Do you see dead patches in your lawn right now? Greenish-bronze metallic beetles feasting on your roses, zinnia, birch and linden trees? Dig around near the edges of the dead grass spots and you may find larvae about the size of your thumb. They will feed on turf roots through the fall and then bury deep in the soil over winter. Next July the adult beetle will emerge and lay eggs to start another generation. Again no good way to control this beastie without massive chemcal use. Milky spore and beneficial nematodes are used experimentally and not considered overly effective, plus it would be quite expensive to treat my 2 acres. I have noticed a lot more toads in my yard this year. Croak! Plucking the beetles off flowers and dropping them in a bucket of soapy water does give one a sense of satisfaction that you are really doing something about the problem, until you look up and see hundreds of beetles buzzing around the tree tops. I’ve also been encouraging bird activity by keeping my bird baths filled and clean. I’ll bet chickens would love the beetles and scratch for larvae! I need to ‘rent a chicken’ since hubby says no to chicken coop in yard

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