Beetles, its W A R !!!!

luigiwu · July 8, 2015

My tiny garden is doing well but I can see signs of BEETLES trying to take it all away. Seeing more and more holes in leaves - originally they were close to the bottom but now they are high up over my head. Please help!

What's the verdict on effective handling of beetles? Something is eating my tomato leaves and leaving not so nice lacey patterns on them. I saw a flying bronzey looking thing today but failed to smash it.
I have a tiny garden but am squeemish so you won't see me out there getting that close to them to flick into soapy water! I'm leaning towards spray Neem (if that works) or getting a duster to dust DE... How about AzaMax, will that do anything?

I wonder if planting sunflowers near my edibles have anything to do with the beetles population. Pretty sure they were munching on those initially...

AlittleSalt · July 8, 2015

I used Triazicide on pepper plants a month or so ago, and I have not seen anymore holes in the leaves since.

rhines81 · July 8, 2015

I put up beetle bags around my property 30-50 feet away from my garden. They usually come in mid-July so I hang my bags a few weeks earlier. They work great. They cost less than $5 per bag and you'll need 4-6 of them to surround your perimeter. Don't put them too close to the garden.

ginger2778 · July 8, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhines81

I put up beetle bags around my property 30-50 feet away from my garden. They usually come in mid-July so I hang my bags a few weeks earlier. They work great. They cost less than $5 per bag and you'll need 4-6 of them to surround your perimeter. Don't put them too close to the garden.

Rhines- would you have a link for those beetle bags?

jmsieglaff · July 8, 2015

We have those evil vile Japanese beetles here. They eat so many things, some of their favorites around here are bean leaves, raspberry leaves, hop leaves, Liden trees, Birch trees, many flowers--I could go on. I never have had a problem with them eating my tomatoes though. I wish you luck. I take great joy and squashing them especially while they are in the process of procreating.

ContainerTed · July 8, 2015

Around here, we get the Japanese Beetles and the June Bugs, which I think is a Japanese Beetle on steroids, all at the same time. They like my grape leaves, my blackberries, my okra, my beans, and some tomato plants. They seem to be quite selective when it comes to my tomato plants. Between them and the Colorado Potato Beetles, it is a constant system of spraying Garden Safe and crushing any of them I can get between two fingers.

June Bugs are about ten times the size of the Japanese Beetles I'm getting. My mom would tell me to get a bunch of ducks (you know, duck on a june bug thing). But, I just keep spraying and crunching and hope for the best. One picture I took of "The Belmonster" had a stink bug on it. Yes, I have them as well.

It's a never ending cycle.

MissS · July 8, 2015

Marsha, you can find Japanese Beetle Traps at any big box store. Walmart, Menards, Ace, Home Depot etc. all carry them.

I use a citrus spray made from boiling grapefruit or orange rinds, straining and then spraying my plants. I have also been known to add garlic and cayenne pepper to it. It is pretty effective but you need to reapply it after each rains.

AlittleSalt · July 8, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

Around here, we get the Japanese Beetles and the June Bugs, which I think is a Japanese Beetle on steroids, all at the same time. They like my grape leaves, my blackberries, my okra, my beans, and some tomato plants. They seem to be quite selective when it comes to my tomato plants. Between them and the Colorado Potato Beetles, it is a constant system of spraying Garden Safe and crushing any of them I can get between two fingers.

June Bugs are about ten times the size of the Japanese Beetles I'm getting. My mom would tell me to get a bunch of ducks (you know, duck on a june bug thing). But, I just keep spraying and crunching and hope for the best. One picture I took of "The Belmonster" had a stink bug on it. Yes, I have them as well.

It's a never ending cycle.

Ted, I feed June Bugs to our compost pile every year. They're organic

seaeagle · July 9, 2015

Japanese Beetle Traps

I read years ago that Japanese Beetle traps really worked.Well yes and no according to research

One key factor limiting trap effectiveness for beetle control is the “trap spillover” phenomenon, in which the trap attracts beetles without capturing them, resulting in increased damage to surrounding host plants.

http://www.isaacslab.ent.msu.edu/Ima...l_2009_JEE.pdf

They are saying that while the trap catches beetles it draws many more that don't go in the traps making the problem worse

b54red · July 9, 2015

I have started seeing a lot of flea beetles fairly high up on the tomato plants. Usually they just attack the lower leaves but now they are getting all the way up to head high on some plants. I saw this last year on my cucumbers but they didn't get on my tomatoes then but they are on many of them this year. I got rid of them really easy with some Permethrin and soapy water last year but I hate to go that route on my tomatoes since I have so many good bugs working them this year.

Bill

luigiwu · July 9, 2015

Bill, YES, exactly! So they didn't ruin your whole garden by eating every leaf? I wonder if they wreck fruit? This really sucks that there is no good way of getting rid of beetles.

I have such a small garden/yard that putting out beetle traps will probably lure them the whole neighborhood of them to mine! Unless I was to put them in my neighbor's property.... hmmm....

Will neem oil do anything? I guess there isn't a spray out there that will get rid of beetles but keep the good bugs?

luigiwu · July 9, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhines81

I put up beetle bags around my property 30-50 feet away from my garden. They usually come in mid-July so I hang my bags a few weeks earlier. They work great. They cost less than $5 per bag and you'll need 4-6 of them to surround your perimeter. Don't put them too close to the garden.

Is this what you mean? My backyard is not even 20ft in one direction. LOL. I don't want all the beetles in the city to show up in my backyard. LOL.
I've seen black ones (flea beetle) and there's a bronzey shiney one that I haven't identified.

http://www.amazon.com/Tanglefoot-300.../dp/B001BO8BWI

b54red · July 9, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by luigiwu

Bill, YES, exactly! So they didn't ruin your whole garden by eating every leaf? I wonder if they wreck fruit? This really sucks that there is no good way of getting rid of beetles.

I have such a small garden/yard that putting out beetle traps will probably lure them the whole neighborhood of them to mine! Unless I was to put them in my neighbor's property.... hmmm....

Will neem oil do anything? I guess there isn't a spray out there that will get rid of beetles but keep the good bugs?

The only times I have ever had any success controlling flea beatles was when I used a contact killer like Permethrin or Pyrethrin and also sprayed the ground under the plants. I wish there was something else that worked. I know I can't kill them by hand cause there are too many and they are too quick.

Bill

Tracydr · July 9, 2015

I've been using DE on my eggplants which really seems to help. Before I started, all the leaves had holes, now they are perfect. I did use some spinosad 2 weeks ago with soap as well.

Starlight · July 9, 2015

I would not use the bags at all. Yes, the JB will flock to them, but like has been mentioned, alot will not go into those bags and now you have even more munching on your plants. JB have a strong pheromone that can travel great distances and cause them to come straight to your area and you will have more JB than you ever thought.

The thing is the JB that you miss and you will some, will lay their cutworm eggs in your soil and then you have them eating your roots and your plants.

We had them bad here several years back. I wasn't going to use a bunch of chems so I started studying their life cycle to try and break it.

From the University of Minnesota site. " Life cycle of Japanese beetle: egg, grub, and adult stages. In June, the grub turns into a pupa. It emerges from the soil in late June and July as an adult, to mate and lay eggs. Females live for a few weeks feeding on trees, shrubs and roses in the morning, returning to the turf in the afternoon to lay more eggs. Eggs hatch in July and grubs are almost full grown by late August. Grubs dig deep in the soil for the winter months and then move upward in spring as the soil warms. Grubs do best in warm, slightly moist soil that has plenty of organic matter and tender grasses. However, they can survive in almost any soil."

What I did was in the fall I would just till up the top few inches of soil, which is where you can usually find them. I would leave that area open and let the birds have at it. They will eat some grubs. Than again in the early spring turn the soil again and just let it lay and let the birds catch the ones they missed on the first go round.

I would take a hoe and go back over several times as one of them JB can lay I think it is like 50 or so eggs at one time in the soil.

For the beetles themselves, I just pulled and squished, but if your squeamish, I would give MissS's method a try. I copied it myself.

Took me a couple of years to get rid of mine, but I can finally grow roses again.

July 8, 2015	#1
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	Beetles, its W A R !!!! My tiny garden is doing well but I can see signs of BEETLES trying to take it all away. Seeing more and more holes in leaves - originally they were close to the bottom but now they are high up over my head. Please help! What's the verdict on effective handling of beetles? Something is eating my tomato leaves and leaving not so nice lacey patterns on them. I saw a flying bronzey looking thing today but failed to smash it. I have a tiny garden but am squeemish so you won't see me out there getting that close to them to flick into soapy water! I'm leaning towards spray Neem (if that works) or getting a duster to dust DE... How about AzaMax, will that do anything? I wonder if planting sunflowers near my edibles have anything to do with the beetles population. Pretty sure they were munching on those initially... __________________ Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7!

July 8, 2015	#6
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	Around here, we get the Japanese Beetles and the June Bugs, which I think is a Japanese Beetle on steroids, all at the same time. They like my grape leaves, my blackberries, my okra, my beans, and some tomato plants. They seem to be quite selective when it comes to my tomato plants. Between them and the Colorado Potato Beetles, it is a constant system of spraying Garden Safe and crushing any of them I can get between two fingers. June Bugs are about ten times the size of the Japanese Beetles I'm getting. My mom would tell me to get a bunch of ducks (you know, duck on a june bug thing). But, I just keep spraying and crunching and hope for the best. One picture I took of "The Belmonster" had a stink bug on it. Yes, I have them as well. It's a never ending cycle. __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

July 8, 2015	#7
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,146	Marsha, you can find Japanese Beetle Traps at any big box store. Walmart, Menards, Ace, Home Depot etc. all carry them. I use a citrus spray made from boiling grapefruit or orange rinds, straining and then spraying my plants. I have also been known to add garlic and cayenne pepper to it. It is pretty effective but you need to reapply it after each rains. __________________ ~ Patti ~

July 9, 2015	#9
seaeagle Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: virginia Posts: 735	Japanese Beetle Traps I read years ago that Japanese Beetle traps really worked.Well yes and no according to research One key factor limiting trap effectiveness for beetle control is the “trap spillover” phenomenon, in which the trap attracts beetles without capturing them, resulting in increased damage to surrounding host plants. http://www.isaacslab.ent.msu.edu/Ima...l_2009_JEE.pdf They are saying that while the trap catches beetles it draws many more that don't go in the traps making the problem worse Last edited by seaeagle; July 9, 2015 at 07:09 AM.

July 9, 2015	#11
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	Bill, YES, exactly! So they didn't ruin your whole garden by eating every leaf? I wonder if they wreck fruit? This really sucks that there is no good way of getting rid of beetles. I have such a small garden/yard that putting out beetle traps will probably lure them the whole neighborhood of them to mine! Unless I was to put them in my neighbor's property.... hmmm.... Will neem oil do anything? I guess there isn't a spray out there that will get rid of beetles but keep the good bugs? __________________ Subirrigated Container gardening (RGGS) in NY, Zone 7!

July 8, 2015	#2
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I used Triazicide on pepper plants a month or so ago, and I have not seen anymore holes in the leaves since.

July 8, 2015	#3
rhines81 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Zone 5A, Poconos Posts: 959	I put up beetle bags around my property 30-50 feet away from my garden. They usually come in mid-July so I hang my bags a few weeks earlier. They work great. They cost less than $5 per bag and you'll need 4-6 of them to surround your perimeter. Don't put them too close to the garden.

July 8, 2015	#5
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	We have those evil vile Japanese beetles here. They eat so many things, some of their favorites around here are bean leaves, raspberry leaves, hop leaves, Liden trees, Birch trees, many flowers--I could go on. I never have had a problem with them eating my tomatoes though. I wish you luck. I take great joy and squashing them especially while they are in the process of procreating.

July 9, 2015	#10
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have started seeing a lot of flea beetles fairly high up on the tomato plants. Usually they just attack the lower leaves but now they are getting all the way up to head high on some plants. I saw this last year on my cucumbers but they didn't get on my tomatoes then but they are on many of them this year. I got rid of them really easy with some Permethrin and soapy water last year but I hate to go that route on my tomatoes since I have so many good bugs working them this year. Bill

July 9, 2015	#14
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I've been using DE on my eggplants which really seems to help. Before I started, all the leaves had holes, now they are perfect. I did use some spinosad 2 weeks ago with soap as well.

July 9, 2015	#15
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	I would not use the bags at all. Yes, the JB will flock to them, but like has been mentioned, alot will not go into those bags and now you have even more munching on your plants. JB have a strong pheromone that can travel great distances and cause them to come straight to your area and you will have more JB than you ever thought. The thing is the JB that you miss and you will some, will lay their cutworm eggs in your soil and then you have them eating your roots and your plants. We had them bad here several years back. I wasn't going to use a bunch of chems so I started studying their life cycle to try and break it. From the University of Minnesota site. " Life cycle of Japanese beetle: egg, grub, and adult stages. In June, the grub turns into a pupa. It emerges from the soil in late June and July as an adult, to mate and lay eggs. Females live for a few weeks feeding on trees, shrubs and roses in the morning, returning to the turf in the afternoon to lay more eggs. Eggs hatch in July and grubs are almost full grown by late August. Grubs dig deep in the soil for the winter months and then move upward in spring as the soil warms. Grubs do best in warm, slightly moist soil that has plenty of organic matter and tender grasses. However, they can survive in almost any soil." What I did was in the fall I would just till up the top few inches of soil, which is where you can usually find them. I would leave that area open and let the birds have at it. They will eat some grubs. Than again in the early spring turn the soil again and just let it lay and let the birds catch the ones they missed on the first go round. I would take a hoe and go back over several times as one of them JB can lay I think it is like 50 or so eggs at one time in the soil. For the beetles themselves, I just pulled and squished, but if your squeamish, I would give MissS's method a try. I copied it myself. Took me a couple of years to get rid of mine, but I can finally grow roses again.