Japanese beetles---a good reason to feel doomerish

Heineken

Certainly, birds should be encouraged for that reason and so many others . . .
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

Commanding_Heights · Tar Sands Joined: Nov 09, 2006 Posts: 56

Something I've found that works very well is a dead beetle spray. I also live in a very infested area and do the following which dramatically cuts down on their infestation:

1 - Get a bunch of JB's
2 - Get an old blender at a garage sale
3 - Put JB's and water in blender
4 - Press puree button and smile
5 - Take puree and put in a hose end sprayer
6 - Set to 1.5 oz per gallon
7 - Spray all over plants

Something about the smell of other dead rotting beetles they just don't like. BTW this also works well with cucumber beetles.

Heineken

I have heard of this method, Heights, but haven't tried it yet. Perhaps I should give it a shot on an experimental basis, although I have to tell you that I'm dubious about its efficacy or practicality. It sounds labor-intensive and impractical for people with lots of fruit trees, especially fruit trees that the garden hose will not reach.

JBs leave a chemical scent that attracts other beetles to the plants they're eating. Wouldn't spraying JB "puree" on plants just lay that scent on thick and heavy?

What happens when it rains? Doesn't the rain just wash off the puree? And then either the JBs return or you have to go through the whole rigamarole again.

Can you cite an authoritative source for this method of control?

It seems to me that if this method worked as well as you think it works, it would be more widely known and there would be products on the market that exploited it.

If you say it has worked for you, I'm certainly willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and to give the method a trial.
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

Ludi

"Use of Liquefied Pest Sprays

Jeff Cox, an editor of Rodale'sOrganic Gardening, called attention to this method of pest control in the magazine in October 1976 and again in May 1977. Insect pests or slugs are gathered in small quantities and liquefied with a little water in a blender. The material is then further diluted with water and sprayed throughout the infested area. It is not known why spraying with "bug juice" is effective against pests. However, it is known that virtually all organisms harbor viruses. Thus, it has been theorized that even the inactive viruses carried by healthy insects and slugs may somehow be activated in the process of liquefaction. The viruses would be spread throughout an entire yard or farm if all parts of the area were sprayed. Most viruses are highly specific, generally attacking a single species of organism. M. Sipe, a Florida entomologist who recommended the "bug juice" technique, also suggested that the odor of the liquefied insects possibly attracts their predators and parasites or that the insects' distress pheromones (naturally produced insect chemicals that influence sexual or other behavior) are released by the blender, with the pheromones acting as an insect repellent. Possibly the observed effects of spraying "bug juice" are the result of a combination of viruses, predator attraction, and repellent pheromones. Sipe warns that a person who tries this method of pest control should take care to use only pest species and only those that are doing significant damage. Failure to heed this warning could disrupt the activities of the natural predators and other natural controls present. This approach needs extended testing and investigation of its safety for use by humans, but test results over the past twenty years in various areas of North America have yielded impressive results with no evidence of harm to either humans or beneficial organisms."

http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072528427/student_view0/biological_controls.html
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"...powerdown so soft and fluffy you'll think you're living in a pillow..." - jboogy

Commanding_Heights · Tar Sands Joined: Nov 09, 2006 Posts: 56

I got the idea from the book "Dead Daisies Make Me Crazy: Garden Solutions Without Chemical Pollution".

As far as work goes, it's not much more labor intensive than any other spray end application in the garden. I just have to collect JB's in soapy water and blend them. It takes 10 minutes max. I didn't mean to imply you have to collect hundereds and hundreds of them. I usually just collect 30-40 or so.

But then again we may be talking about two different size operations. I simply have 8 fruit/nut trees and 10 12x3 raised beds. Yours may be much bigger.

As soon as I see the little buggers start to collect on the trees and garden again I just make up another batch and spray. To be honest I just haven't paid much attention to whether the rain has a big impact or not.

Heineken

I'll try it out. I'm willing to try anything.

Some of my plants are out of reach of the garden hose. I'll try filtering out the solid JB particles through a coffee filter, and using the diluted "juice" in a regular pump-action sprayer, which I'd prefer to the garden-hose method anyway.

Does anyone else have any experience with this method of JB control?
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

Ludi

How have you fared with milky spore disease as a control? Has it helped at all?
_________________
"...powerdown so soft and fluffy you'll think you're living in a pillow..." - jboogy

Commanding_Heights · Tar Sands Joined: Nov 09, 2006 Posts: 56

Milky spore takes several years to be effective. It works great on the property where it is applied but the problem is these JB's can fly several miles Sad

Heineken

Consensus opinion on milky spore has slowly turned against it---that it isn't worth the time, expense, and effort. I read that earlier this year from some sort of authortitative source (possibly a university or state extension service). The main reason is the one Commanding Heights gives. An adult JB can fly at least five miles. This renders environmental-type controls on your own property more or less worthless, especially if you have a large property. I see vast numbers of JBs in uncultivated fields and even in mostly wooded areas---they don't draw any distinction between your property and the rest of the world.
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

Heineken

Heineken

I regret to report that neither mulberries nor paw paws are immune to JBs. No serious damage, but holes are made in leaves (paw paws) or selected leaves and berries are destroyed (mulberries).

Goumis are also not invulnerable. Again, though, the damage is only light to moderate.

The only truly JB-proof food plants I have are tomatoes and especially figs. You see JBs on them, but no damage is done (although JBs may eat a few tomato flowers).

Heartnuts may be invulnerable. I see a few JBs on them but there's no sign, so far, of any active feeding.
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

kuidaskassikaeb

I have a couple of suggestions. You could try traps. They do have a reputation for attracting more than they destroy, but in your case, you seem to live in a JB magnet, and have enough land that they may reduce your population. Anyway you could feed the bagfuls of bugs to chickens and at least get something out of this.

There are birds that do have reputations for eating Japanese Beatles: Starlings, Grackles and some others. Mostly though Starlings and Grackles feed on the ground and will specialize in the larva, which won’t do you much good right now, although you could put up a lot more bluebird boxes and just let the starlings move in (starlings have been having their own die off for thirty years so they are okay now.).

If you just want to see if any birds do like the beetles, the best way to attract birds to your property is to put up bird baths, especially if you live in a suburban area, where they have filled everything, and there usually is a shortage of clean shallow water. If any bird eats the bugs they will set up housekeeping. This time of year is good because it is still nesting season and even seed eaters are eating bugs because they need the protein.

http://www.greatncwines.com/?cat=38

The post is about a wasp that they are introducing. I have no idea if it is any good.

Take heart though, the gypsy moth, which was just as bad or worse, was beaten by diseases that seemigly came out of nowhere. The JB is set up for overshoot and die off: just like humanity.

Heineken

The gypsy moth has not been beaten. Far from it. It continues to move south and is now threatening central Virginia. It's probably less destructive than it used to be in your neck of the country, though.

Regarding JBs, birds help and I do everything I can to encourage them on my farm. However, it is still impossible to grow traditional fruit trees like cherries, plums, and apples. We're talking near-total defoliation by the end of July.

I don't support the use of JB traps, and neither do the experts. They attract more JBs to one's property than they kill.

Perhaps natural controls will eventually get the upper hand, but it won't be in my lifetime or yours.
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother

skyemoor

Heineken

Yes, I'm certain, Skyemoor. I saw JBs actively feeding on one of my paw paws. I killed them and found a few more the next day and killed them, and haven't seen any more since. But there are quite a few holes in some of the upper leaves near the unusually narrow spot where they join the leaf stem. My concern is that this is a very vulnerable point.

This discovery was a bit of a shock, after all the great things I'd read about paw paws vis-a-vis insect pests. Nevertheless, I'm still hopeful that paw paws can work out. Surround might be good for them; it seems to provide some protection for the nonpreferred plant victims. Also, Surround would keep paw paws cooler, which is a good thing for them.

I've also seen JBs feeding on jujubes, BTW, doing light to moderate damage to the uppermost leaves.

This has been a very bad JB season here, once again, despite the rather dry conditions. They are absolutely creaming my plum trees---about 50% defoliated now. Each morning I knock them off by the many hundreds into a bucket with water at the bottom. But they keep coming and coming. That's the thing about Mr. JB---he grinds you down, and wins in the end.

Experimentally, I sprayed my plums with a diluted juice I extracted from sweetgum leaves, thinking that it would disguise the plums as sweetgums, which JBs abhor. But it didn't make the slightest difference. I may try the same experiment with a tulip-tree extract and maybe some others, but I'm not optimistic.

The remaining hope for my plums is the protective structures discussed earlier in this thread. I will work on that project over the winter.
_________________
"Actually, humans died out long ago."
---Abused, abandoned hunting dog

"Things have entered a stage where the only change that is possible is for things to get worse."
---Me and my brother