THE Japanese Beetle Thread (merged)

TnAndy · Heavy Crude Joined: Aug 31, 2005 Posts: 100

They hit East Tennessee in the mid 70's with all the effects you describe.....eating everything in the way of plants you care about.
Milky spore is what finally beat them a few years later, and we don't see enough of them now to even count....some years, we see none.

The problem with milky spore is a LOT of folks need to put it out to be effective. The local Ag extension office got milky spore in 55gal drums and sold it at cost, so a LOT of it got put out around here. One application is all that is needed, then as the bacteria kills the grubs in the ground, the spore self perpetuates and spreads. This is WHY they aren't a problem in Japan, and why they went hog wild when introduced here.....no natural enemy.

Heineken

Andy, can you provide any links to news stories or official descriptions of this astounding event? Are you telling us that the JB is no longer a problem in eastern TN? It's possible that other, local factors may have been involved than the application of milky spore. From what I've read milky spore is often rather ineffective, since the beetles can fly five miles and only relatively tiny areas of ground can be treated.
_________________
"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

TnAndy · Heavy Crude Joined: Aug 31, 2005 Posts: 100

No, I don't know of any media to that effect, this is only my personal observation, but I DO know what a problem they were in the 70's..every home gardening center sold the pherome based traps, and you would see them out everywhere with huge bags of beetles under them...and I haven't seen the traps or anyone using them in years now. I'm really trying to remember the last time I even saw an adult beetle; seems some years we will have a few on the fruit trees, but nothing like the 70's. The milky spore works..it just takes several years and a lot of folks putting it out to become effective.otherwise you'll have them forever.

frankthetank

Rose chafers were out like crazy. All over my plums, apples, cherries, even on the pear and on the peaches. I picked about a 100 and then said screw it and sprayed with Sevin.
Really hoping that once the trees get big enough, they can handle these annoying little toxic bugs.
They only stick around for about 3 weeks, but still do a lot of damage, especially to young trees.
Do you ever spray Sevin? or anything else? Fruit tree growing sucks when you've got all these stupid bugs to fight off.
_________________
Clothing should be optional.

frankthetank

Rose Chafers are horrible again today. I really don't know what to do. I think i might just let them have the trees. Maybe i'll protect the cherries somehow. The bigger trees are going to have to fend for themselves. I do notice they don't care for the pear much. I also haven't seen any on the blueberries.

Additional fruit trees are put on hold until i figure out how much damage they'll do in one season. If push comes to shove i'll abadon the fruit trees and stick with annuals and small berries.
_________________
Clothing should be optional.

Heineken

I have still seen no Jap beetles. They are due, perhaps even past due. Perhaps last year's drought hit them for a loop. Droughts are very hard on the grubs. However, I'm fairly confident they'll show up eventually in their usual overwhelming numbers.

Here's the status of my JB-protection project. I built a total of five protective structures, two around existing Japanese plum trees and three around newly planted grape vines and their trellises. One of the grape vines died, and so did the vine I replaced it with! So I have two grape vines growing well. I covered the protective structures for these two vines with the tulle material. I covered one of the plum trees with tulle; the other I'm going to "let go" for this year, I think. Both plum trees are fruiting for the first time this year.
I've taken photos, as promised, and plan to develop them and post them by late next week.

I don't know how well the tulle will stand up to UV radiation and storms, although a trial run with a section earlier this year was successful (I left it up for many weeks, and it survived several storms). The material is quite fragile (tears easily), even though it's made of 100% nylon. To avoid its getting torn, I bunch it up before stapling it. This makes the point of attachment much, much stronger. You can't just staple it without bunching it first, otherwise it will tear at the first puff of strong wind.

Gradually you learn how to handle the material, deal with its set of properties. It comes in widths of 54 inches and 108 inches; I got both types but next time will use only the 108-inch-wide material.
It took me about 90 minutes of hard work to cover the plum tree's wooden framework. About an hour to cover a grape structure.
I'm highly optimistic about the utility of my method for small fruits like grapes. The method is less practical for fruit trees, except perhaps small dwarfs. Too much work and $$ are required to build and cover the protective structures.

I'm very excited about the prospect of being able to grow grapes.
The method could work well for espaliered fruit trees, though. I might try it with espaliered apples. You could just attach the material across the top of the trellis and let it hang down over the two-dimensional plane of the plants.
A bonus is that not only are Japanese beetles excluded, but most other bugs are too. The holes in tulle are tiny. So this method could be of interest to people with bug problems other than JBs.
Anyway, photos are worth a thousand words, and they're coming by the end of next week, barring defective film or some other problem.
_________________
"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

frankthetank

Good luck on your netting. I really think that dwarf trees would be a heck of a lot easier to handle. I'm wishing i would've stuck with dwarf apples, instead of the semidwarfs i have that are already 12 feet tall. If only i would've know about these things the first year i planted.

The Chafers were late this year. I only noticed them a few days ago. They were thick again today. They only live for 3 weeks or so, but thats long enough to do damage.
We've got the ANTI drought going on. So much rain.

Chafers and Jap Beetles are very similar creatures. Must be cousins. They are both Scarab beetles. Chafers have no enemies that i know of. Birds will die if they eat them.
I did a little research and it looks like the traps work for the chafers. Its a Jap beetle trap with Chafer attractant. I guess over a few years it'll reduce the population (from a study i read).

You can also use a chemical called imidacloprid, the one that might be killing off the honey bees. I guess its based on nicotine or something and it is absorbed by the trees. Only problem i have is that once its in the soil, in some cases it takes over 900 days to break down. By then it'll have made it to the well water. Don't really care to be drinking the stuff because of some retarded beetles.
_________________
Clothing should be optional.

skyemoor

rattleshirt · Heavy Crude Joined: Oct 26, 2006 Posts: 114

Heineken- I spray 4 oz. compost tea and 1 1/2 Tablespoons diatomaceous earth and it seems to work if you start before they show up.

Heineken

After trying all sorts of other things (like Surround, pesticides, even Milky Spore), I'm convinced, as I've said many times, that a permanent physical barrier is the best answer to the JB and most other insect pests including Frank's awful-sounding rose chafers. Sprays like Surround have to be reapplied after rain, so if you have a period of frequent thunderstorms, you're defeated. Also, many sprays work poorly against the JB.

However, the fruit plant must be tailored to the barrier and not the other way around. Thus, as Frank indicated, forget using a barrier for a standard or semi-dwarf (as I've learned the hard way with my 10-foot- plums), although pruning to keep the tree in bounds can help (as I've done with my plums). A barrier would work wonderfully for a mini-dwarf, trees grown as slender spindles, or espaliers---which are great ways to grow fruit anyway.

I've learned much and will continue to refine my approach, but the exciting thing is that I think it basically works. You end up with a greenhouse-like effect, except the walls of the greenhouse transmit air readily (strong winds are muted, though, which is itself a good thing).

Light transmission is no problem with tulle, either. It's virtually transparent, almost like gauze.
Finally, tulle is so light that it doesn't restrict a plant's growth even when resting directly on it.
We had a thunderstorm last night with strong winds, and there was no damage to the tulle material.
_________________
"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

Shannymara

I've been waiting to hear your results, Heineken, and I'm genuinely happy to read they're promising! It's especially great the storm didn't damage them.

I've got my first fig pest - grasshoppers. We have bazillion of them in OK; the last time I lived here they really were a plague and would strip the garden bare within days if I let them. They've skeletonized a few fig leaves already. I sprayed them with the mint spray I have, and for now that seems to have deterred them. I guess they're easier to deter than JBs, thankfully, but now thanks to you I have another option to try if it becomes necessary. Smile

_________________
"Every junkie's like a setting sun..." - Neil Young

frankthetank

I'm very interested in your setup. I'll have to do something for next year. The university here suggests cheese cloth. Whatever that is.
I'm done spraying. The only way to do it is when they are active, and its so windy all the time during the day that it doesn't even work.
My beetles seem to have a lunch time around 10 or 11. Early the trees are empty, then i look again and they are full. Having sex on my trees is a big no no.
I killed a couple 100 yesterday. Sometimes i get really mad and squish them in my fingers, while they are romping.
_________________
Clothing should be optional.

Heineken

Hi Shanny! The photos are all taken. I'd develop them now, except I have a few shots left on the disposable camera and I want to use them on my new shed/cabin after it's installed on my tree farm on Friday.
Cheese cloth strikes me as less transmissible to light and water than tulle. Tulle is practically transparent, which is vital.

The source of tulle I've used is: link

Buy only the 108-inch-wide rolls; they're much easier to work with when it comes to putting the stuff up. It comes only in the ivory color (emerald looks prettier, I think, but so what).
Above all, remember to bunch up the material before stapling it, for the reasons given earlier. Use a big staple gun (the kind the shoots the longer, heavier-duty staples).
I'll give more info. when I post the pics, and will field whatever questions ya'll may have.
_________________
"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

frankthetank

So a roll of that stuff costs $64? How many trees could you cover with 50 yards?
_________________
Clothing should be optional.