Outdoor Pest Control - Japanese Beetles

We had a few before but they seem to be many more this year. They are eating my fruit tree and miniture rose. Sevin works but the stores have run out and are not restocking around here. Is the time for them (the beetles) almost over or are they here for the whole summer till winter? Will I need to search further from home for Sevin and traps? Hand picking them is really time consuming. They have even started eating my sassafrass tree.
Sorry for all the misspelling of words.

Hi Badeyeben,

Sorry to read that you are having such an invasion. I don't use harsh chemicals such as Sevin. Here's some info on the chemicals recommended in the link from the Illinois Extension Service.

Sevin
http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/misc/sevin-carbaryl-old.htm

Acephate (Orthene)
http://www.safe2use.com/poisons-pesticides/pesticides/organo/whatarethey.htm
http://www.akaction.org/fact_sheets/Acephate_Orthene_Facts_ACAT.pdf

Imidacloprid (Merit)
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/haloxyfop-methylparathion/imidacloprid-ext.html

Cyfluthrin (Tempo)
http://extoxnet.orst.edu/pips/cyfluthr.htm

This page from the Illinois Extension Service might be of some help.
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/mclean/news/news10944.html

Newt

Newt,
So do you pick them by hand and deposit them in the hot soapy water? Any thing that can be applied? Home remedies that work and are non-toxic?

Badeyeben, sorry, it was very late and I wasn't paying attention. I should have given you this site with environmentally friendly ideas. :o
http://www.ghorganics.com/JapaneseBeetle.html

I use the soapy water and bucket method, but I don't get very many as I don't grow much that attracts them.

Newt

The one thing I definitely don't recommend is the traps with the plastic bags and the bait. When we lived in PA we got the traps the second summer we were there because all the neighbors had them. We would empty the completely full bags literally once a day; and we had three traps in our yard! They seemingly attract them from miles around. We didn't think they were going to be a problem here in IN until we moved here. They don't seem as bad as PA, but we've defintitely seen them. They like to hang out on our clothes on the clothesline.

When we lived in PA I started doing some research and came across something called 'milky spores'. You can search for it here or just Google it. It's a self-replicating method of controlling them. Basically, you spray it on the ground during the egg or larval stage. When the larvae become beetles, the spores are inside them. When they lay eggs, the spores are inside them. The subsequent larvae are infected. Eventually the beetles are gone.

It's best when a whole neighborhood uses it, as it doesn't do much good for you to use it on your yard and have the beetles come from your neighbor's yard. I never got around to talking to my neighbors about it before we moved, but I may do it here.