They're Baaaaack.... I Hate Those Japanese Beetles

Two days ago, I noticed the little buggers on a plant in the arboretum. This bug has been a nemesis to me ever since I moved out to Spring Grove. Strangely, I never had a problem with them in Round Lake Beach, only about ten miles away. Yesterday, there were LOTS of them.

I don't mind when bugs eat a little, but these have voracious appetites and eat ALL the time, that is, when they are not procreating. Those two activities are all I've ever seen them do.

Now, I will have to go out on a daily basis for July and August and kill them. I use my fingers mostly and just smash them. When they are mating, they are one on top of the other, so I get two-for-ones then. Many a Japanese beetle has gone to their maker with a smile on its face, if they have a face, that is.

I also sometimes use chemical sprays when they're up high in the trees. I've also used a small bucket of soap water and knock them off the leaves into it where they drown. They are very adept at dropping off the leaves when disturbed, so you ave to be very fast. They're much easier to get when they're mating, or early in the morning.

They are originally from Japan and not very destructive there as their numbers are controlled by natural enemies. They are a serious threat to a number of plants, but especially roses. I have problems with them on one bush that I don't know the name of, purple plums, my one rose, birch trees, and mountain ashes. It is believed that they were introduced to the US in 1916 at a nursery in New Jersey after the larvae entered the US in a bulb shipment.

We are overrun with them in our subdivision, and not just me, but all my neighbors. Some have spent a lot of money on the traps, but I believe they just attract them.

I noticed last year that the numbers were down considerably, probably because of the severe drought we had the year before. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae live underground and it got too hard. So at least that's one good thing about a drought.

You mess with my stuff and I'll get you.

Headin' Out Shortly to Kill Me Some Beetles. --RoadDog

THIS DAY IN HISTORY- 1914- Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was killed by a band of roving Japanese beetles, touching off what became known as the "War to End All Wars", "The Great War", but better known as World War I.