I stepped outside the back door in early June to begin my garden tasks for the day. I had weeded a small area around the summer squash when my next door neighbor waved me over to the fence.
In my head I chuckled as I thought about the Snuffy Smith cartoon strip that is still published in the daily papers. Snuffy Smith’s wife, Loweezy, was often seen standing at the back fence gossiping with a neighbor.
However, my neighbor was not calling me over for a gossip session. He wanted to let me know that he had seen something on my Canna plants. There are Canna’s planted along almost half of the fence row between myself and this particular neighbor. It seems the side of the Cannas that he could see had been ravaged by Japanese Beetles. I thanked him for letting me know, and went to my side of the Cannas and could see some damage as well. The Japanese Beetles feed on the leaves and flowers of plants. The flowers are destroyed and the leaves begin to look like mesh or webbing.
This was the first time that I had ever noticed Japanese Beetles in my garden or backyard. I had not developed a defense as of yet so I went into research mode and began to look online and on YouTube to see how to deal with the critters. As a result I developed a four prong defense that included Japanese Beetle traps, an organic spray, a small tub of soapy water, and sacrificing some plants for others. I pass these on in hope that it will help others facing a similar situation. Below I will describe what I did and the result.
My Defense Against A Japanese Beetle Attack
According to the Horticulture And Home Pest News from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, “The Japanese beetle is the “worst landscape pest in America” because it damages plants in both the adult and larval stages. As an adult beetle in mid-summer, the beetles are known to devour the foliage, flowers, and fruit from more than 300 species of plants. The rest of the year, the larvae are white grubs that live in the soil and eat the roots from trees, shrubs, and turfgrass.”
I learned from my online research that Japanese Beetles feed in an area for around 40 days. I discovered them in early June and they were completely gone toward the end of July. Before they left, they had attacked Cannas, Amaranths, Rose Or Sharon flowers, Roses, and other Hibiscus plants. I learned that Geraniums were one of their favorite plants. It was curious that although I had several Geraniums nearby, they did not attack any of them.
Japanese Beetle Traps
From my research as well I found out that there were Japanese Beetle traps sold at big box stores like Lowe’s. I picked up two of these. The traps are easy to assemble. The instructions were easy to read and follow. You are instructed that each trap will cover an area of 400 square feet (37.16 square meters). This would mean that one trap would cover my entire garden. However, I went for overkill and placed one in the vicinity of the Cannas along the fence row which is located on the Southeast side of my property. I purchased one other and put it in the vicinity of my Hibiscus collection which is on the Northwest side of the property.
Both traps served me well and collected many Japanese Beetles. One part of the trap is a disk that contains a pheromone that attracts the male. My only caution here is to not place these close to one of their favorite food sources. The traps do lure them in and if a trap is close to the plants they enjoy, they may land there before making it to the trap thus defeating the purpose for the trap.
According to Kathleen Cue, Nebraska Extension Horticulture Educator, “Using Japanese beetle traps is NOT a good idea because the traps are too effective at what they do. Research indicates JB traps attract more beetles to the yard than those yards that have no traps, resulting in more damage to trees, roses and edible plants.”
Organic Spray Treatment
I used the above organic spray treatment on the Cannas (Dr. Earth Yard And Garden Insect Killer). This was done in the evening after sunset in order to avoid spraying any pollinators. The Canna leaves were sprayed thoroughly on both sides and down the central stocks. This spray was easy to apply since it comes in an applicator bottle that attaches to your garden hose.
The spray was effective and I saw very few Japanese Beetles on the Cannas after this application. But one warning must go here as well, they left the row of Cannas and moved to the Rose of Sharon bush and destroyed the flowers, and attacked six Amaranth plants and a rose bush that were growing nearby. This was a would of, should of, could of situation. In other words, had I realized this would happen, I would have sprayed all of these plants at the same time which is what I will do should my garden be under a similar attack in the future.
A Small Tub Of Soapy Water
In my research I watched several YouTube videos where the presenters demonstrated how to remove Japanese Beetles from plants. The Japanese Beetle has the habit of dropping to the ground when it feels threatened. If you try to smash them they will often do this before you can get to them. One source that I read said that the Beetles secrete a pheromone or smell when smashed and this lures others to the same area. I’m still looking for a educational source to verify this. I do know that soapy water does work as described below.
I took an old dish washer tabs container (pic above) and filled it about 1/3 full of water, then added liquid dish soap to it and stirred it. This was recommended by several sources I discovered in my research. Hold the container below the Beetles and using your finger or a stick, etc., knock the Beetle off of the plant and into the soapy water. If they feel threatened, they will drop into the container by themselves. The Beetles cannot swim in the soapy water and drown. I found this method to be very effective. It also gave me a feeling of accomplishment in winning the battle.
Kathleen Cue also recommends that hand picking is most successful later in the day. “recent research indicates that handpicking JB at 7:00 p.m. results in lower populations overall.”
Sacrificing Some Plants For Others
After treating the Cannas and seeing the Japanese Beetles move to the Rose Of Sharon, Rose and Amaranth plants, I made a conscious decision to not treat these plants. They had already been damaged and I knew the Beetles were suppose to finish their destruction within approximately 40 days. I decided that I didn’t want to treat these plants and cause the Beetles to move and destroy other plants. So, I sacrificed the Rose of Sharon flowers, Amaranth plants, and a rose bush. I am happy that I made this decision. After the Beetles had disappeared, all of these plants recovered and no others were damaged.
As stated above, the Beetles go into the soil and lay eggs which hatch larvae. These larvae will feed upon grass and other roots during the winter, then next June they will become Beetles and leave the ground looking for a food source. This tends to be the same time each year. Next June, I can expect to see them return but I will be ready. I will spray the Cannas, Roses, Amaranths, Hibiscus, and Rose of Sharon Bush at the first sign of damage. I will have my tub of soapy water ready and inspect the plants daily. Hopefully I will not have to sacrifice any plants for others but I’ll make that decision when the time comes if needed. I haven’t decided whether I will put out new traps or not.
If you know any successful strategies for dealing with Japanese Beetles, please tell us in the comment section below.