How to Get Rid of Japanese Beetles

University of Maine Cooperative Extension discusses what Japanese Beetles are, where you can find them in Maine and what you can do for management of Japanese Beetles.

[dawnb]

I do a trifecta: milky spore for grubs, nematodes for all stages of the beetle and weekly neem oil application to make them fly away.

[willcasanova]

I shake the beetles into a bucket of water, then dump into my pond, fish love them.

[rickrodrigues]

I bought SAFERS Japanese beetle trap. It was expensive & doesn't trap as many beetles. The "RESCUE" traps are much better but were not available this year in my area. Also the (SAFERS) scent used seems to fade away quickly! I tried spraying perfume on a cotton ball & stuck on the trap & it seems to attract them...perhaps not as good as the "RESCUE" trap.
This year there are thousands defoliating my apple trees & vegetables! Unimaginable & horrifying!

[knuckledraggingneanderthal]

There are a legion of moles in my yard, I think they do a good job of keeping the Japanese Beetle under control.

[aricpelt]

Another fun idea for the kids is Japanese Beetle Tennis! My 7 year old son will spend hours out in the front yard just swatting at the beetles with a tennis racket as they fly by!

He knows not to hit them while they are on my plants, so he'll shake it a bit and as they fly off he goes crazy with forehands and backhands!

[kathrynepaul]

A few minutes ago I said we had luck with nematodes…..it was milky spore! It takes a long time. If you apply in the fall it may not seem to have that much effect the following summer, but every year we have fewer and in the end it has been a good solution.

[juliec]

I used to pick them off of my raspberries & my chickens would follow me, eating their “treats.” Unfortunately, I can’t keep chickens, anymore, and the beetles are getting way worse. What about ordering preying mantis egg cases? Will mantises eat Japanese beetles?

[joybeum]

Here in California, the beetles come out by June 1st. They are eating holes in my roses and skeletonizing the leaves on my Magnolia tree and blackberry vines.

[progressforward]

4 O'Clock's I heard was one of their favorites, but toxic to the little buggers. I am going to try it.

[yesyes]

I am amazed this guy did not mention milky spores which is what a lot of people use at least in the mid-west but you need to be aware of the best time to put that down and right now is that time if you havent already.

[lucyhirsch]

I have trapped for 3-4 years. drown the bugs in soapy water and feed them to my chickens. the beetle numbers are exponentially worse each year. the defoliate elm and cherry trees, grapes and blueberries and take a bite out of almost every blue berry, I picked almost ripe just to get a few. I had a frame with bird netting over my blueberries (7 large well established plants with irrigation) worked great for my chickens and wild birds until the Japanese beetles made it to Missouri. late last year septemberish I put out milky spore and hb nematodes. this year I covered my blueberry 'house' with screen wire, 4 rolls of it, stapled to a batten and hammered to a railroad tie. took 4 people an afternoon including lifting one person in the bucket of the tractor to get the roll over the top! big project. I also moved my traps from 50' to about 400' away, out in the pasture by the pond ( source for water to drown them in. the season is late because of the rain and flooding and cold, but my traps are beginning to catch beetles way out there and so far no beetle damage to my blueberries. It will be interesting to see how the cherry trees fare. I will re -apply milky spore this fall. A company named arbico sells nematodes and milky spore and has lots of useful info.
can anyone tell me what the commercial blueberry growers do? what do the organic commercial growers do? This is not just about saving the crop, it is about saving the bushes and trees too. they killed a BIG cherry tree, the drought had a hand in it too.

[scottfodor]

i have had a lot of luck just by spraying the beetles with a spray bottle filled with 1 tbsp of dishsoap and the rest water.  the soap eliminates the protective coating on the beetle and they die within 30 seconds.  it does work, but, you have to go out daily until you dont see them any more.  yes, time consuming.

[galedutton]

What about installing a pole mounted cedar Bat house or even a Purple Martin house? Those will eat many insects. Not just mosquitos.

[ravendewynter]

thank you! these guys destroyed my roses last year (about June time frame) and my dad's broccoli. got a game plan now!

[rickrodrigues]

Some traps do a great job but they are very expensive now. What bait can I use with the old traps to attract & catch them? Would bacon attract them?

[davidhawley]

It's the grubs I hate. You don't notice them until your plant starts wobbling around and won't take up water. I'm trying to clean them out from around what remains of the roots, but I don't hold much hope.

[megakaren]

Any Japanese beetle that finds it's way into my yard is as good as dead. I knock them off their plants and my flock of Pekins will get them.
They also go through my lawn and hoover up any grubs in the lawn, including Japanese beetle larvae. Seriously, those ducks are the best pest controllers I have ever found.

[cathygeary]

Up until this year I have had good luck using their fav trees as trap crops, but now they are all over my elderberries. I have a huge mulberry about 500' away and up near my gardens I have a box elder and some smaller mulberry. Never had a major problem with my main plants till now

[armyguy]

Have you ever used Wood Vinegar as a natural Pesticide? It is very popular in Asia but not in North America

[timcastle]

Somewhere I heard that they prefer acidic soil. So if I lime my yard to neutralize will that also kill off the grubs and or keep the females from laying their eggs as well?