In 1912 a small box of Iris bulbs was shipped to the United States from Japan. It found its way quietly across the ocean and was delivered to an unsuspecting home gardener somewhere in New Jersey. Unknown to the shipping company, the postal worker, and the gardener, this small box of iris bulbs also contained a tiny beetle which would eventually cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to plants throughout the United States.
By the 1970s, infestations of this beetle were reported in 22 States, mostly east of the Mississippi. These beetle infestations continue to spread southward and westward, leaving massive damage in their wake.
This notorious pest is called the Japanese Beetle. Today, these beetles destroy more lawns than any other pest, costing more than $460 per year. They also destroy trees, shrubs, and many kinds of plants.
The Japanese Beetle is around 1/2 inch long with a green, metallic body, bronze wings, white hair along the sides of the body. The females burrow 3 inches into your grass and lay 40-60 eggs during early summer. A couple months later the eggs hatch into grubs, which feed on the roots of your lawn and garden plants until fall, when they lay dormant until the next spring.
These grubs continue feeding on the roots of your plants for a month or so, and finally emerge as adult beetles, ready to lay eggs again. This beetle has few natural enemies in North America, which has allowed the beetle population to grow largely unchecked.
Is Japanese Beetle Control Possible?
The simple answer is answer is yes, Japanese Beetle control is possible! But unfortunately, it usually requires a combination of tactics, including traps, introducing natural enemies of the beetle to your yard, and other methods. The reason why it is so important to use a well chosen combination of Japanese Beetle control methods is that simply applying pesticides and other chemicals can at times be counterproductive, costly, and environmentally damaging.
Here are a few Japanese Beetle control methods:
-Chemical pesticides, applied to both adults and larvae. Please be aware of the risks to your family and pets before choosing the pesticide to use.
-Traps
-Chemical insecticides. Again, be aware of the risks. It is probably best to consult a professional before choosing this method of Japanese Beetle control.
-Biological methods. This usually involves introducing natural enemies of the Japanese Beetle to your lawn, including microscopic parasites that feed on Japanese Beetle larvae, natural bacteria such as milky spore, and larger parasites that feed on adult Japanese Beetles.
-Planting Japanese Beetle-resistant plants.
The development of your plan will require research, an inventory of all the plants in your garden and lawn which are susceptible to the Japanese Beetle, and an understanding of the methods being used by others in your area for Japanese Beetle control. You may be able to join with others in the community to develop a community wide approach to Japanese Beetle control. This is important because the beetles can fly quite far and may travel up to a mile before they settle in your lawn.
