This insect feeds on 300 species of plants with several dozen common on properties throughout Lancaster, PA and surrounding counties we our tree service covers in Lebanon, York, and Harrisburg.
In late June through July, these pests descend upon beautiful Birches, lovely Lindens, charming Cherries like a pack of ravenous teenage boys on leftover pizza.
Why Japanese Beetles are a Big Deal
The aftermath leads to unsightly plants for the remaining of the growing season with reduced photosynthetic capabilities (making food for the plant).
Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t realize they are getting damage on plants until it’s occurring, leaving them to dig in the garage for an ancient bottle of banned, toxic chemicals from the 80’s, or jumping online to look for a natural remedy for Japanese Beetles.
How to Kill Japanese Beetles
There are a lot of good, okay, and just plain down horrible suggestions online for getting rid of Japanese Beetles. We thought it would be helpful to discuss each of them in detail to help you decide if killing Japanese Beetles is something you can handle or if you need to call a tree service.
We are rating these methods on a 1-5 scale, 1 being a terrible recommendation and 5 being an excellent way to get rid of Japanese Beetles.
Japanese Beetle Traps?
This gets a horrible 1.
Beetle traps work well to attract this pest because they synthesize the chemicals that Japanese Beetles release when they are happily chowing-down. The result is increased Beetles on your property from all around the neighborhood. Most times it makes the damage potential to your plants worse.
Hand-Picking Japanese Beetles?
Although it’s completely effective to remove the Japanese Beetles feeding on your plants and drown them in a bucket of soapy water, this method is impractical because it’s possible to miss some of them and certain plants are too large for this to be a good tactic.
Since these insects are good fliers, your plants may also be re-infested in a manner of a couple hours.
A Grub Control Treatment on your Lawn to Control Japanese Beetles?
You may reduce the potential for immediate larvae hatching, pupating, and emerging to feed on your nearby plants, but remember Japanese Beetles can fly very well.
Unless you’re willing to treat every lawn, landscape bed, and field for the next surrounding few square miles from your property, you’re out of luck. Applying grub control is meant to keep your lawn from being eaten by the larvae.
Grub control to control flying adult Japanese Beetles is like putting a teaspoon in the ocean.
Covering Plants that Japanese Beetles May Feed On?
This method gets a 3.
It is completely effective to put mesh nets over plants but doesn’t look the best. This is impractical for larger plants and nets may blow off plants if not secured properly.
Spraying Japanese Beetles with Soapy Water?
A 3 is an adequate score for this method.
It’s true that Japanese Beetles can be killed with soapy water, as is true for a lot of insects. However, the soap provides only a contact kill and won’t keep more beetles from joining in on the backyard buffet hours later.
You also need to be careful to not use too much soap, particularly on a hot day as it could burn some delicate plant tissue.
Spraying Insecticide to Kill Japanese Beetles?
The best materials could provide several days or even a week of control on plants of all sizes. Choosing the right Japanese Beetle Control material also should give consideration to the safety of honey bees frequenting plants that are in bloom so not to cause honey bee decline.
A lot of plants affected by Japanese Beetles are not in bloom during the time of feeding and spray treatments, but this is a consideration to discuss with a tree service. Larger plants are difficult to spray with most DIY sprayers, so using a local tree spraying service can help reach trees in excess of 50 ft. and even higher.
Preventative, Soil-Applied Insecticide Treatments to Reduce Japanese Beetles?
These materials are applied by a tree service in spring to the soil surrounding the base of plants Japanese Beetles like to eat.
The plants pull the material up into leaf tissues which can kill beetles if they feed long enough on these plants.
Most times, it provides good control as Japanese Beetles don’t prefer to feed long on these treated trees and shrubs and fly off to find something at your neighbor’s to chomp on.
This method isn’t full-proof so if insect populations are high, you may need some additional spraying.
Remove Japanese Beetle Snacks and Replace with Stuff they Don’t Like?
Japanese beetles are very selective with what they eat. If you’re planning a landscape design for your property, the choice of one plant over another can help to keep beetles moving along to find a different spot in the neighborhood to eat.
If you have existing plants, you’ll have to consider if makes economic sense to remove and replace vs. treating plants on a Plant Health Care program. If you have a flowering Cherry tree, consider a Kousa Dogwood. If you have a Linden, consider a Red Maple instead.
A knowledgeable landscape company will be able to let you know your plant choice’s potential foes so you can pick a winner.
If you need help with Japanese Beetles and you’re located in either Lancaster, York, Lebanon, or Dauphin counties in PA, we would love to help. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Let’s Talk About Your Tree & Shrub Care Needs!
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