Pesky Japanese Beetles

For those of you who would like to control those darn beetles that seem to be everywhere and eat everything, I learned of a way to do so. Spread 'milky spore' on your lawn. It is a fungus that kills the beetle grubs. The fungus is harmless. Here is more information: http://www.milkyspore.com/msporefaq.htm

I originally wanted to use those beetle bags, but I was told that they only attract more beetles. The beetles will actually lay their eggs right before they enter the bag, so really you end up getting more beetles the following year.

 

We are having a terrible time with the Japanese Beetles this year. We did cave in and get the bag-a-bug and they fill up within a few days (and smell pretty bad too after a week). We also got the Milky Spore, and was wondering, after reading your post, if we should concentrate the stuff at the base of the bags to really get the suckers, since that is where they are laying their eggs. They are just ruining everything in the Garden.

 

Milky Spore, to be effective, must be applied to the lawn area, and it takes a generation or two to be effective. It does not kill on contact and you will be wasting it if you put it in the bags. It is essentially the bubonic plaque for grubs. Once it is effective, it is a disease that will protect the treated areas from grubs for years.

 

VaCliff - I did not mean putting the spore in the bag itself. Since the post above mentions the beetles laying eggs around the bags, I meant putting the spore around the ground area where the bag is. Hope that clears that up. Putting the expensive stuff in the bad would be quite a waste of money.