JAPANESE BEETLES

Japanese beetles are members of the scarab beetle family, some of the worst garden pests. Adult beetles chew holes in foliage, fruit and flowers and their larvae devour grass roots.

Adult Japanese beetles attack more than 250 kinds of plants, chewing holes in the leaves. Eventually only the leaf veins will remain, forming a lacy skeleton.

The larvae, called white grubs, feed on grass roots. In severe infestations there can be more than 50 Japanese beetle grubs per square foot of lawn. Damage consists of dead or balding patches. The turf will have no roots and can be rolled back like a carpet.

Effective control measures must be aimed at both adult and larvae. To control adults you can spray with Sevin or use beetle traps. Traps should be placed as far away as possible from affected plants to avoid luring more beetles to those plants. Be sure to change the bags regularly because decaying beetles repel live ones. To control the grubs, apply milky spore disease in the form of Doom or Grub Attack to your lawn although it will take several seasons for the bacteria that cause the disease to build up effective levels, in the long run it is a worthwhile step to take. Offtanol, Diazinon or Bio Safe are also effective.

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