Deterring Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles on a Bluebird Gardens fruit tree will breed until mid-August, then disappear.

Deterring Japanese Beetles in Your Garden

In the category of non-welcome bugs, Japanese beetles are currently decimating gardens, turning edible plants and herb leaves into lace. When these invasive bugs were first spotted in Missouri, people were asking for traps to help catch them.

Pheromone traps have proven to be, for the most part, counter-productive. People tend to hang them like birdhouses when they should be located downwind, at the edge of the property, so pheromones aren’t attracting more Japanese beetles.

I still do the garden inspection early morning with a can of soapy water. Once I spot the beetles, I place the can under them and they fall in to drown.

A beekeeping friend has suggested making a spray out of their dead little beetle bodies but I haven’t tried that yet. 

After several years of catching Japanese beetles in soapy water, I have less beetles in my woods-surrounded garden. It may not work as well in developed areas with other nearby gardens but it is worth a try.

Charlotte