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Wood River, IL (kennyw_49@yahoo.com)

I'm sorry for posting this here but I wasn't getting any responds on the "Other Gardening General Discussion" board.

My Mom has a couple of flowering trees that have been infested with Japaneese Beetles. I wanted to spray Sevins on them, but she's worried about killing the butterflies & Hummingbirds. What is my best plan of attack? Thank, Kenny

7/6/2006 6:44:23 AM

Wood River, IL (kennyw_49@yahoo.com)

Brain Fart

7/6/2006 6:45:22 AM

Menomonie, WI (mail@gr8pumpkin.net)

You can get a Japanese Beetle Trap. Place it somewhere away from your desired plants. Sevin will work also, spray at night to prevent killing the bees and butterflies. She can also get a product called milky spore disease. This will take a few years to see the effect. What it does is kills the grubs before the are able to mutate into the beetles. We have chickens so the grubs do not last long.

7/6/2006 8:31:37 AM

Montoursville, PA

The beetle are just begining to show here. With all my efforts I still get fly in beetle. I will use Seven twice over the next fifteen, to twenty days. That usually gets most, of them. If not controled they can eat you out, of house and home.

Milky Spore is a very good consideration. It will improve controll, for three years and help control, for fifteen or more years. Cost is very reasonable considering length of effective control. The control is maintained and improved as grubs are destroyed and created millions, of new spore.

7/6/2006 9:22:12 AM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Kenny,

How tall is this tree? I'm guessing it's pretty short since tall trees take specialized equipment to spray. Can you just pick them off by hand?

Sevin is a good tool for controlling Japanese Beetles but it does cause some unintended collateral damage. If you do choose Sevin, then spray as late in the day as possible since most butterflies & bees are finished just before sunset.

Shannon's trap idea is a good one if your property is big enough. Locate Beetle Pheromone traps a couple hundred feet away from the plant or tree that you're trying to protect.

Milky Spore for JB grubs works well over time. But here in CT, other grub species (Chafers, Orientals, Asiactic, etc) have come in the Japanese Beetle's place & Milky Spore hasn't worked on them.

7/6/2006 1:40:59 PM

Wood River, IL (kennyw_49@yahoo.com)

Steve,

They are in the 7 to 8 foot range. She tried picking them of by hand. she said twice as many came as she picked off.

7/6/2006 5:04:15 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Softer chemicals exist if Hummingbirds are actually nesting in this tree. A biological called "Naturalis" used to be available. It might still be. The active ingredient was "beauvaria fungus". This stuff did a nice job on beetles but Troy Bio-Science who developed it went bankrupt. I think someone bought the rights to produce it from the courts.

7/6/2006 5:59:15 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Spraying this tree with Sevin wouldn't be an ecological disaster. Just be careful to not shower yourself, mix at the labeled rate & make sute to only spray after sunbdown.

7/6/2006 6:03:23 PM