Japanese Beetle Control

Japanese beetle is a destructive pest in the garden, which feeds voraciously on the plant foliage. A mature beetle is about 0.6 inch long and measures 0.4 inch in width. You can identify a Japanese beetle easily from its green head and copper colored elytra. By any chance, if you notice Japanese beetle feeding in the garden plants, do not delay in taking pest control measures. Fortunately, there are natural Japanese beetle control methods, which help in getting rid of these destructive insects effectively.

Controlling Japanese Beetle Infestation

The Japanese beetle is a pest for over 300 garden plants. Even after seeing the affected leaves, you can identify that the destructive insect is none other than this beetle. It exclusively eats the soft leave tissues, while leaving the veins or other hard parts. Such a type of feeding by garden pest is known as skeletonizing. The worst part with this pest is that the young larvae feed on underground root system and kills the plants. Japanese beetle control is thus necessary to protect the garden plants. The following are effective ways of getting rid of Japanese beetles naturally:

Conventional Control Method
Pick the adult insects manually and drop them in a bowl of soapy water. Follow this conventional pest control method at the first sight of Japanese beetle in the garden. It remains in an inactive state during early morning and late evening. So, by this time, you can easily catch them or pick with forceps, and kill them.

Biological Pest Control
There are several predators that feed on Japanese beetle, some of which include starling, wasps, and tachinid flies. Also, chickens, moles and skunks feed on the larvae of Japanese beetle. These predators can be used for biological control of Japanese beetles. If you notice larvae in soil, remember to dig soil and expose for some days before growing plants.

Grow Repelling Plants
A natural method is to grow repelling plants in the vegetable garden. Examples include garlic, catnip, chives and tansy. Other plants that are non-attractive to mature beetles and Japanese beetle grubs are cornflower, buttercups, baby's breath, begonia, balsam, arborvitae, etc. Include these flowering plants in the borders of the garden beds to drive away Japanese beetle.

Use Beetle Traps
Another cultural approach for controlling Japanese beetle is using pheromone traps or floral lures in the garden. Nevertheless, Japanese beetle traps should be used only when there is severe infestation of this beetle. Also, use them in isolated gardens that are situated far away from other landscaping areas. Otherwise, the traps may attract other troublesome beetles in the garden.

Use Bait Solution
A safe organic Japanese beetle control method is to place a bait solution near to the affected plants. A simple bait is prepared by mixing mashed fruit, water, sugar and yeast in a bowl. Pour in plastic bottles with a small hole in the top and place them near the affected plants. The Japanese beetle gets attracted to the bottles, but it will not be able to come out.

Other Pest Control Tips
Following basic garden pest control instructions will surely help in preventing Japanese beetle. As we are all aware, infestation by beetles is high in weakened or diseased plants. Hence, make sure you maintain healthy plants and trim off diseased portions. Also, remove diseased fruits or those that ripe prematurely. They tend to attract Japanese beetle with the sweet smell.

In case of infestation over large areas, you can make use of Japanese beetle control products that are formulated with chemical compounds. Strictly follow the usage directions of these products, in terms of concentration, spraying and after care of plants. That way, you can minimize the negative effects of chemical pesticides to some extent.