How to Get Rid of Japanese Beetles in The Garden?

Houses are incomplete without a beautiful little garden. Someone who loves plants and trees would have a colorful garden full of flowers, lush green grass, plants, and a few trees. But all this beauty also demands keen maintenance. Among all the activities of caring for a garden, the most important is protecting it from beetles, especially Japanese beetles.

Someone who has picked his garden out of the famous Japanese garden ideas would easily find Japanese beetles in the garden. However, even if your garden does not match with the typical Japanese garden ideas will not mean that you are safe. Japanese beetles can be found in almost all kinds of gardens. If your garden has even a single Japanese beetle, it must be a matter of concern. If you are wondering why? Keep reading.

Why Get Rid of Japanese Beetles?

Though there are some beetles and insects that are no harm to your garden, they might rather serve you with a few benefits. But that is not the case with Japanese beetles. With the arrival of summer, these beetles come to destroy nearly 300 species of plants.

Yes! They consume flowers and foliage of over 300 types of plants. An adult beetle feeds for around 6 weeks and is quite aggressive. The immature ones do not usually feed on many plants.

However, the problem is serious even in its larva or grub stage. These beetles attack at the root system of the plants and love surviving on just anything- grass, leaves, flowers, fruits.

If you witness even a few Japanese beetles around, it is time for you to pick on them. The adult beetles can be picked in summers and the just-hatched grubs in early fall. Here are a few methods you can try to remove them safely.

Methods You Can Try Out!

Here are the six most common ways by which you can get rid of Japanese beetles.

1. Manual Picking – If you notice just a few Japanese beetles here and there, you will not need any special tools to remove them. Just wear a pair of gloves and start picking on them. The best time for getting the most beetles out of your garden is in the evening. However, you can also pick them out in the morning, but most can be caught in the evenings only. As you pick out the beetles, please put them in water with a few drops of dish detergent.
2. Stop Watering – This might seem baseless, but if you stop watering your garden for just a few days, Japanese beetles will leave your garden on their own. A moist and wet turf is required for these beetles to lay eggs. The eggs do not develop without moisture. You can stop watering your garden in around late June till the end of July to avoid the egg-laying beetles. A garden can survive for a considerable period without water.
3. Keep Them at Bay – The smell of a dead Japanese beetle repels the alive beetles around. So, if you have a considerable number of beetles and are tired of picking them, you can place the container of dead beetles or directly the beetles on and around the desirable plants. The smell of the dead will keep them alive at bay.
4. Pesticides – Applying pesticides is the simplest way of getting rid of Japanese beetles. You can use organic pesticides or fungicides for adult beetles. However, the typical pesticide treatments should be avoided as they are mainly chemicals. These chemicals will not only kill the villains in your garden but might also end up killing the good beetles.
5. Spray Nematodes- Nematodes are worm-like organisms that cannot be seen by the naked eye. These can prove to be great predators for grubs and can kill them easily. There is a type called Heterorhabditis bacteriophora that can be specially used for this purpose. You can get them from any gardening store that keeps beneficiary insects. Apply them in your garden in early fall and spring to get the results.
6. Beetle Spray- This is probably the last option you would ever choose. The beetle spray is simply a spray made of dead beetles. People who use it make the spray in their homes. Just add dead beetles and some water in a blender (that you do not tend to use in the future). Strain out the beetle parts, add a little more water, transfer this liquid to a spray bottle, and you are done. Spray it is required to keep the alive beetles away.

There are many more ways people use to kill or remove Japanese beetles. So, no matter which method you choose, make sure that you get rid of Japanese beetles completely. If not done the right way, these little creatures can destroy your garden to a large extent.