japanese beetles

[taxiron]

The japanese beetles are eating my blueberry plants! My beehives are only about 100 ft. from the blueberry plants. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to get rid of the beetles without harming the bees. Spray would be the easiest but I don't want to harm the bees. I've tried beetle traps but had no success.                                                             

[Kathyp]

the bees probably aren't in the blueberries now.  they are past bloom?  try a soap spray.  it is a contact insecticide and will not hurt the bees if they come around later.  i just had to use some on my plumb trees.  it's ok to use on fruit and veggies.

[Moonshae]

The beetle traps are the worst thing to use. They are scented with mating pheromones, which actually attract the beetles to your yard. So they find a great food source, as well as a likely mating point. If you really want to draw them away from your yard, give several traps to each of your neighbors.

The best way to use these traps is to put them in your yard as far as you can from where you want to keep the beetles, and use them as a detection device. When you find the first beetle in your trap, take the traps down, and cover your plants with chiffon type fabric. It'll allow the sunlight through to keep your plants growing, and since JB drop down from the air and don't crawl up plants, they will not be able to get to them. Once the JB have mated and done their thing, you can remove the fabric.

[taxiron]

Moonshae  has it pegged about beetle traps.  That was exactly my experience with them, however the neighbor trick might work. I do like the soap spray idea. Do you spray it directly on the beetles?

[Erik T]

I disagree about the traps.  I used them for 3 years and they worked great.  Caught tens of thousands of them. Just place them upwind of plants that you don't want them on.

Ironically, since trapping them I haven't had Jap beetles around in the last 2 years.  Perhaps the hundreds of traps my neighbors placed as well caught the vast majority of them.

Soap is a good too.  You do have to spray it directly on the beetles.

You could also seed your yard with "Milky Spore".  It infects the beetle lavae and damages their reproductive organs.  Takes a year to work unfortunately.

[qa33010]

Would nematodes be an option?

http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=2344

Hope it's something you can use.

[SteveSC]

I have 50 or 60 blueberry bushes and I've never seen a Japanese beetle on them..  Grapevines and blackberry vines are different - beetles will get all over those.

I've been trying to do the organic thing for a number of yrs...  No pesticides or manmade fertilizers used..( 1 exception: pesticides used on fire ants ).

Do what Kathyp suggested - use 4 or 5 drops of dish detergent per gallon of water in a sprayer.  That'll get them off the blueberry bushes - re-apply after each rain or every week or so... 

[Rabbitdog]

I spray liquid sevin every year on various plants that would be consumed by the little green critters.  Usually spray late in the day when the wind is calm.  Never spray on anything in bloom that the bees like.  I've never had any bee problems (related to sevin use anyway :roll:) 

[taxiron]

The beetles have been on my bushes for about a week, and they have the top leaves ate on some of the bushes. Today I tried the dishsoap mixed with water in a spray bottle. I sprayed it directly on the beetles being careful not to get it on the berries, within 5 seconds the beetles were dead.  I think this is the answer to my problem. I think I might have mixed it too strong  soap and water 50/50 (but it worked)  Thanks Much taxiron