Japanese Beetles 2017

Good thing about White Gold - it ripens just before the JBs show up

I still wish I had a dark red, tho

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Yes, these beetles cause a lot of damage here. I donā€™t know of anyone who can grow grapes, peaches, etc. without spraying pesticides for them.

Iā€™ve heard natural predators are birds ( for both the adults and grub ) as well as various predator insects like spiders and centipedes. I think moles also eat the grubs.

As far as natural remedies, Iā€™ve heard some people use green tea oil. Also perlite in the soil, as apparently the adults do not like course material to lay the eggs in. Theyā€™re attracted to things like peatmoss.

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I had my first round today. They must have been around for a few days and I not notice them. They started at the very tops of the tree where I didnā€™t look up. They were pretty bad. The liquid Sevin really works. I could watch them die and fall.

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They are here.Catskills N.Yā€¦ but it seems less than last yearā€¦I put milky spores down this past Fallā€¦I recommend them milky sporesā€¦the poison like most quick fixes will not be effective after a while as pests build resistanceā€¦plus you poison your selfā€¦:

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I have found a couple in the last week ā€¦ as in two. Thats a good total :slight_smile:

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I used the left over Sevin powder diluted in water. 2 tablespoons per gallon of water. Here is the results. I just bought some milky spores to be apply soon.

Tony

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Someone might have mentioned it before, but they really got after my Honeycrisp tree. The rest of the apples look pretty clean, except for the CAR. The JBā€™s havenā€™t shredded my pears like last year. Yet. Peach leaves look OK as well.

They just about defoliatied my little two foot tall Romeo cherry bush.

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Iā€™ll second that doodā€¦ Seems the only thing the HC tree is good for is attracting JBā€™s.

That would bother me a lot if the tree would reliably make an apple, but Iā€™m not seeing it.

I did notice they were hitting the top of my way too big in the first place McIntosh tree, but most other apples have been getting only light attention from the JBā€™s.

BTW, didnā€™t someone say these things have a season - - - I mean I was hoping that by now theyā€™d be done for the year. I first noticed them here on a young Stella tree on 6/13. Thatā€™s long enough.

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JB season for me is nearly over I think. Iā€™ve not seeing many at all now. Iā€™m wondering how soon I should start putting down milky spore?

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6 weeks

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Grrrr!!! And Iā€™m clean out of Sevin. Best make a run.

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The Fenitrothion I was recommended to use really did the trick. It not only got rid of the JBs, it also got rid of the June bugs which do serious damage to my plants. Actually it got rid of all the bugs on the vines which is unusual this time of year, and they really seem to be thriving. I think Iā€™ll be able to get my first real grape harvest this year.

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I searched this thread because I thought someone had mentioned that JBā€™s got after their Honeycrisp, but didnā€™t see it. But, I know I read it somewhere. How old is yer HC, and how often has it fruited?

Donā€™t you have Haralson as well? Did they mess with those?

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Are Japanese Beetles the same as June Bugs?

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No but they are in the same family, the Scarabaeidae

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They go after my HC. Many of our 4th year HC semi-dwarf produced some apples this year but our 7th year standard size are another storyā€¦very slow to produce.

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Zone 5a here in southern Wisconsinā€¦They started to show up about two weeks agoā€¦pretty thick now especially on grapes and Japanese plums, put sevin on and tried not to feel too good about the tons of little carcasses

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My Honeycrisp has been in ground since '08 and I think one year a few years ago I had a handful, then a couple years ago I had an okay crop and thatā€™s been it. Itā€™s a very nicely shaped tree, and looks for all the world like it ought to be a standout fruit tree - but its been a pretty huge bust. I really, really, did like the apples and so figured that since I have the space Iā€™ll let it hang out awhile just in case it decides to make a crop again some day.

Yes I have a Haralson tree and so far theyā€™ve not been all that interested in it.

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Thatā€™s pretty poor performance for a tree thatā€™s been in the ground for almost ten years! I remember that your Mac has been a prolific producer tho?

Our HC tree hasnā€™t put out a lot of scaffolds even after fertilizing this year. I guess I may have to try the nicking above a bud technique to induce some new branching. Just about all my other two year old apples have good scaffolds on them now, especially the two Grimes Golden trees.

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The Mac is my go-to tree. I can miss sprays on him, or not get full coverage and Iā€™ll still have a lot of good apples. They donā€™t hold up under cooking, but the flavor is really something. Itā€™s been a long while since I took pictures of most of the harvest, but hereā€™s a shot from I think '13. There were a couple other boxes, but this was the big majority off that single tree. But again, I let it get HUGE and I shouldnā€™t have. I canā€™t get close to the apples in the top nowadays.

Hereā€™s a shot of the Haralson on the tree. I think itā€™s a pretty apple, and VERY hard, they keep a long time. I have never liked the flavor all that much but a lot of folks seem to.

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