Prepare Yourselves For Japanese Beetles

Added on:  June 5, 2012 @ 1:55 pm

It all starts around this time. The Japanese Beetles emerge from a warmed soil and begin to hunt for food. It is not long before they mate and the female burrows into the soil and lays her eggs. Forty to sixty eggs in her lifetime! These developing beetles then spend the next 10 months in the soil as white grubs. These grubs feed on the roots of turfgrasses and vegetable seedlings, surviving in any soil in which plants can live. As these grubs chew off the roots, they reduce the ability of the grass to take up enough water to withstand the stresses of hot and dry weather, resulting in large, dead patches. As the grubs destroy your lawn, the mature beetles feed on over 300 species of plants, devouring leaves, flowers and overripe or wounded fruit. A tree that has been severely damaged by Japanese Beetles appears to have been scorched by fire.

One of the most devastating pests of urban landscapes in the United States, Japanese Beetles are a force to be reckoned with. Traveling and eating in groups, they do the most damage. The beetles are most active on warm, sunny days and prefer plants in direct sunlight. When laying eggs, the female beetle seeks out moist, grassy areas, as adequate moisture is needed to keep eggs and newly-hatched grubs from drying out. Excessive rainfall or heavy watering of lawns does not bother them. June is the month they descend upon us, as adults emerge from the soil and begin feeding on plants. It is most intense over a 4 to 6 week period beginning in late June, after which the terrorizing beetles gradually die off.

Now is the time to prepare yourself.  Though it has begun, we have time to stop them from destroying our gardens.  At Strange’s, our mission is your gardening success and we mean it.  We want you to arm yourself, and not give up without a fight.  You’ve worked too hard on that pristine lawn and perfectly healthy garden to let the Japanese Beetle win.  Below we share a few products you can find at Strange’s that will put the odds in your favor.