How to Make Bug Juice to Deter Japanese Beetles and Other Bugs

While in my garden replacing some tomato plants that were destroyed by a recent hail storm, I noticed that my sage bush was loaded with blooms, which were getting ready to open. At first I was thrilled at the prospect of seeing these lovely purple flowers, but my joy quickly turned to despair and I cringed as I remembered a dreaded foe that would soon be arriving: the Japanese beetle. These annoying little varmints almost destroyed every plant bloom in my garden last year. They devoured the blooms and leaves on my sage, oregano and lavender plants, they feasted on the corn silk protruding from the ears of sweet corn, and my lilac bush and willow tree died because of their destruction. Last year I vowed these pests would never again wreak havoc on my garden. I would find a way to fight them, and I think I have with "bug juice."

Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles are about the size of a nickel, and are ugly boogers with a dark green thorax and head and copper-colored wings. Not only are they ugly, they are also clumsy fliers, often dropping several feet when they run into something, as if they are dazed from the impact. They overwinter in the ground as grubs and emerge in June as beetles when the temperature rises into the mid to upper eighties. Because I work during the day and they only come out when the day is at its hottest, it has always been hard for me to find them, let alone kill them.

In the past, when I was fortunate enough to find them, I would combat the Japanese beetle with a bucket of sudsy water, grabbing them as fast as I could and plunging their squirming bodies into the watery depths. However, I was not always around when they were active, so I had to start thinking of other ways to fight them. I had read that they hated garlic and was planning to plant some last fall or early this spring, as I practice organic gardening and will not use chemicals on my plants, but I forgot. I decided to focus my search to the Internet and one site jogged my memory of what a farmer friend told me years ago, that the best way to get rid of bugs is to repel them with bug juice, because bugs will not eat plants if they detect the remains of their relatives on or near them. So this year I am going to try bug juice to rid my garden of the Japanese beetle.

How to Make Bug Juice

To make your bug juice you first need some Japanese beetles, preferably newly dead ones. Put a cup of them in an old blender or use a mortar and pestle and grind them up to as fine a powder as you can. Mix the pulverized beetle bodies with a pint of water, let set for 24 hours, and strain into a spray bottle. Spray beetle juice on your plants in the morning before the beetles wake up.

If you just cannot bring yourself to crush the Japanese beetles, or any other type of bug, consider using two garlic cloves, a hot pepper, one-half teaspoon of dishwashing liquid and one-half teaspoon of vegetable oil. Make and use the same way as the bug juice.

Sources: Wikipedia, Personal Experience, USDA