Ways to Kill a Japanese Beetle

Japanese beetles are most active during warm and sunny days. They eat heavily during the day. During the cool morning hours they are sluggish. This is the best time to kill Japanese beetles using these natural methods:

If you do not mind handling Japanese beetles, hand pick them early in the morning, before 7 o'clock. Pour liquid dishwashing detergent into a bucket of warm water. Use a bucket big enough to drown the number of beetles meeting their fate. Wear gloves to protect your fingers. Beware: The Japanese beetles will play dead when they are disturbed, hoping they be will be mistaken for dead and be left alone. Remove each beetle off of the plant. Kill the Japanese beetles by placing them in the warm, soapy water, drowning them.

For those people who prefer not to handle the beetle, use the following method to kill the Japanese beetles (also to be done before 7 a.m.) Fill a large bucket with warm water, add dishwashing detergent and have it near the plant infested with the Japanese beetles. Place a large cloth (big enough to hold all the beetles) under the plant. Shake the plant until the all beetles fall onto the cloth. Fold the cloth inward, making sure all beatles are inside. Hold the cloth over the large bucket, open the cloth out and shake the beetles into the warm, soapy water.

Kill the Japanese beetles by planting some 4 o'clock flowers. Japanese beetles love to eat 4 o'clocks, but they are poison to them. Japanese beetles will die after eating the 4 o'clock leaves.

Japanese beetle traps. Readily available at garden centers, these traps contain scents to attract the beetles to the traps. The traps will attract beetles from a distance. (Japanese beetles can fly up to 5 miles). The traps should be hung a distance of at least 30 feet from gardens or ornamental plants. While they are effective at killing the Japanese beetles, the traps do have some disadvantages. They may attract more beetles than you can handle. Also, as the traps fill up with dead beetles, the smell can be very unpleasant.

Studies released from the Agricultural Research Service in Wooster, Ohio indicate that Japanese beetles roll over on their backs and become paralyzed for several hours after eating geranium petals (www.sciencedaily.com, 3-08-10). While they seem to recover within 24 hours in the lab, out in the real world, natural predators may kill Japanese beetles while they are in their debilitated state. So, if you want to experiment, try planting some geraniums and keeping ducks; chickens; turkeys; pigs; meadowlarks or cardinals (Japanese beetle predators) around, ready to gobble them up after they have eaten the geranium leaves.

Hopefully Japanese beetles will not visit your garden this year. If they do, have your plan of attack ready to kill those annoying Japanese beetles.

Sources:
Bug Busters. Bernice Lifton
www.greenthumbarticles.com
www.sciencedaily.com