We’re currently waging a war… in our backyard.
These little buggers think they are taking over.
They are nasty, destructive creatures. And, they must be destroyed. (Singing “Bad Boys, Bad Boys, whatchoo gonna do, whatchoo gonna do when they come for you.”)
So far, they have eaten up our maple tree, ferns, petunias and roses (Eek! My roses are all holey). It was so depressing, I couldn’t even bring myself to take a photo of the damage.
Unfortunately, the majority of “fixes” are not even close to natural or organic. And, you may or may not know, but we don’t dig the chemicals. At all.
So, Ryan went searching for a safe alternative (although not safe for those dang beetles… they can die, the sooner the better).
We purchased a beetle trap, which works like a charm. The bag is almost full within 24 hours (disgusting). It has a bait on the top and then the beetles hit the top and fall into the bag, where they cannot escape.
We also found Veggie Pharm, which is part of a line that I’ve been thinking of trying anyhow.
(Veggie Pharm here)
It seems to be working well so far. After spraying it on the tree, the beetles seemed to disperse. So, that’s promising.
The bottle says it kills garden pests, powdery mildew and horticulture fungus. It’s made of organic soap, organic peppermint oil, organic soybean oil and organic garlic extract.
(Note: If you use any of these Pharm products, please don’t spray them during the day. They need to be sprayed at night and rinsed in the morning. They are made of oils, which will scorch and kill your plants if they are sprayed during the day.)
Do you have any bugs taking residence in your yard???
Damn those beetles. I’m watching a special on them right now – they’ve attacked 70% of the mountain trees. Ugh. When you win the battle, come out to CO and work for the forest service. They could use a battle winner.
Good to know and hope you win the battle! These dang Japanese beetles have eaten their way thru Colorado’s forests for the past few yrs. UGH!
And I was all about the Japanese b/c I heart sushi. I can say that b/c I’m Asian. It’s like I have a waiver.
I ate those little bugs…not only do they attatck everythign living the attatck our pool!!!!
I JUST noticed that Japanese beetles are attacking flowers on my deck. I had noticed one pair a few weeks ago, but they seem to have multiplied. I will be striking back tonight.