Japanese Beetles on Roses

[@camirichardson7485]

Japanese beatles here in North Carolina are the worst! Every single rose gets at least 2 to 4 beetles. I fight them with my little bucket of soapy water, and treat the lawn in late May as the grubs start to make their way to the surface but my garden gets destroyed every year from late June to early August. So, this year I've decided to do a major pruning of my roses now that the beatles have arrived. I'm hoping for a new flush of flowers and healthy foliage by the time the beatles are gone.

[@OlgaCarmody]

That is a tough thing to do, to cut all the future blooms… I see other people do it too.

[@graceinthegarden9151]

When I lived in the south, Japanese beetles destroyed my flowering garden plants, TN. When I lived a bit more south of here 2 years ago, MO, also had Japanese beetles. I would go out in the mornings cut the roses and fed them to my chickens. Yes, some flew away I'm sure, but since I gardened organically, it was a "treat" for my chickens.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Yes, chickens! Those are the natural enemies of Japanese beetles. I grew up with all sorts of animals on the farm, don't have them now but maybe one day will have several chickens...

[@graceinthegarden9151]

@@OlgaCarmody I pray that you will again someday. I too hope to have them again since I am settled after the move. Have a lovely week.

[@ourcozygarden]

Really informative. It’s our first year having noticeable japanese beetles in our garden. Thank you for the tips.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Glad it was helpful!

[@kathleenwilliamson174]

I live in southern Missouri and every year Japanese beetles arrive/emerge right on time. I use several defenses to "control" them lol. I have resident armadillos that eat the grubs - when they are managed I don't have issues with them digging my gardens - little dug holes in the yard do not bother me when I know they are eating the grubs. I also use the pick and squish method when I start to see the beetles, that is also when I hang the traps. I do use the traps with great success. I live in the country so any that fly in I take care of also. I know the traps attract them, but I also see elderberry, wild roses, black berry bushes and wild plum trees covered with them down the roads. If they have food elsewhere they'll stay away. A couple years ago they were so bad, they devastated gardens, trees and bushes everywhere. I tried everything and finally tried the traps, they were the only thing that saved my roses and gardens. I love the tips Olga, you have helped me with my roses so much. I believe that every year and area is different and you should do what works for you and be open to new tactics. I love that we can share ideas, other gardeners have helped me so much with their ideas and tips.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Thank you, Kathleen! I don’t know if I would be able to face such an invasion of beetles! I finally got to see one in my garden today, he got himself drowned in the watering can. That is it for now. And sharing garden ideas is great way to learn! Thank you!

[@miriamgrutz2132]

How smooth you dodged that bug. Lol

[@brendawilliams8161]

I have never seen a Japanese beetle in my garden and I don’t often hear of it as a concern in my area. But we DO get a lot of starlings in my area and often I will have a whole flock eatting things from the grass. In fact I can hear them chattering away as I type this. They are a very common bird in my area. If Japanese beetles nest in the ground I bet the Starlings are getting them for me 🙏

[@OlgaCarmody]

Yes, count your blessings, those little busy starlings! They do come into my garden, but not in big numbers.

[@thegonzalezs4953]

I did use the traps last year , and I think they did a excellent job . Some nursery had a video on how and where to put the traps . It said you suppose to put the traps away from your plants ,you got to see which way the wind blows so you put the traps there before your garden so they fly towards the trap and keep them away from your flowers. But when you see a good amount of beetles 🪲, you got to dispose the bag and send it with the garbage truck .

[@OlgaCarmody]

I am glad that those traps worked for you. I don’t even have to use them, since my population is small. This year , not a single one so far.

[@thegonzalezs4953]

@@OlgaCarmody I’m happy you don’t get them , we do get it a lot here in Ohio . But I haven’t seeing none this year so far . And I hope I don’t 😊

[@moniquemckenna6795]

Thank you for this it was very enlightening. I put the beetles in a pail of water, but never thought of the soap. I stopped growing lilies the beetles ate the ones I had to the ground. I got rid of the plants. Now I am worried about my roses, as I am seeing quite a few beetles in my Miss Kim lilacs. I will be on the hunt for those nasty bugs!! As always I enjoy your videos.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Yes, morning walks in the garden with soapy water can combine pleasure with necessity.

[@Robin-ci2kx]

A really good overview of the possible solutions that seems to bring more problems than they're worth. I 'm glad you mentioned all the solutions and how and why they don't really work. I pick my small number of them off and knock them into soapy water- your harmless solution that works well and is easy.. They seem to prefer my yellow roses and leave my deep red ones alone every year. My yard is strictly organic and I've noticed that I have some moles who eat my worms (i have lots) and I believe they may also eat the larvae of Japanese beetles. Not sure, but I don't see the brown patches in my lawn that were there when I moved in and it was a poisoned lawn. Of course I do, still, have the moles which some people find a bad thing. They aerate the soil but you are stuck with mole mounds of dirt. And my lack of brown spots might also be the copious amount of Dutch White clover in my grass which may have solved that problem by adding much needed nitrogen. One problem I had that the clover has almost completely gotten rid of, is weeds. They aren't all gone but most of them are. I mulch mow and put all those rich clippings back into the grass, which, since they're made of grass and clover, they put what made the lawn right back into it. So this is all off topic so I will leave it here and go out and knock those pesky beetles into my glass of soapy water. And I will appreciate my starlings, another foreign introduction, more than I already have.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Hi Robin, this year I decided not to fight clover in my grass and just relax and make sure I do regular moving to keep clover short. Surprise! I like it, clover stays very close to the ground and over perform weeds!!! The only thing is, bees go for the flowers and my kids are reluctant to run barefoot on the grass. Happy gardening!

[@mengshucain8722]

We applied beneficial nematodes all throughout our garden recently, it seemed to be working well - saw a couple yellowed/infected dead grubs when setting new garden boxes. Even though beetles will still fly from the neighbours' yards, the more grubs we kill, the less beetles there will be over all. And some nematodes also kill termites, bad nematodes etc. Also been spraying Neem oil, it smells really bad for a day or two, so I'm pretty sure that's going to ruin their appetite😅 Since one of our neighbors said their yard gets swarms of beetles every summer(we're in north Carolina also), I'm going to be extra careful, and try using wintergreen and peppermint essential oil around our garden next, they are supposed to be very efficient repellents even when there's hormone lure close by.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Good tips there! Yes, Neem oil can ruin everyone’s appetite for a day or two. Thank you!

[@mythriftedhomeandgarden830]

I need to check out the nematodes. Also my first time to hear about wintergreen and peppermint EO and I am a big essential oil user. Will try that as well. But how do you use the EOs in the garden? Thank you!

[@arlenebirch]

We have made two applications of beneficial nematodes this spring. We did the same last year. I think it helped reduce the number of those beetles. I’m hoping for improvement this year. I live in northern New Haven county CT. I have not seen any yet but I know they are coming. Yes, I do the soap and water bucket… honestly these guys are so yucky they make me nauseous! 6-8 weeks is a good part of our summer in CT and having it ruined by these bugs is terrible.

[@OlgaCarmody]

I recently went to New Cornwall and saw a lot of bare trees there. Apparently they have a very big infestation of some sort of moth there, because of dry weather last year. And I realized yesterday that Japanese Beetles, when they lay their eggs into the ground during dry weather, next year population is small. Maybe you will see a minimal amount of them this year! Mine are not here at all.

[@arlenebirch]

That’s great news! After all the other bugs my roses have been fighting this summer they deserve a break (as do I). We will see ❤️

[@mythriftedhomeandgarden830]

I just talked about the same topic in my latest video. I am currently having a big Japanese Beetle infestation in my gardens and been manually getting rid of them. I didn’t know of neem oil. Will try that to help decrease the number of beetles and grubs, hopefully, even if it’s next year. Thank you for the tip!

[@OlgaCarmody]

Those beetles look horrible on your rose!

[@mythriftedhomeandgarden830]

@@OlgaCarmody Don’t they? They are quite terrible and are really skeletonizing my roses. The very example of what you described here in your video.

[@adaliblthe9653]

Saw my first J beetle at a local garden 🫠 Thank-you Olga for researching this subject and sharing even tho you need it for your own garden! 🤍🤍 It’s so interesting how they choose a plant because it’s been eaten by others before them. When I was little my dad paid my little brother and I one cent per beetle we picked of his crops. We picked thousands!! Not sure he expected that kind of diligence from us. 😂 I hear soapy water works but we used gasoline, masked the smell of those beetles.🤢

[@OlgaCarmody]

My, one cent a beetle! You guys made a fortune! Haha

[@adaliblthe9653]

@@OlgaCarmody we really did 😂 And, hey, the world was a several thousand beetles better 😂

[@adunn5173]

Here in PA 6b I saw 10 on 1 rose the other day. They are decimating my roses, zinnia's & dahlia's

[@dreamagood8321]

Chickens love Japanese beetles!

[@OlgaCarmody]

Hey, we should all have chickens just for that, to get rid of Japanese beetles!

[@dreamagood8321]

@@OlgaCarmody yes I had chickens before & would catch them & put them in the chicken coop & it was fun to watch them run after them .. lol 😂

[@elisabeth6108]

Every year I have tons here in Maine on my roses and raspberries. They haven't arrived yet this year. I wish there was a good solution! I handpick - tedious but at least it's satisfying to kill the nasty little critters.I didn't know about Been and will try that too.

[@OlgaCarmody]

My beetles are not here yet! I hope that they will not arrive at all, since we had such a dry spring last year. Beetles eggs are sensitive to dry soil.

[@elisabeth6108]

If you're feeling left out I can send you some...😉

[@heavenstream1]

Hi! please help I went away and came back to see all my rose bushes skeletonized! and lots of beetles. I try to drown them all but, what do I do now? are my plants dead? Should I prune? how much? should I wait till fall or winter to prune? I'm in zone 7b thank you

[@OlgaCarmody]

Well, no panic, my dear gardener. Since you were gone, Japanese Beetles had their lunch on your roses. Try to get as many as you can into soapy water. Check your plants at night, when it is dark, for brown beetles (asiatic), they feed only at night. Maybe you don’t have them. Your roses will regrow. Make sure you water them and they have all the nutrients. They are tough plants and will live, you just need patience.

[@graceb2009]

Nice information ☀️🌹💓🌈🌺🏵️🍀🍒🍇💦💦