Seed Talk #45 - Japanese Beetles

[@caitegraceify]

I recently found out that firefly larvae eat Japanese beetle larvae! I planted a cover crop in with my plants this year to add nitrogen and organic matter and then chopped it down as it started to go to seed, and laid it down between my plants. One night I went out to my yard and I had a free light show. I had never seen so many fireflies. I had to figure out why so I started researching (I used to be a cataloger for a library so it’s one of my favorite things to do besides growing all things green) down the rabbit hole and I found out I accidentally created the perfect environment for fireflies. The larvae of which - EAT Japanese beetle larvae!!

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

How interesting! We have a huge population of fireflies in our garden, so I bet their larvae are helping to control our Japanese beetle population, as well 💚 Thanks so much for sharing, enjoy all your fireflies, and have a lovely day! 🤗

[@gr8gardn]

I grew peach four o'clocks and noticed beetles are attracted to them but when they nibble, they drop off the plant and die quickly. The peach four o'clocks are not only pretty, they reseed and also grow back by tubers. They are not invasive and are easy to control by pulling up the seedlings in the spring. I do believe I have less JBs every year since I started growing peach four o'clocks. I don't know if all of the colors work as well but I love having 3-4' "shrubs" covered in pretty peachy flowers everyday.

[@ollieoliver5013]

Apparently the flowers are poisonous. I remember when I was little I was warned while playing with the seeds. It’s good to know it can kill Japanese beetles. Thanks for sharing.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

How incredibly interesting - and convenient! 😁 I am going to have to try this. Thanks so much for sharing, and have a lovely day! 💚🤗💚

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

@@ollieoliver5013 Good to know! Thanks for sharing, and have a fantastic day 🤗

[@kathyhubel6794]

Great video talk show! Thank you! I recently removed a lily plant from my back yard which was planted by my garage, no damage. Planted in front and since then they have totally eaten the 2 lily plants and into my snow in summer and just recently in my columbines, which they have totally eaten. I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. There is plenty in my yard. So you can now add Alberta along with British Columbia, Ontario.

[@cecilleflowerfarm]

Milky spores are very effective for me I’m lay them every fall.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Good to know! Thanks for sharing your experience, and have a lovely day 🤗

[@ginny.harrison]

I'd love for you to cover the cucumber beetle. It's as big of a pest for me as the Japanese beetle.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Great idea! Thanks so much for this suggestion, and have a wonderful day 🤗

[@bktcz]

Squash vine borers! UGH.... have not had a successful pumpkin crop yet... am determined though!!!! THANK YOU for all your inspiration and amazing advice!

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Fantastic idea! Thanks so much for this suggestion, and have a wonderful day 🤗

[@KirstinLDavidson]

I laughed out loud when you called is the “cup of death”! I have the “bottle of death” in my garden shed that I bring out all summer! Lol!!

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Oh my gosh! 😂 Hope your "bottle of death" has proven as effective as Lisa's "cup of death" for Japanese beetle control 🪲 Thanks so much for sharing, and have a fantastic day! 💚🤗💚

[@durendalawson2373]

Loved the show! Thanks for the information. I would love more information about how to get rid of flea beetles.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Great idea! Thanks so much for this suggestion and for watching 🤗 Have a wonderful day! 💚

[@stephaniestatnick]

Love the bug talks!! Grasshoppers please:)

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Thanks so much for this suggestion! So glad to hear you love talking about bugs as much as we do 🥰 Have a lovely day! 💚

[@onehubcapfarm]

My property backs up to hundreds of acres of woods and we have resident skunks. All winter I noticed how they were digging out grubs to eat all over the garden and fields and then this year I have minimal Japanese beetle pressure, not even enough to go out with the bucket for the most part (I just squish them with my fingers). Yay for nature! Now as long as they don’t start eating my earthworms I will be happy!

[@YanickaQuilt]

takes note....get skunks lol

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

So happy to hear the skunks are helping you out with Japanese beetle control! 😂 Thanks so much for sharing your experience, and have a wonderful day! 💚

[@chadrickabaugh7129]

Thanks for the info! I'm currently working my way through your course and I'm really enjoying all your website has to offer. I would love to learn more about identifying the harmful vs beneficial insects in the garden and how to attract or deter them.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Hello! I would love to do some episodes about beneficial insects, as well. Thanks so much for this great suggestion, and have a lovely day! 💚

[@fionavietje2430]

This was great! So helpful and timely. I’d love for you to cover scarlet lily beetle please!

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Oooo - that is another beautiful but destructive beetle! Thanks so much for this suggestion, and have a fantastic day 🤗

[@cbak1819]

Wow.. I've only found 2 so far.. July is our time in WNY. 2023. Thank you for this in-depth topic.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

How lucky! Hopefully they stay away the rest of the year, too 🍀🤞🍀

[@cbak1819]

@@LayneAngeloTGW Totally blessed. May have been the Christmas blizzard.. 6 ft of snow.

[@jlp4111]

I’m struggling with little grasshoppers, eating marigolds down to a skeleton.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Great suggestion! So sorry to hear about your marigolds, though 😩 Thanks so much for watching, and have a fantastic day! 🤗

[@firefli422]

Thank you for this video! I'm a first time gardener and noticed these beetles destroying some of my strawberries - I quickly learned that soapy water is a requirement when I'm out inspecting my plants.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Oh, no! 😱 Hopefully there are still some strawberries left for you to enjoy 🍓🍓🍓 Thanks for sharing, and have a wonderful day! 💚

[@cogasawara1]

This was so timely! I found my first evidence tonight on my zinnias! Thank you so much for this video! 🌸

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

😱 Hope you are able to keep them at bay and that they still leave lots of zinnias for you to enjoy! Thanks so much for watching, and have a wonderful day 💚🤗💚

[@susancoffman6516]

My worst infestation of Japanese beetles was on our asparagus fronds.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Good to know! Thanks for sharing, and have a great day 🤗

[@cbak1819]

here's my list of offender's😂 White butterfly, cucumber beetles, aphids, rollypolly or mealy bugs.. the ones that roll up, slugs and snails. Chipmunks that chomp sunflower seedlings. I did see ladybugs after aphid outbreak.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Thanks for sharing your "most wanted" list of offenders 😂 These are all great suggestions - thanks so much! 🤗

[@cherylvanriper7330]

Thank you I loved this! The birds are picking out my sunflowers!!

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

You are so welcome! 🥰 Thanks so much for watching, and have a lovely day 💚🤗💚

[@cbak1819]

Cutting off damaged leaves defiantly helps to detour infestation. But leave some on to drop them in bucket of doom. Love and God bless you all❤

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Good to know that removing the damaged leaves seems to help! Thanks for sharing ☺

[@cbak1819]

@@LayneAngeloTGW if for nothing else it looks better.

[@cbak1819]

This year so far has been very minimal.. I have, for past 4 years hunted and removed several hundreds.. with " the bucket of doom " as we call it 😂 😢 . .. Layne I think there beautiful as well. I hate killing ... but it has greatly improved the garden.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Glad to hear your "bucket of doom" is helping to reduce your Japanese beetle population 😂 Thanks for sharing your experience, and have a fantastic day! 🤗

[@YanickaQuilt]

the japanese beetles in my garden didn't get the memo that they don't like Zinnias because they were happily munching on them when I found them

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Sadly, they do love zinnias 😩 Hopefully they will leave some blooms untouched for you to enjoy! Thanks so much for sharing, and have a wonderful day 🤗

[@haleymglick]

I live in central Ca and we most definitely have them here now.

[@haleymglick]

Also I notice mine starting mid March.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

So sorry to hear that, but thanks so much for sharing! Wishing you a beautiful summer garden and a wonderful day 🤗

[@itsmewende]

Lisa I'm about 3 hrs from you on the shore in Md., they arrived in hoards late June. They have already destroyed pretty much everything. Layne, thanks for the tip about the plants the wasp seem to enjoy, they're now on my list. This morning I caught some trying to climb up the bucket, I'm really glad they don't bite. Rhonda, what's your opinion on spraying them with neem oil.?

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

So sorry to hear about the destruction Japanese beetles have caused! 😩 Yes, try planting some wasp-friendly plants to help attract some of these hardworking insects to your garden 💪 Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your experiences with us! Have a wonderful day 🤗

[@itsmewende]

@RhondaGraves217 Thanks, will do.

[@christyavey8661]

White flies/leaf hoppers. They have been a problem for years!

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Great ideas! Thanks so much for these suggestions, and have a wonderful day 🤗

[@connieshipman3731]

I tore out my rhubarb this year. It drew them in and they were more difficult to get in the soapy cup.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Eek! Good to know that they are attracted to rhubarb. Thanks so much for sharing, and have a lovely day! 🤗

[@emkayprincess425]

they are present in eastern WA now, in the Yakima valley. It's a big deal as this is an agricultural based area. :(

[@cbak1819]

I just found a wooly aphid on one of three amaranth. Wow it was big! I bent the stem back an it went flying.. I only detected one.. creepy looking thing. It hide itself in the cavity it made on side of stem.

[@jeanettebright3378]

I am also having Harlequin bugs eating my flowers. Have used the soapy water hand picking method for them also. Do you have any other suggestions?

[@emkn1479]

I’ve taken to smashing them when I see them. Not ideal but I don’t always have a cup of soapy water handy. Sawflies have totally turned me off to hibiscus and elderberries! I took them out because they just look so bad, so fast.

[@itsmewende]

I seen on another channel, smashing them attracts more, so I stopped.

[@emkn1479]

@@itsmewende thanks I’ll look into it

[@emkn1479]

@RhondaGraves217 yes that’s also what I found when I looked it up. Smashing is the easiest thing for me, so I’m going to continue doing it. I don’t see them flocking to my gardens post smash.

[@itsmewende]

@RhondaGraves217 Interesting, because Erin @ The Impatient Gardener just had a video up, saying not to squash them.

[@kathymcbride7074]

Just curious how long your bug hunt takes each day?

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Hello! I just asked Lisa, and she said it takes her around 10 minutes to patrol the farm every morning 🧑‍🌾 Thanks so much for watching, and have a great day! 🤗

[@tiffanyvanzeben2506]

There are plenty in Utah

[@sandrad1078]

Grasshoppers! They are ridiculous in Colorado.

[@Kelly-annStCyr]

How to determine what pets you have.

[@pamtaylor5491]

I love this! Stupid Japanese Beatles! I would to hear about any garden pest! Besides Japanese Beatles I have a problem with leaf hoppers and flea beetles. Would love to know more about them.

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

Great suggestions! Thanks so much for watching, and have a lovely day 🤗

[@Roadsidemagician]

Washington State has cases as of 2023.

[@heatherhalvorsen8446]

grasshoppers please!! 🦗🙅🏼‍♀️ destroys our zinnias, strawflower etc

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

😩Great idea! Hope they leave some zinnia and strawflower blooms for you to enjoy 🤞 Thanks so much for watching, and have a fantastic day! 🤗

[@kaileyference410]

Earwigs!!

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

😱 Good one! Thanks so much for this great suggestion, and have a fantastic day 🤗

[@melissamartin8208]

Bill Gates chem trails are killing good and bad bugs. Argh.

[@cbak1819]

I eliminated about 20 Japs removing sod around garden bed a few months ago🙌🏼

[@LayneAngeloTGW]

We are constantly reducing our lawn to expand our landscape beds, and I think that has helped to reduce our Japanese population, as well! Thanks for pointing this out 💚

[@cbak1819]

@@LayneAngeloTGW I would love to see you gardens.