Japanese beetles invasion!!

[sunnyportsmouth]

All .. New here. I am in Seacoast NH. I have a small backyard orchard with apple, cherry, plum and apricot trees. Year after year I struggle to keep up with Japanese beetles. They are the most devastating to cherry and plum dwarf trees. I have tried JB traps that caught a lot last year plus I sprayed Malathion which worked but more keep coming back In few days. This year i see them again and just cant seem to shake them off. I do cover sprays every 2 weeks - captan + malathion. Malathion helps for 2-3 days with JB but the residual presence does not stay long enough to protect trees for atleast 2-3 weeks. I started to look into Imidan to replace Malathion but looks like it cannot be shipped anymore since it is categorized poisonous now (as per Keystone). Another option Assail- has anybody tried it? Carabaryl seems similar to Malathion with not much of a residual activity on the plant which would bring back JB. Note - I also treat the Turf to get rid of grubs.
Has anyone found the solution to JBs? Please advise.

 

[jwill1776]

Japanese Beatles have been getting worse at my place the last couple of years.

I tried traps, I'm convinced they attract in more JBs to the area than they catch so stopped using them.

Imidam is my main pesticide for my apple trees, but when the JB show up I switch to Sevin. The old Sevin formula was Carabaryl which worked great, the new formula is zeta-cypermethin, I've been using it for the last two months and it seems to provide 1-2 weeks of protection.

 

[Prof.Kent]

JB traps are pheromone traps so they attract JB's. So put them in your neighbor's yard. :-)
Call round to your local elevators/seed stores and see if they sell Imidan. Works well on JBs.
For small fruit trees you have to kill fast or they can really hurt the tree.
Someone makes grub killer (before JBs pupate) that can stop them before they fly up to your trees.

 

[Big Nasty]

Release a bunch of these predators. They are my heroes this time of year.

 

[sunnyportsmouth]

Release a bunch of these predators. They are my heroes this time of year.

What are those?

 

[Big Nasty]

https://bygl.osu.edu/node/1102

I think they are some kind of “robber fly”. They are pretty acrobatic and kill all kinds of other insects. I was shocked he stayed still for me to take a pic the other day. Like you stated earlier, Jap Beetles swarm my cherry and plum trees more than the others. I can normally keep them at bay with about 3 sprays a few weeks apart. This year, I noticed them June 22nd in Kansas.

 

[BobinCt]

Fruit trees are lots of work. It’s impossible to get a good crop of fruit by just planting/caging and neglecting the trees. At least for me anyway. Every insect attacks my trees.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I found this one the other day in the nursery, I would assume it killed the Japanese Beetle as well. Assassin bug (wheel bug).

 

[Hoytvectrix]

JB traps are pheromone traps so they attract JB's. So put them in your neighbor's yard. :-)
Call round to your local elevators/seed stores and see if they sell Imidan. Works well on JBs.
For small fruit trees you have to kill fast or they can really hurt the tree.
Someone makes grub killer (before JBs pupate) that can stop them before they fly up to your trees.

Typically, controlling white grubs is only effective at protecting the turf, and those types of applications are only when you can adequately predict where you have an outbreak based on previous year's data. The grub control products are only effective on larvae, and adults can travel miles, making mapping and controlling their populations almost futile.