Turning Japanese: The Hungry Beetle from the Far East

Don’t let the name fool you. The Japanese Beetle might have originated on the other side of the world, but this destructive pest is a clear and present danger to your shrubs and plants here in America.

These days, customs officers confiscate foreign fruit, plants and livestock at the border – but it wasn’t always this way. Back in 1912, visitors to the United States could bring whatever they wanted into the country and that’s how the infamous Japanese Beetle was originally brought to our shores.

A pretty green and brown beetle about two-thirds of an inch long, Japanese Beetles spend most of the winter in grub form, buried underground. As June arrives, they crawl out of the ground and start feasting on whatever’s around – unlike their native Japanese ones, American gardens are like a buffet for them.

The surest sign you’ve got a Japanese Beetle problem in your garden will be skeletal leaves – leaves that resemble ‘skeletons’ because all the leaf material between the veins has been eaten away. This is the trademark of the Japanese Beetle and devastating to your plants and trees.

These greedy pests are only active for about six weeks in the early summer – but can cause plenty of damage during that time. When the adult beetles die off, though, that’s not the end of your problems.

During their active period, female beetles lay up to 100 eggs in the soil of your lawn or garden and for the rest of the year, a new generation of Japanese Beetles matures in grub-form beneath your feet. These white grubs feed off grass roots, so even if your trees and shrubs managed to survive the adult beetles, their offspring can devastate your turf over the space of the next few months.

Dealing with Japanese Beetles is a tricky proposition – and one best left to the professionals. Minor infestations can be dealt with in June and July by picking individual beetles off your plants and drowning them in soapy water. Another method is to simply plant shrubs that the beetles don’t eat – but Japanese Beetles snack on over 300 species of American foliage, so that’s easier said than done.

One thing to avoid is the use of so-called ‘beetle traps.’ Although sold at many garden centers to trap and kill Japanese Bugs, the University of Kentucky recently discovered that these commercial traps attract more bugs than they actually kill – meaning you’ll end up bringing more new bugs to your garden than you actually trap.

Tree and lawn care specialists will be able to deliver a better solution – one that deals with both the adult bugs and the grubs they leave behind. This double-hitter ultimately protects both your plants and your lawn, by preventing these insects from returning the following year.

Once the grubs are eliminated, is to repair the damage they’ve done to your lawn. Depending on how early you caught the infestation, this might just require aerating or fertilizing. If you need to reseed, tree and lawn care specialists like Aspenn Environmental Services will be able to help you choose hardy varieties of grass seed which will be more resistant to future problems.

Don’t let Japanese Beetles wreck your lawn or landscape. If you spot the tell-tale signs, such as skeletal leaves or the beetles themselves on your favorite plants, call a professional service immediately.