Japanese Beetles Cause Headaches for Homeowners

One part of summer most homeowners don’t like is having to deal with pests. This year Japanese beetles are causing a headache for homeowners.

“We’ve had problems with them before but this year was much worse than any other year I’d say,” says Jontue Austin, a homeowner dealing with Japanese beetles.  “They really just did a number on the trees.”

Japanese beetles have really been bugging people this summer.

“I had seen them buzzing around a little bit just kind of thought they were flies for some reason,” added Austin. “They just kept going to town on our trees.”

 Homeowners like the Austins aren’t alone.

 “The damage they cause are that leaves will be eaten,” says John Henning, a gardening expert with Dundee Nursery in Plymouth. “They are more like skeletonized. It’s not like they are eating them from the outside in. Instead, they are eating from the inside and leaving the veins of the trees.”

There are parts of the summer when Japanese beetles are more likely to appear.

“I would start looking for them in the early part of July,” says Henning. “So usually by mid-June next year is when you start seeing the beetles out there.  You can start spraying right away that’s another way to control them once they are out of the ground.”

Take Action Now

Even though most of the Japanese beetles are gone right now, you should still prepare your property for next year.

“Right now you need to start preventing them for next year,” added Henning. “There are products you can put in the soil and the shelf you’ll find things like Bug-Geta. We have one called Grub Free Zone. What that’s going to do is kill the grubs that the beetles are laying right now.”

 There are also certain species of plants and trees the beetles prefer. Those include linden trees and birch trees. The also like fruit trees, especially cherry and plum. They’ll attack your rose bushes too, said Henning.

To learn more about ways to prevent Japanese beetles from damaging your trees and shrubs you can visit Dundee Nursery in person. The University of Minnesota Extension website also has tips on Japanese beetles.

Plymouth