No idea what happened this year as opposed to the last 20 years, but so far, no japanese beetles. Upstate NY seems like ground zero for japanese beetles and they've attacked my grandma's peonies for years. Tried lures and need to reapply milky spore.

But this year all I did was run 1 continuous sheet of contractor grade weedblock down the row of 7 peonies (cutting holes for the plants a month ago when they were up, but no buds). The peonies are up and blooming for the 2nd week and.. NO BEETLES.

Does anyone know if this is a fluke or did the paper actually stop the grubs from making their way up??!!! (I used lures again ad caught a couple of beetles which may have been passing by).