The asiatic garden beetles have destroyed everything!

13 years ago

Its been 3 years that I've been battling these suckers. I thought it was chafers (they look JUST like asiatic beetles), then I thought it was slugs...now, I am sure 100% its asiatic garden beetles.

My garden gets along fine all spring, but then every late June, I start to lose plants. This year was no different and it was the same plants as last year--my coral bells, all my herbs, yarrow, salvias, goldenrods. Some plants have NO foliage left--just the spine of the leaves.

I've been out at night, and the plants are LOADED w/the buggers. I hate them. I hate them!!

I used to do grub control, and haven't done it the pastfew years, so I guess that could be my problem. I don't care much about the lawn, but I can't have my precious perrenials devoured like this every year.

I 've never seen a japanese beetle, so i guess I am lucky in that regard.

ANyone else fighting these bugs? My neighbors are all w/out nibbles. I sprayed everything w/neem, which i hate to do b/c I am not into pest control, but I am hoping to make the plants unpalpatable at this point. My slug baits are also trapping the beetles-apparently they like saucers of beer b/c i find dozens of them drowned every morning. No slugs though!!

Between the deer, rabbits and beetles, i am not sure why I bother. I can't keep the pests away! Add the fact that we haven't had significant rain fall in almost 2 weeks, and my garden is a mmess!!!

Comments (2)

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
Many people know these beetles as June beetles. We have them BIG TIME, this year!

I had forgotten this until my husband and I were talking about how to protect our beautiful, young Allee Elm but he sprayed with a product called Surround WP a couple of years ago when the Japanese Beetles made a huge appearance. It worked great.

Surround is a kaolin clay product, formulated to be sprayed onto susceptible plants. It forms a VERY light coating of the clay on plant surfaces, repelling phytophagus insects from feeding on foliage, fruits, and veggies. It also prevents egg laying.

It's registered for Certified Organic use and can be used up to the day of harvest.

Look into it!
katob Z6ish, NE Pa
11 years ago
This is an older thread but it's exactly the same problem I have. For a while I was wondering why so many of my plants were losing their leaves down to the ribs and less... I couldn't find anything on them and had no suspects until one day I dug up a couple small brown beetles hidding in the soil at the base of the plant. After a little looking around on the internet I came across a comment about going out at night with a flashlight..... ugh. I tried it that night and the little beetles were all over the place.

I was also one to never really cared enough about the lawn to do any chemical grub control. The lawn was healthy enough to tolerate the damage.... but this has me (almost) rethinking that.

Coleus used to be so reliable but now my nice overwintered cuttings and cuttings of cuttings are mostly leafless stubs. I guess I'm just venting here. I think they don't last all summer. If I get motivated I'll head outside with a flashlight and do some brushing into a soapy bucket treatment. Just don't want the neighbors to think I'm too far off the deep end. As it is I spend way too much time in the yard.
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