Japanese Beetle Trap Hack

I've been using this hack for the last two years and have had great results.

What makes a Japanese Beetle trap better than using an insecticide?  The trap uses a sexual attractant rather than a chemical which is bad for the environment and bad for you, too.

Also, there is the argument that by using an attractant you will lure beetles from other yards into your yard.  My thought on this is that all Japanese Beetles are bad and as long as they go into the trap (and they will) who cares whence they came.

A Japanese beetles lives between 30 to 45 days.  Females feed, mate, and lay between 1 and 5 eggs.  Then they repeat this process every 24 to 48 hours until their life span is completed.  So you can see that if you do nothing the beetles will multiply exponentially.

I was late putting out traps the first year.  The second year I put the traps out as soon as I saw a few beetles.  But this year I am putting out the traps before I see any beetles.

The University of Minnesota Extension

According to the above chart I better get my traps ready pronto.  We usually start seeing them around July 4th but I want to trap as many as possible so I need to be ready.

Japanese Beetles defoliate trees when they are beetles and eat the roots of your grass when they are in the grub phase.  So they are doing damage even when you can't see them.

How do I know if I am actually decreasing the population of Japanese Beetles in my yard?  First of all, whenever I dig in the soil I look for grubs.  Every shovel full of soil revealed multiple grubs when we first purchased this house.  I now maybe find only 1 or 2 grubs every year when I dig.

Also, I have noticed less Japanese Beetles on my roses and fruit trees.  Defoliating a tree or bush stresses it.  It doesn't kill it outright but repeated defoliation can eventually kill part or all of a tree or bush.  

The first year I put out traps I would gather at least 1 gallon of Japanese Beetles per trap every week and I had out 3 traps.  I trapped for 4 to 5 weeks.  That's a lot of beetles.

The second year I put out 2 traps and collected 1/2 gallon in each milk jug every week.  So you can that the number of beetles has dropped.

On to the trap itself.  I use the Spectracide Japanese Beetle trap.

I replace the bottom portion of the bag with an empty plastic milk or fruit drink jug.  See how the bag narrows and then flares out again.  I make my cut about 2 inches beneath the narrow portion of the bag.  You keep the top portion of the bag but attach a gallon milk jug using a twist tie.  Tie beneath the threaded part of the milk jug because this will help to keep the milk jug attached to the plastic bag.

Add your attractant after you have the milk jug attached because it works so fast that beetles will be dive bombing you to get to the attractant.  The attractant smells good, kind of like cloves.  When you buy your bags make sure to get an extra attractant for every trap you put out.  The kit comes with one but I find that they only last about a month.

Next, I attach the trap to a tomato cage.  Why use a cage?  It keeps the trap from blowing around in windy weather, it helps when you need to mow because it can easily be moved, and you can move it if you think it isn't seeing enough beetle action.

That round disc on the yellow portion is the attractant.

I remove my milk jugs the night before trash pick up day.  I save the milk jug cap so all I do is remove the twist tie, put on the cap, say ewwwwwwwwwwww, and then throw it in the trash.  Why not use the bag and dispose of the bag.  First off, that would require buying new bags that are smaller than a milk jug.  I have seen beetles crawl out of a filled bag before. With a bag, they can crawl out of if the bag gets ripped in the trash truck.   Ewwwww

Look at how many are in this plastic jug!!!

With this method you will only buy the attractant every year.  FYI look for the attractant at the end of summer when it goes on sale.  The attractant is sealed and will last as long as you do not open it.

FYI this method does not work with the traps that have a ziploc bag.  I found those to be the least effective in keeping the beetles in and not touching you when changing the bag.  AND again if you use this type you will need to buy more bags. 

How does the trap work?  If you have ever watched a Japanese Beetle then you know that they are not the most graceful of flyers.  The beetle smells the attractant and flies towards the sexy odor.  They fly right into the yellow plastic, they drop down into the container, and then they can't fly back out. 

You will need to change your plastic jug if it starts to smell from decomposing beetles.  That odor will over ride the attractant and they will not be drawn to the trap.

Where do I place the trap?  Place it away from the trees and bushes that they like to eat the leaves.  I sometimes move my traps around if I find beetles in an area where I do not have traps.  You will soon know where the hot spots are in your yard.

I remove my traps once the beetles disappear, which in our area tends to be mid August.

I hope that this helps you to rid your yard of the Japanese Beetle.  This insect shouldn't be here.  It is not indigenous to the U.S. and by trapping you are helping to keep the Japanese Beetle from destroying fruit trees.  There are at least 300 species of plants that are a host for the Japanese Beetle.

Happy Trapping

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Japanese Beetle Trap Hack

It is amazing how well these traps are working.  The beetles just fly into the bag.

I set up the third trap today and used the trap hack that Hartwood Roses posted about last week.  I used a large water bottle (half gallon???)  and a tomato cage in my version.  She posted an update on her traps today. Read about it here.

First, I cut the bag off just below the narrow portion.

I then placed the neck of the water bottle into the bag and used a piece of plastic twine tied just below the ribs that hold the cap in place.  A twist tie would work better but I didn't have one right at the moment.

Then using the same plastic twine I suspended the trap in the middle of the tomato cage.  I used the tomato cage to help keep the traps from blowing sideways in the high winds that we have had the last two days.  The beetles are not very good flyers and when the trap is blowing around it is hard for the beetles to land on the trap.  Also, I had a stash of cages so no extra money was spend except for the initial costs of the traps.

Yesterday I mentioned that they say not to hang in trees or by plants.  I have found that my plum tree is a Japanese beetle magnet.  In the past years the top of the tree has had a swarm of beetles flying around.  But today the top of the tree was without beetles and the only place I could find beetles were on the limb right around the trap.

The second trap that I hung yesterday was moved out into the yard as was the new third trap.  After relocating the traps I walked around my yard looking for beetles.  Normally my rose bushes are favorite places for beetles to snack on but today there were no beetles to be found.

Where were they?  They were in the traps.  The two traps that I hung yesterday are filling up fast.  By Thursday I will need to remove the bag on the trap in the plum tree. At that time I will either replace with a gallon ziploc bag or modify the trap to accommodate a large water bottle or milk jug.

The more beetles that I kill this year are less beetles laying eggs in the ground to hatch next year.  I don't see ever being able to eliminate beetles all together but if I can keep them off my trees and roses I will be happy.

The Dreaded Japanese Beetle and How to Get Rid of Them

First off, as bugs go, these are nasty little buggers.  I've lived with them long enough and tolerated their destructive ways, but no more.  I'm packing pheromones and not afraid to use them.

The perpetrator.

Google

 The Japanese beetles was first spotted in New Jersey in 1916 after it was accidentally introduced into the United States from Japan where it is not a major pest.  Here in the US the beetles skelotinize leaves of plants and trees.

 University of Kentucky

The life cycle of the Japanese beetle is such that it is suggested that you treat both for the beetles and the grubs that are in the soil.  Those grubs are nasty looking.  I rarely see grubs when I am digging in the soil but I am sure they are there.

University of Kentucky

I've decided that I am going to use traps to help with the destruction that the Japanese beetles are doing to my fruit trees and roses.  The use of traps is controversial but I do not want to use chemicals in my yard or around my fruit trees.

While reading some of my favorite blogs, I ran across a post by Hartwood Roses .  She has a fantastic hack for the beetle traps that not only save money on bags but also keeps critters from tearing open the bag of beetles looking for a snack.  Check it out.

There has been some research that shows that traps lure more beetles into your yard than if you didn't have the trap.  My feeling is that I don't care where the beetles come from because my goal is to kill 'all the Japanese beetles'. I could care less if I am luring my neighbors beetles into my yard, as long as I kill them.  I'm sure my neighbor doesn't care because their roses take a hit every year.  I just can't see using chemicals and then eating the fruit from the trees that I treat to kill the beetles.  I may get sick and die from the chemicals but at least I don't have bugs on the leaves of my trees and plants....NO THANK YOU.  I'm going to give these traps a whirl and see how it goes.

The wind was almost unbearable today so I was unable to install the traps on a wire frame out in the yard but I will do that tomorrow.  You are suppose to hang the traps in the open and away from trees and plants.  I did hang them from two of my fruit trees which you are not suppose to do but I wanted to see if the beetles would be interested in the trap.

Were they interested????  Oh my gosh. I laid one trap on the ground while I attached the other one to a limb of the apple tree.  When I looked down there were three beetles on the trap trying to get into the bag.

I hung the second trap and went and got R to check it out.  When we got close to the traps we could see them flying into the bags.  It's amazing.  They fly into the yellow plastic part and drop down into the bag.  The bag kept blowing around and some of the beetles were having difficultly hitting the bag. This will not be a problem once the wind calms down.

There are several companies that make these traps and they are basically the same.  There is a hard plastic frame that the plastic collection bag hangs from, a plastic bag, and a pheromone and attractant disc.  The pheromone lures them in using the possibility of sex as the attractant.  Then there is also the scent of fruit or flower to attract those not interested in a hook up.  The smell is actually quite pleasant and I thought it smelled like a sweet flower and clove mixture.

Tomorrow I will attempt the milk jug hack on the other brand that I purchased.  This is very appealing to me because I do not want to empty a bag or even come close to any kind of contact with these beetles.  The milk jug option means I can remove the jug, cap it, and toss it.

The style that I hung today has a ziploc bag that hangs from the frame.  I think I can use gallon size ziploc bags and a hole punch to replicate the set up.  Rather than emptying the bag, I can just remove it, staple it shut, and  toss it. 

You can buy replacement pheromone/attractant for each brand so that next year you just buy that part and you are ready to go.  I think I will try and buy those at the end of the year when they go on sale.  They are good as long as you do not open the package.  The pheromone/attractant is suppose to last 6-8 weeks once it is opened.

Wish me luck.

See the sedum???

The area just to the left of the porch step gets quite hot. I have tried several different plants but I think I have finally hit upon the right combination in both appearance and durability.


Remember the photo of the plant I posted with all the hail pellets??? Well here it is now.......along with some Autumn Joy sedum I brought over from the other house.

Disregard the peeling paint on the house in the background. How come every photo I post of Gear Acres shows peeling paint????

Today I harvested half of the produce grown at Gear Acres. One Asian pear!!!! Tomorrow after I rest, I will harvest the other 50%....a rather smallest Granny Smith apple.

I have to tell you I really like the looks of the Asian pear trees. I like the structure of the tree and the color and substance of the leaves. It appears that the Japanese beetles are not attracted to the tree either. I couldn't find one leaf that had any areas of damage.

I should rest so I am capable of completing the harvesting at Gear Acres. Makes me tired just to think about it.