Apr 2, 2012 – Japanese Beetles Forever
QUESTION:
What is the best chemical to control Japanese beetles?
ANSWER:
I spoke with one of our long time sales representatives in the upper Northeast, and one thing is a fact here. Once these beetles settle in they are there to stay, and the Japanese Beetle is never going to be eradicated from the U.S. It was accidentally introduced into the U.S. about 100 years ago and found the Northeast states to its liking. It also has been found now and then in California, Texas, and a few other more western states, but successfully eradicated. As far as I know it is not currently an issue in Arizona, where you are, so hopefully you don't believe you are dealing with Japanese Beetles there at this time. If you really believe you have them you absolutely need to confirm it and report it to the AZ Dept. of Agriculture.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
What is the best chemical to control Japanese beetles?
ANSWER:
I spoke with one of our long time sales representatives in the upper Northeast, and one thing is a fact here. Once these beetles settle in they are there to stay, and the Japanese Beetle is never going to be eradicated from the U.S. It was accidentally introduced into the U.S. about 100 years ago and found the Northeast states to its liking. It also has been found now and then in California, Texas, and a few other more western states, but successfully eradicated. As far as I know it is not currently an issue in Arizona, where you are, so hopefully you don't believe you are dealing with Japanese Beetles there at this time. If you really believe you have them you absolutely need to confirm it and report it to the AZ Dept. of Agriculture.
This beetle is a two-fold problem. The larvae are white grubs that can cause serious damage to turf, feeding on the roots, and the adults feed on the foliage and fruits of a great many agricultural and ornamental plants. They may feed in large accumulations of dozens of beetles on the same area of that plant, causing great damage by skeletonizing the leaves and leading to defoliation.
There are insecticides that will successfully kill the adults or larvae, but never to the point that you can consider them to be 100% gone in those areas where they are well established. Adult beetles can be killed with contact insecticides applied to them and the foliage they are feeding on, and products like cyfluthrin, bifenthrin, and carbaryl work well to kill them. This at least limits the damage done to the plants. Larvae likewise are unlikely to be eradicated in turf, but applications of insecticides like imidacloprid do work well to reduce their numbers to a tolerable level. There also are traps for these beetles that will capture large numbers of the adults, but whether or not this actually reduces the numbers of the beetles in an area is difficult to say.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
