Japanese Beetle Control is one of the most important parts of a successful lawn care maintenance program. There are numerous japanese beetle control tactics that involve learning what your options are in order to make the best choice for your individual situation. Japanese beetle infestations can be serious problems for home owners and professionals, alike. You can’t avoid your neighbors having a few of these beetles. However, you can take preventative steps in your own yard to keep the population down. While you may end up with a few beetles, you can reduce the number of Japanese beetle grubs that will hatch in your lawn next year.

Natural Pest Control For Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles began to appear in the eastern United States around 100 years ago.

Japanese beetles began to appear in the eastern United States around 100 years ago. The invasive arthropods were accidentally introduced from Japan to the east coast in the early 1900s, where they have since spread to many states in the north and west. They are most prevalent in the eastern half of the country, but can also be found as far west as Nebraska and Texas.

Since then, the beetle has become both a nuisance and a serious threat to agriculture due to its appetite for ornamental plants like roses or fruit trees such as pear trees. While it’s not exactly clear how these beetles ended up on our soil, there has been some speculation that they came over with shipments of iris bulbs imported from Japan at that time period—although this remains unproven.

These beetles cause damage by feeding on the foliage of hundreds of different species of plants.

While not the most harmful of all pests, Japanese beetles can be a serious problem for gardeners and farmers alike. They cause damage to plants by eating the leaves and flowers. These insects are known for their voracious appetites, and they can eat up to 300 species of plants. When they consume a plant, it leaves an empty space where there was once green foliage. The damage is apparent in many different ways:

For example, if you look closely at these beetles’ favorite targets (potato plants), you will see that they have stripped each one bare—leaving nothing but brown stems behind. If you cut open those stems now-lacy looking stalks—you will find nothing but more brown tissue inside them; this is because all of the nutrients have been drained away by these hungry critters!

In the last several decades, Japanese beetles have also become established in parts of Oregon, Washington and California.

In the last several decades, Japanese beetles have also become established in parts of Oregon, Washington and California. These regions are part of what is called the “Pacific Coast States.”

• Oregon – Japanese beetles were first found in Oregon in 1974. Since then they have spread to most areas of the state.
• Washington – The first documented appearance of this pest occurred in Seattle in 1978. As with Oregon, it has since spread throughout much of Washington State.

Japanese beetles go through a complete metamorphosis like butterflies.

Japanese beetles go through a complete metamorphosis like butterflies. Eggs hatch into larvae, which munch on the plants. The larvae then develop into pupae, which emerge as adults.

Larvae: Larvae are brown and about three-quarters of an inch long when they first appear in spring. They have a distinctive white strip down their backs and are covered with black hairs. After feeding for two weeks or so, the larvae burrow into the ground to form round cases about 1/4-inch long made of soil particles mixed with their saliva, where they rest until winter ends and it’s time to emerge as adults again.

Pupae: Pupae look like small cocoons—they’re brownish-gray or greenish-yellow in coloration with several ridges running along their outer surfaces—and remain underground during this stage (typically lasting 2–3 weeks).

A female beetle may lay between 40 and 60 eggs in a site where there is good access to food sources for emerging larvae.

The number of eggs that a female lays depends on the size of her body, how much food she has eaten and whether or not she is healthy. A female beetle may lay between 40 and 60 eggs in a site where there is good access to food sources for emerging larvae. Larvae need good access to food sources because they will consume their own weight each day during their development. A population can increase quickly each year if there are no natural controls such as predation by other insects and animals, parasites or diseases that reduce it from getting out of control.

The grubs feed on the roots of grasses, vegetables and flowers until they are ready to pupate.

The grubs feed on the roots of grasses, vegetables and flowers until they are ready to pupate. They will burrow into the soil where they will overwinter before emerging as adults in early summer. The adult Japanese beetle is a shiny metallic green with copper-coloured eyes, short wing coverings and long antennae. The adult beetles lay eggs in July or August that hatch into larvae within a week or two. The grub stage lasts about one year and it feeds on roots near the surface of the soil for 9 months before mating and dying over winter.

When an adult emerges from the soil in late spring or early summer it searches for food immediately.

When an adult emerges from the soil in late spring or early summer it searches for food immediately. Adults eat plant leaves, especially those of roses and chrysanthemums. They lay eggs in soil in late summer, which hatch into grubs in early fall. These grubs feed on plant roots during fall and winter, causing injury to many cultivated crops such as potatoes, beans, bulbs and other vegetables. The larvae pupate in late winter before emerging as adults the next year to begin the cycle again.

When many females lay their eggs in a single area, the population can increase quickly each year.

One of the most effective ways to prevent a serious infestation is to treat the problem before it gets out of hand. If you have one or two Japanese beetles in your yard, you can treat them yourself with products that are available at garden supply centers and home improvement stores. But if many females lay their eggs in a single area, the population can increase quickly each year. This is an especially big problem when there are many trees in an area that has lots of food sources for adult beetles—such as irrigated lawns or gardens with lots of flowers and vegetables growing nearby.

The best natural control for Japanese beetles is removing grubs from your lawn every three to five years.

The best natural control for Japanese beetles is removing grubs from your lawn every three to five years. Hand picking and throwing them away, using a trap to lure them away from the garden, using neem oil as a repellant, treating your lawn with milky spore disease or using beneficial nematodes to kill the grubs are all effective ways of controlling this pest.

You can also have your lawn treated with milky spore disease which is only effective against Japanese beetle grubs.

It is also possible to have your lawn treated with milky spore disease which is only effective against Japanese beetle grubs.

Milky spore is a bacterial disease that can be applied to your lawn in the spring or fall. The disease takes two to five years to become established, but when it does, it will provide long term control of grubs. It’s safe for humans, pets and birds, fish and beneficial insects.

Japanese Beetles are hard to get rid of but there are some natural ways to handle them

• Milky Spore Disease. You can use this to get rid of the grubs, but it takes time.
• Dig Up the Grubs. This is also a long-term solution because you’ll have to keep doing it every year for a couple of years until all of the grubs are gone. It’s worth mentioning that if you’re seeing Japanese beetles in your lawn, there will probably be a lot more grubs than just one per square foot of grass!
• Remove Eggs and Beetles. You can do this by hand picking them or using insecticidal soap sprayed onto leaves on which they feed—but again, these methods take time and effort over multiple years before they’re effective at reducing populations significantly enough to make a difference in your garden as well as on surrounding properties where people still want their roses blooming without being covered by cardboard box traps filled with beetle corpses (not exactly an attractive prospect). * Use Natural Predators Along With Insecticidal Soap Sprayed On Leaved To Kill Off Any Leftover Caterpillar Larvae That May Still Be Around After The Adults Have Died Off By This Time Of Year.* Diatomaceous Earth Has Also Been Used For Years To Kill Them While They Are In Their Craw State.* Neem Oil Is Great At Killing Them Without Having To Spray Too Often And Getting Rid Of Other Bugs At The Same Time!