2005 -- a banner year for Japanese beetles

A combination of wet weather last summer, a mild winter and hot weather this summer is making 2005 a bumper year for the Japanese beetle.

Japanese beetle adults attack ornamental plants that have been recently transplanted or stressed. Their favorites include linden, crab apple, plum, and other fruit trees, rose bushes, grapes, and several garden variety vegetables. After the adults mate, their grubs and larvae damage turf by clipping off the roots.

There are a number of preventive and control measures. All have very specific timing requirements.

Check out the following resources for details on how to deal with this insatiable pest:

"Featured Creation: Japanese beetle," University of Florida, June 2005.
Includes photos of the pest in its various life stages and the kind of damage it does to plants and turf.

"Japanese Beetle," by David Shetlar, Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet, HYG-2504-91.

"White Grubs, Annual Bluegrass (Hyperodes) Weevil," Pat Vittum, UMass Turf Management Update, July 19, 2005.

"Japanese Beetles are in Full Force," by Timothy J. Gibb, Purdue Turf Tip, July 8, 2005.

"Japanese beetle and masked chafer alert," by Mike Potter and Dan Potter, Kentucky Pest News, June 14, 2005.
Includes recommendations for preventive and curative control.

"Pesky Japanese beetle is prolific this year," Associated Press via Times-Leader.com, July 17, 2005.

"It's a beetles reunion," Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader, July 16, 2005.

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