This year the damned GJBs totally destroyed my crop even though the fruit had sockies on them all. There were 1,000s of the beasts and there was no way to kill even half of them before they started destroying the ripening fruit each day as they arrived. Last year they did some damage, the year before that, none. What to do, cloth sacks with tie strings, DDT :)? Grow a variety that matures later after the beetles poop out and leave? Milky spore isn’t going to work due to there being an enormous amount of ground close by that isn’t mine and treating it would be extremely expensive.
What has worked for you? I’ll try to figure out how to use this site again having been gone so long, be patient with me, please.
Michael
Michael,
The Japanese beetles respond about as good to carbaryl as anything. Spray them with 7 and they will drop by the truckloads!
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Thanks Clark: that has a pretty short PHI too, that’d be essential since the beasts wait until the fruit are about a day or 2 away from being ripe enough to pick and ripen on the kitchen table…of course!
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Yes timing would be critical.
7 has a pretty short residual too for lots of stuff, any idea on the GJBs?
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Pretty much what you kill on contact or within a few days residual. It loses it’s effectiveness quickly as you mentioned. That short residual time is the good and bad thing about 7.
I started with Malathion and saw no effect and stopped. It was extremely disheartening to watch a big, beautiful crop destroyed one by one over about 2 -3 weeks time. Those beasts turned the sockies to lace gnawing through them to get to the fruit.
You can make those fruit protectors out of metal screen and they will have met their match.
Pretty rough on the beneficials too. Aside from sockies for the OFM and Permethrin on the trunk and scaffolds I haven’t had to deal with any insect issues in 8 years. I’d hesitate to mess up my good fortune with 7.
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Those metal screen fruit pouches might be the best way to go. Here is an old post Homemade metal screen fruit protectors
The screen better be titanium! Do you just cut a square of screen, wrap it up over the fruit and over the branch to tie it off there?
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The instructions on that older post Clint put out there will work like a charm on them. Those JB are going to be pretty frustrated.
I’ll check the link better tomorrow Clark, thanks for the link and the idea. Wait till next year GJBs!!! Good night Clark
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Hi Michael,
beetleGONE! tlc, a new form of BT (strain galleriae) that is beetle active and was the most effective treatment against the June beetle grubs in field trials conducted at North Carolina St. U. by Drs. Royals/Brandenburg. It may also be used against the adult stage, apply when they first appear or apply as a drench against the grub stage before they emerge and eat your fruit. grubGONE! is a spreadable formula for use on lawns & ornamental plants against only grub stage. What’s more it doesn’t kill any beneficials like bees, beetle active parasitic wasps etc. Supply was tight this past season but we are ramping manufacturing for 2017 season. For full disclosure, I am Head of Marketing and Sales. if you search phyllombioproducts you can find our website.