Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: More on JB and the beetle trap
I know I just talked about this last week but I have been asked multiple times about those traps. PLEASE, do NOT use them. They only attract more beetles. The ONLY time they may be worth it is if you are on a good size piece of land and you place the trap FAR away from the plants you want to protect and NOT near a neighbor’s place.
The University of Minnesota Extension continues to study this pest and want everyone to know that Japanese beetle traps are baited with lures. These lures may have the scent of flowers or the scent of beetle pheromones (sometimes both). These smells travel through the air and the beetles pick up on the scent using their antenna, inviting the beetle to come on over. Beetles end up both inside and outside the trap, and as large numbers of beetles congregate, they put off more pheromones that attract more beetles, whether they are in the trap or not.
From Minnesota eastward, these beasts are skeletonizing our plants with abandon.
The video above is from Gertens in Minnesota. Jenny has a LOT of information for folks. (I was behind the camera).
States west of Minnesota along our border and southward are starting to see them, states from Montana to the west coast are, so far, okay. The problem is they won’t stop.
Trap sellers suggest that the placement of these traps (30 feet away) is effective. One study investigated the impact of where traps were placed in terms of their number (one trap or multiple traps), location (near vulnerable plants or not), and wind direction (upwind or downwind from susceptible vegetation).
Regardless of number or placement, the areas around the traps had more beetle feeding damage than if there had been no trap at all. While the masses of beetles on your plants and the holey leaves they leave behind are annoying, Japanese beetles aren’t going anywhere and we will have to learn to live with them.
For your most prized plants, tap beetles off the plant and into a bucket of soapy water. I use my fingers!
As you can see in the photo below I feel your pain. I have given this 3 year old crabapple extra watering (we’re already in drought) to help it along. Younger trees suffer more than older trees as they aren’t as established. Watering will help it to survive the damage done.
