The Japanese beetle was first discovered in the United States in Riverton, New Jersey, in 1916. It spread rapidly in the United States and has now become a pest in more than 20 states. More than 400 plant species are susceptible to attack by this pest.
The Japanese beetle is brilliantly colored, oval, and less than half an inch long. Wing colors are coppery, and the body is a beautiful metallic green. The adults feed in the daytime from early June to Labor Day. They devour leaves as well as flowers on many ornamental plants, shrubs, vines and trees.
The leaf tissue is eaten between the veins so that the foliage looks somewhat like lace. Beetle grubs feed on plant roots, attacking mainly lawn turf but also damaging the roots of many other crop and ornamental plants.
When populations of adult beetles are too high to pick by hand or when damage to desirable plants in your landscaping is noticeable, you should treat the plants to bring the population down to a manageable level with an insect spray.
Please be sure to ask one of our salespeople which product would be best suited for your problem. Japanese beetles love fruiting plants, and you must be careful which product to apply if the fruits are intended for consumption.
Treating ornamental plants will also help reduce the numbers of eggs being deposited in the soil close to or under your lawn, but it is not a substitute for controlling Japanese beetle white grub infestations as a stand-alone pest control method.
For that, we recommend a yearly application of a time-release insect control product, which will both control and help prevent damaging infestations in grasses.