Honeybee friendly way to get rid of Japanese Beetles

Live in the country surrounded by woods. Just got an infestation of Japanese Beetles which are doing a job on the bean plants. What can I do to put an end to this destruction? Need something that is nontoxic to humans since I want to eat the beans and something that won't hurt the honeybees that are very near. Thank you in advance for any suggestions you offer.

If you have the patience maybe you could drop them into a jar of soapy water. I'm not sure if that would work on Japanese beetles but you could try. Or maybe try vacuuming them up with a Dustbuster or shop vac. Also for next year, if Japanese beetles start off as grubs in the soil maybe you could spread around some beneficial nematodes.

Hopefully someone who knows more about them will come along and help you.

CC

Tanglefoot and other types of sticky traps will work. Conventional traps baited with pheromones are out there, too.

Would sticky traps also work on flea beetles?

Assassin bugs work very well for me, although they do catch an occasional bee. But they love Japanese beetles. I first got into this about ten years ago, when I noticed a fresh hatch of assassin beetles, and spread them out all over the property. The first thing the babies do is eat each other, so out of a hatch of a hundred, you might end up with five or six in all. By spreading them out (and doing it again ever since, whenever I've seen a new hatch), my place has become overun with them, and the Japanese beetles have disappeared.

Hi Larry K.  Welcome from Atlanta, GA!  Glad you've joined us.

Don't have any advice, but wanted to say hi... 

I would recommend reading the label first, but I think Cap'n Jack's Dead Bug Brew, applied after sunset would work. Spinosad is a pesticide so it is toxic, but not as dangerous as most.

Read and follow the label directions!
A little goes a long way.

Larry K, Welcome to the Forum from California!

I also don't have any suggestions because the mockingbirds take care of most of mine in my roses. I haven't found any on my veggies. Camprn is pretty experienced so maybe try her suggestion.

Larry, I feel your pain.

I also had a ridiculous infestation level of those [redacted] [redacted] again this year. I do everything I should to keep on top of grubs, etc, but to no avail. The worst part of it all is they went from none to tens of thousands in a matter of just a couple of days. I swear I have to be the only one in my neighborhood trying to keep grubs in check.

If you have the time to get out in front of it, a homemade solution of insecticidal soap, a little garlic, and cayenne pepper can help.

I had to go beyond that and use my last resort since there were so many and they had already started imposing their will on my garden. I also had to do my front landscaping, and all my trees. Although I use a different option for the trees.

I hate these things. I hate them with a passion. Worse than grasshoppers, moles, rabbits, you name it. They can wipe an entire garden out in days if there are enough of them. Since there were so many in my yard, and nothing was going to be ready to harvest for over a month when I did this, that's why I took it straight to DEFCON 1 and broke out the Sevin.

I too feel your pain Larry and welcome to the forum.

There's no bug that aggravates me more, not only for their damage but just the looks of the darn things. Ugly...

Our infestation usually begins within a couple of weeks, mid July and we begin spraying everything with a brew of peppermint soap and pulverized garlic. If they decide to take a bite of something, the soap will get them but normally the combo of mint and garlic seems to be a pretty good deterrent.

We put three cloves of garlic in the blender, beat it up pretty good and then add 2 cups of water and blend some more. We use 2 teaspoons of soap and 2 of the garlic water per quart of water and spray as soon as they show up. Store the remaining garlic water in sealed container in the fridge. This is the basis for fighting almost all the bugs that we have problems with and we really haven't seen bees being bothered by it.

All the Best
Brad

Interesting timing, as I sit here, 2c of warm wataer with 1/2 bar of Ivory grated are making nice in a container in the kitchen.  I am going to go out later and spray my pole beans which have been inundated with the stupid JPs the last like 2 days!!!!  I was so grossed out and PO'd last night when my son and I went out to tether the potatoes from getting in the tomatoes path...all over the tops of my beans was a MASS of JPs in various stages of copulation....GRRRRRR!!!!  I angrilly (?) knocked them all off.  They were in my hair, it was just icky.

Therefore, I am going out here after by beloved bees and pollinators have gone beddy-bye, and try my Ivory spray.  Might add some canola and hot cayenne just for grins.

 Larry!!!!

OK hate to post to my post...but just came in after basically a week with no up close on the garden.  Everything doing well except  some critter (rabbit?) has eaten my only pepper plant blooms, leaves, etc.  I have never had that happen, but not sure.

The bigger deal is the stupid Japanese Beetles all over the tops of my pole beans!!!!!

There were TONS of them.  And the top leaves were skeletonized.  The lower half of the plants looked OK leaf-wise, bit those beasts were there.  I beat them off, stomped around.  But I need a more pro-active approach here!  I have tons of bean flowers, no beans yet.  Kentucky Wonder pole variety....seems late to me, but we have had a cool, rainy year here.....

Neem Oil?  I don't want to hurt my bees, etc!  Soap with oils, HELP!!!!!!

I see a dust-buster in your future....  That'll suck 'em up nice & quick!

AtlantaMarie wrote:I see a dust-buster in your future....  That'll suck 'em up nice & quick!

Errr my gerrrrd.....you may be right, AM!

Scorpio Rising wrote:

AtlantaMarie wrote:I see a dust-buster in your future....  That'll suck 'em up nice & quick!

Errr my gerrrrd.....you may be right, AM!

My super dupe dust buster won't suck them up.  They cling to the plants real well.

Honestly, I feel like getting some of that super sticky industrial walk-off matting and knocking them off onto that and stomping.  I hate them.

They attack my raspberry plants and string bean plants.  I just pick them off every evening and throw them into a bucket of soapy water.  I try to get my son to do it in the morning too.  The plants get damaged, but not enough to prevent a harvest.

Since they are an imported pest and have no natural predators here in the good ole USA, I am planning to be their natural predator in my yard....

Update: OK after having 2 doses of my soap spray stuff washed off by rain, I finallly got a dose on there yesterday morning. Used a dish detergent squirter for more Oooomph, and put about 3 T grated Ivory bar soap, disollved in 4 c warm water, 2 t cayenne, and 2 t garlic powder.....

It reduced the beetle load by 75%. Just not there. There were some there, but I have renewed trust in the good old Rodale Organic way!!!! May up the cayenne....