Japanese Beetles: What You Need to Know

Important Points:

• Japanese Beetles feed on the leaves, flowers, or fruits of many species of plants.
• Japanese Beetles start off as Grubs. Grubs chew grass roots, causing the turf to turn brown and die-off. Pic 1
• Japanese Beetles emerge around June/July every year. Pic 2
• Preventive treatments include our third, Flea, Tick, & Grub, lawn care treatment as well as a systemic insecticide plant care treatment (*This helps with beetle damage only. This does not get rid of Japanese beetles*).
• Reactive Treatments include spraying a contact insecticide when actively seeing Japanese Beetles which will eliminate them immediately.
• NO Beetle Bags: It’s inviting an unwanted pest to a dinner party.

Japanese Beetles feed on the leaves, flowers, or fruits of many species of plants. They skeletonize leaves by feeding on the interveinal tissues giving them a hole-like appearance. Healthy, mature trees and shrubs can tolerate a lot of feeding without significant, long-term injury. Young or unhealthy plants can be stunted or severely damaged with persistent feeding. Roses will survive Japanese Beetles feeding but the blossoms are often ruined.

Japanese Beetles begin as a turfgrass Grub. Japanese Beetle Grubs can chew grass roots, take up water and nutrients, causing the turf to turn brown and, with severe feeding, die-off. Lack of roots will allow dead patches to be rolled back and to view Grubs. To minimize Grub damage, AC Turf’s seven step lawn fertilizer program includes a Flea, Tick, and Grub treatment.

Our plant care treatments include a systemic insecticide drench which protects your plants from excessive Japanese Beetle damage. Unfortunately, you will still see beetles on your plants. Understand, the beetles must feed on the foliage and flowers to be affected by the insecticide. However, this process will hinder excessive damage to your plants. Excessive damage is defined as 25% or more of the foliage being skeletonized.