Japanese Beetles

Eighty years ago a smallish coppery beetle with greenish highlights and white tufts around the edges arrived in Southern New Jersey. The Japanese Beetle voratious flower pest and destroyer of roses. Nothing much likes to eat them, so they mulitply rapidly. The common scent traps generally draw more beetles to your yard, especially if you don't empty your trap often enough and they cannot get in to be trapped. They also do not always make it into the trap itself, but hang around outside. Only about 75% of beetles attracted get trapped. And that's still a lot to munch in your yard. And pesticides, well, we all know about pesticides. About the only way to get rid of the beetles, is to go out and pick them off of your plants. Drowning or smushing work well. My mom always used popsicle sticks to knock them into a deli container with water in it. The lid made sure they couldn't escape if they avoided the water on the first go.

As annoying as the adult beetle is, the grub is just as destructive. It lurks under the lawn, munching away at actual grass roots. But, this is when those beetles are the most vulnerable. Applications of benificial nematodes and milky spore in the correct times of the year introduce natural enemies that attack and kill the larva. Also, dancing on your lawn with cleats or spikey sandals when the grubs are closest to the surface kill them directly, but also aerate your lawn to improve air flow to the roots which makes healthier grass.

Preventitive measures involve not making your lawn attractive to egg laying females. These take restraint as well. Grubs appreciate well, even overwatered lawns in summer. Refraining from doing more than spot watering, will wipe out the grubs. Remember, cool season grasses normally go brown anyway in summer, so watering will not green them up. Warm season grasses are genically prepared for dry summers. Also, if you set your lawnmower on the highest(tallest) level, it will discourage the females from laying in your yard. Plus, that keeps the weeks from seeing the light of day, literally, so they won't grow. Or if they do, your neighbor's won't see them as much.

Mike McGrath's article from May for the DC metro region, and the Government information site are good references.