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Does anyone know an envir. safe solution to rid plants of Japanese beetles?

They are extremely invasive on my hollyhocks and have moved into my herb/veggie garden as well. I do not want to use anything on my herbs/veggies that then would make them inedible.

Public Comments

1. one drop peppermint oil note that says oil not extract on a cotton ball place one ball next to each plant and give it a couple hours
2. get a beetle trap.....the beetles will come to it get inside and can't get out.....
3. You can use Sevin, either in spray or dust form. It kills the beetles and is of very low toxicity to humans. For the long term you can use Milky Spore treatment on your lawn. It kills the beetles when they are in the grub stage. Bag-a-Bug is also good. It uses a pheromone to lure the adults into a bag where they can be safely disposedof. This also reduces the number of mating adults and thus less to chew your plants
4. Sevin Spray is a immediate killer ,has one for vegitables.. I use to get them bad too, they loved to destroy my roses. The answer is to kill them when they are developing in the ground. So in the Spring I mix Diatomaceous Earth (completely natural) with some permethin bug killer (environmentaly safe) and spread it on my entire yard. Get the permethin in the grandules, it makes it easier to spread with the Dia.Earth powder. This also takes care of ticks and other crawling pest.