Natural Ways To Eliminate Japanese Beetles
Despite their name, Japanese beetles can be found pretty much everywhere. These common garden pests can wreak havoc on your yard's plants and vegetables and should be eliminated as soon as possible to mitigate the impact that they can have on the health and appearance of your home's yard. Thankfully, there are a number of natural solutions that you can pursue to effectively eliminate and control the Japanese beetle population around your garden without causing damage to other plants and animals that may live in your yard. Pest control companies like Mr. Bug Killer Inc can help you choose the right extermination method.
Bacillus Thuringiensis
Though the name may sound extremely intimidating, bacillus thuringiensis (otherwise known as BT) is a simple bacteria that can be added to your garden's soil in order to kill Japanese beetle larvae before they reach adulthood. BT is available at most hardware stores and is just mixed into the soil of your garden, making it inhospitable for larvae and eggs. The only real downside of BT is that it won't spread itself around: you will have to continuously apply it to areas in your garden to cut down the Japanese beetle population.
Roundworms
Roundworms, also known as nematodes, are a small type of parasitic grub that will naturally hunt out and eat Japanese beetles over an extended period of time. Because they are live animals, they can proactively cut down on the long-term population of your Japanese beetle population. Roundworms will only live for about two months, depending on the weather and soil conditions, before they have to be reapplied. Roundworms can be purchased at most hardware and garden supply stores, and have their eggs mixed into a spray bottle with warm water before being applied to the affected areas of your garden.
Milky Spore
Milky Spore is another common all natural insecticide that you can mix into your garden's soil to kill Japanese beetles and can be found at most hardware and garden supply stores. Unlike roundworms, milky spore grows exponentially: as Japanese beetles eat the spores, additional spores will grow inside the grubs, eventually killing them and releasing additional milky spore particles into the surrounding environment. While it can take a while to really have an effect on the overall population, due to the slow growing nature of milky spore, a little patience can see Japanese beetle populations be completely wiped out as the spore spreads throughout your yard and garden. However, it should be noted that milky spore only works on Japanese beetle grubs: it won't do anything against full grown beetles that migrate into your garden.