Bugged by beetles? Wait four more weeks

The beetles are bad this year.

You don't have to look at your chewed-on rose bushes, shrubs or trees; just ask a clerk at a hardware store or garden center.

They will explain a battle is being fought between gardeners and Japanese beetles. And the bugs are winning.

"We're selling hundreds of traps," said Christine Lundry, store manager of Platt Hill Nursery in Carpentersville. "More than we sold last year. And we're selling hundreds of bottles of insecticides."

Those weapons are fighting the battle of the linden trees, but they are not helping win the war.

"A couple of times we sold out of traps and bait, but we got more in," she said. "The infestation is bad this year."

That's no secret to anyone who has a shrub in their yard. Stand near it just before dinner time and the copper-color flying critters will bump into your face, trying to get to the leaves. They won't eat them completely, just make skeletons of them. Soon after, the foliage will turn brown and drop to the grass.

The bugs' ravages won't kill the plant, but they will reduce the amount of food leaves make. Plants' food is made through the leaves. Take away some leaves, and less food is made.

Get used to that idea because we have four more weeks of the beetle battle, said Phil Nixon, an entomologist for the University of Illinois.

He agreed with Lundry. This year's beetle attack is worse than last year. And it may be worse next year.

"It's the cycle of the bug," Nixon said. "They love to hang around most soil. People who water their lawns tend to have more in their grass," he said.

"But be thankful we don't live in parts of Ohio. It's even worse there. If we were as bad as it is there, we'd be looking at sticks in our gardens."

Japanese beetles have been around Northern Illinois since the 1990s. Winds blew them here from the east. Eggs are laid and young beetles are lawn-chewing grubs that live in the ground during the winter.

By June they are old enough to crawl out and fly around.

"Taking care of the grubs won't solve the problem, because the beetles have wings and they fly from yard to yard," he said."They are active for about eight weeks."

During that time homeowners will use traps to get them off their trees and shrubs. The traps have bait that lure male beetles to bags or containers. Once they are in them, they can't crawl out.

"The traps actually attract more beetles," he said. "They may go to the traps but they are still near the shrubs they can feed on."

Insecticides are effective, but they have to be sprayed again every week or so, he said.

"Some sprays can even be harmful to insects we need, such as bees," Nixon said. "The bees will land on the leaves that have been sprayed and fly back to their colonies and spread it. That could wipe out the entire colony of bees."

And we need those bees to pollinate flower and vegetable gardens.

"The most effective way to get rid of the beetles is to hand pick them off the leaves at nightfall when they are not as active," he said. "If you do that, get a jar of soapy water and ammonia and put the beetles in there."

No matter what weapons gardeners pick, they can expect to be busy at least for another four weeks with the beetles.