Japanese beetles coming to the end of their feeding season

If annoying copper-winged beetles have been chomping on your roses and vegetable garden leaves, there may be relief soon.

Japanese beetles, which have been eating suburban gardens and shrubs for the past month, are coming to the end of their so-called feeding period, according to area arborists.

"I anticipate we're getting to the end of the season," said Andrew Keppel, tree care manager for McGinty Bros. landscaping company in Long Grove.

However, there's no science in determining when the bugs will go away.

"Last year, we saw them all the way through August," Keppel said.

Japanese beetles are sun-loving insects that start at the top of plants and eat their way down, turning leaves brown. The bugs nibble on the leaves making them look like a piece of lace.

The beetles then disappear. But that doesn't mean they're gone forever. The females lay eggs in the soil before dying. The eggs hatch during the summer as white grubs about an inch long. The grubs feast on grass roots and are partial to turf, which creates another headache for homeowners.

The grubs feed into the fall, spending the winter underground.

"It's a domino effect," said Kathy Jones, a manager at Hawthorn Woods Garden Center.

She said homeowners come in daily looking for ways to get rid of the pesky creatures.

One good thing is the area saw fewer of the critters this summer than last year.

"We're seeing less this year because we had a deeper freeze over the winter," said Keppel, a certified arborist.

Barb Davis at Random Acres in Schaumburg agrees the crop of the bugs was lighter this year.

If you still have the bugs in your yard, Keppel believes the best way to get rid of them is to use sprays instead of specialized bags for trapping.

"The bags often attract more beetles from a wider area," he said.