Help! Japanese beetles are devouring my pole beans!

**The Muse** · 07-11-2008, 01:22 PM

How do I get rid of them? My pole bean plants were thriving yesterday morning, but were a foot shorter and looked like swiss cheese when I got home from work. There were beetles all over them. I crushed the ones that were there, but I'm afraid they'll come back.

Are there any natural methods for repelling them? I stopped by Home Depot this morning and they suggested the bag traps, which I read attracts even more, and pesticides which I'm not OK with.

**itlw8** · 07-11-2008, 03:47 PM

how about pyrethrum spray it is made from mums

**Darlene** · 07-11-2008, 04:09 PM

I too squish em becuse I don't know of anything else that works. I flick them into a bucket of water..flick, flick, ooh, yuck, flick, flick. Pour them on the sidewalk & smoosh with my sneakered foot. Crack, crunch, yuck, ooh, yuck, crunch, gross.

**missyali** · 07-11-2008, 05:07 PM

Soapy water killed a bunch of mine. They come back b/c of the plant's scent. This is a pretty good help: beetle

**ahmom** · 07-12-2008, 08:12 AM

Don't use those traps. They draw in more beetles. Let your neighbors do that.

I put flat rocks in my garden. I flick them off the plant onto the rock. I smash them.

**AmyMCGS** · 07-12-2008, 06:24 PM

Our neighborhood gets infested every year. All the neighbors hang those bag traps, which aren't attractive, but they definitely help. It draws the beetles into the bag and they can't climb back out. We hang ours on our light pole and it definitely draws them away from the trees and bushes.