KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Japanese beetles can be quite the nuisance during this time of year.
“They're in the ground all winter long and then around May to July time period is when they start hatching out,” Six Brothers Pest Control Branch Manager Nate Beidleman said.
Phone calls on this problem have been constant for Six Brothers Pest Control.
“The climate's been right; it's been nice and moist,” Beidleman said. “We’ve been having a lot of calls with the Japanese beetles.”
And the damage left behind looks like skeleton leaves.
“They like to start from the top of the tree and work their way down,” Beidleman said. “It won't totally kill the tree, it'll just make it look bad and look like it's dying.”
Beidleman said do not use beetle traps.
“It just draws a lot more to the area than what would've been there,” he said.
Make sure you have a good grub treatment and also find someone who’s licensed in ornamental pest control.
“They start out as grubs,” Beidleman said. “So if you can get a good grub treatment on your yard, that'll help prevent them from emerging.”
According to Better Homes & Gardens, you can also try dumping the Japanese beetles in soapy water.
Beidleman said by mid-August, Japanese beetles should dwindle down.
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