QuestionQUESTION: My last linden was eaten to lace by the Japanese beetles. The city replaced the tree with the same so how do I protect it from the impending onslaught of Japanese beetles?
ANSWER: There is a product that will control and prevent Japanese beetles form defoliating the tree. It is called Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect Control. It is applied to the soil around the tree and the roots will transport it to the leaves and when insects feed on the leaves they are killed. It will protect the tree for the growing season. Check with your local nursery for this product. Here is a web link to more information on this product. http://www.bayeradvanced.com/product/Tree-Shrub-Insect-Control/concentrate.html
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QUESTION: When do you recommend using Milky Spore on the lawn in norther Illinois?
AnswerHere is part of an artilce on Milky Spore and the timing of the treatment.
"The man considered to be THE authority on Japanese beetles and their grubs is Dr. Michael Klein, Adjunct Professor of Entomology at Ohio State University and former Lead Scientist for what was once known as the USDA "Japanese beetle lab" (now called the "Horticultural Insects Unit"). He explains that Japanese beetles entered the county on a shipment of plants to Riverton, New Jersey sometime prior to their discovery in that area around 1916.
Their famed natural enemy was discovered-also in New Jersey-in the 1930s. Although many of us call this stuff "Milky Spore", Dr. Klein explains that that's actually the brand name of the most available product containing the substance. He says that a more correct common name for Bacillus popillae is "milky disease", so named because infected grubs will bleed a white fluid instead of a clear one if you slice into them. Sounds like you're checking to see if a turkey is done.
Most people have taken to simply calling the stuff "Milky Spore Disease". It's available in bags and shaker cans at most larger garden centers, where you almost always see large displays of it in the Spring. That's unfortunate, says Dr. Klein, who feels that milky spore has gotten a bad rap because people buy it in the Spring, use it right away, it doesn't work, and they presume it's a dud.
In reality, he explains, beetle grubs must be actively eating grass roots to consume the spores, and grubs are not eating your lawn in the Spring; they do all that damage in the summer and early fall. Spring soils are also too cold for the spores to work, he adds, explaining that the 'disease' is only effective in warm dirt.
That Makes August & September Prime Time!
Ah, but our dirt is nice and warm in this time of the year. And all of those nasty Japanese beetles-and their close relatives like June and masked chafer beetles-are pretty much finished devouring our garden plants. The females have laid their eggs, often in our lawns (pretty much exclusively with Japanese beetles), those eggs are now hatching, and little baby grubs are coming out. These grubs will molt several times, grow larger and soon start chowing down on the roots of your lawn. If there's Milky Spore in that lawn, the grubs will eat it and die, just like with toxic chemical grub killers. Then comes the best part?
The dead body of each dear departed grub will then 'manufacture' more disease spores, which will spread through your lawn and infect more grubs. The more grubs in your lawn, the faster this stuff will work. So if you're one of those people who invites lots of grubs by cutting your grass low and watering it incessantly in July and August, milky spore will colonize your lawn very quickly. (Female beetles look for wet, low-cut lawns in which to lay their eggs.)
Lawns with fewer grubs will take a bit longer; maybe two to three years to reach peak levels. Either way, your turf will become death to grubs, and stay that way for decades to come."
