I have japanese beetles eating my rose of sharon and I have tried the bag and sprays but nothing is.?

working is there anything that will get rid of them I'm tired of picking them off 5 times a day.

I have japanese beetles eating my rose of sharon and I have tried the bag and sprays but nothing is.?
GET RID OF THE BAG A BUG. I use to work for the company that makes these things. Let me tell you how they work. They attract beetles. They attract them right to your plants. I used them once and my yard and gardens were covered with beetles. I got rid of them and the beetles went away.
Reply:Unfortunately, Japanese beetles will eat even insecticide treated plants. They eat the leaves, then die. Hopefully they die before they can lay eggs again (which become grubs which moles feed on which tear up your lawn and garden) .





There is very little biological control for these pests. I do have some sparrows that come and eat them off of my crepe myrtle (which is apparently a Japanese beetle buffet AND bordello).





The best control of the adult beetles is to control the grubs. Apply grub-ex, triazicide or milky spore to your soil in spring and hope that the grubs are affected. If you use the pheromone traps, hang them as far away from delicate plants and keep those bags emptied.





I understand they (beetles) are not fond of the plant catmint. plant more of this in your gardens.
Reply:Unfortunately there aren't many things that work against Japanese Beetles, and the few that do have little residual effect (wear off quickly).





Hand picking does help a great degree, as other beetles are actually more attrated to plants with beetles already on them (phermones). Traps may actually make the problem worse by attacting far too many bugs to your yard.





Hand picking and dousing the picked bugs in a soapy bath will eliminate a lot of the problem (recommended picking time is the AM when beetles are sluggish). Also, you might try a thin bug net for a short time to make them less attracted to your plant.





Also - there are some plants and trees listed in the source link below that are natural beete deterrents.





Best of luck!
Reply:Don't use the bag. That only attracts them to your place. Yes, it collects and kills them, but it also attracts them from all over just making the problem worse.





I used Ortho spray (for a pump sprayer) on my stuff and that seemed to work, but anywhere you have new growth you have to spray that also.





A co-worker was telling me that his neighbor used Bayer's formula for bugs. You just spray it around the base of the plants and it soaks up through the plants and fends off the bugs and beetles. My co-worker tried it and says it works really good and I know he has a lot of Rose of Sharon bushes.





And what Julie mentioned about treating for grubs earlier in the year around spring/early summer helps. The grubs turn into Japanese Beetles. Milky Spore works really good. If you look it up on wikipedia it is a natural defense against them. And it helps stop them supposedly for 10-15 years or so.
Reply:Neem oil was found in a study to be one of the best of the naturally occurring insecticides found in plants. It's extracted from a tropical tree %26amp; when applied every four to seven days, it prevented Japanese beetles from chewing up rose and linden leaves used in the test.


http://www.kentucky.com/150/story/117648...





Sevin %26amp; Bayer Advanced Rose %26amp; Shrub Care are effective chemical insecticides for killing beetles.





Long-term prevention for Japanese Beetles is biological controls such as beneficial nematodes or a product called "milky spore," which attack the grubs, and prevent recurrence for years.





Merit (Imidacloprid) will penetrate the soil, kill grubs %26amp; active adults %26amp; then stay in the soil throughout the winter. The following spring Merit will still be active. Though it's designed to last for the whole year, you get better results if you treat in the fall and then again in the spring.http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products...





Good luck! Hope this helps.