On or around the first week of June ( see 'Dreaded Japanese beetle makes its appearance'), I would advise everyone to get set for a Japanese beetle invasion. That is if you live in the many parts of the United States. They may arrive earlier or later depending on your geographic location. Every year now, for the last few seasons here in southwest Missouri, this little eating machine has erupted from my garden soil, in increasing numbers, to cause grief as it eats everything in sight. I can still vividly remember, one year, when this pest ate my entire crop of green beans right down to the stems! And it only took them a couple of days to do it! As a side note, when the little bugger is not eating, it spends its time screwing so as to insure another bumper crop next season. As of this year, the beetle seems to be well established in areas east of the Mississippi river and is now making inroads in to the Midwest as well although coverage is spottier in nature.
The only method I’ve found that works rather well is to cover everything up with protective row covers and then wait for the critters to go away, which is usually late June for me. I think, by that time, they either die off from overeating and sexual exhaustion. (Actually, not a bad way to go now that I think of it).
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