You Are Here: Management Updates 2006 Archive July 10, 2006

Date: July 10, 2006
Category: Insects
Subject: White Grubs

Beetle alert
Here they come!!! Japanese beetle adults were observed swarming in very high numbers near Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, Thursday afternoon, just about on schedule. One golfer tried an innovative approach, using a pitching wedge to try to break up some of the tumbling balls of orgasmic males. :-)

Anyway, I have now seen adults of all four species of our problematic species (Japanese beetles, European chafers, oriental beetles, and asiatic garden beetles) active over the past two weeks. It is safe to assume that beetles are beginning to lay eggs in many areas of southern New England.

So now would be a good time to schedule an application of a product containing imidacloprid (Merit™ and other trade names, and Allectus™, which contains Merit™ and Talstar™). For those who are not dealing with oriental beetles, halofenozide (Mach 2™) would also be an option. In addition, chlothianidin (Arena™) is a new product that appears to be very active against white grubs.

As always, schedule applications so they can be watered in shortly after treatment. Some formulations of some products may be somewhat forgiving about waiting for water, but the earlier you can water (or apply in rain), the better chance you have of success.

Submitted by: Dr. Pat Vittum

DISCLAIMER - As always, it is the responsibility of the applicator to verify the registration status of any pesticide BEFORE applying it. Different states have different regulations as well. The author and the University of Massachusetts are not liable for any consequences of any pesticide "recommendations". Mention of any trade name is not to be considered endorsement of a product.

Links followed by the symbol are external links that open in a new window.