Jackson’s Greenhouse shares advice on how to mitigate Japanese Beetles

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The Japanese Beetle has been in America since 1916, returning every July.

Jackson’s Greenhouse shared information and advice with 13 NEWS on how to prevent them from tearing up your garden.

“They cause a lot of damage and can kill plants if in high enough numbers,” Jackson’s Greenhouse Garden City Manager Patrick Herr said.

Japanese Beetles hatch in early July and live off various plants such as roses, fruit trees and others.

Jackson’s says there are multiple signs to look for.

“You’ll notice your leaves will be shredded or your blooms will be shredded,” Herr said. “They go after the blooms a lot and you’ll see them in high numbers.”

While the pests are common at this time of year, there are ways to prevent them.

“There’s a lot of ways to mitigate them and control them,” Herr said. “They have traps which can sometimes attract more so you want to make sure you put it away from the plants you’re trying to protect. There’s lots of different sprays, you can even do grub treatments to help mitigate them.”

Jackson’s has noticed an increase in business for these products this year compared to others.

“There’s been a bit more this year than there has the past couple. But it goes on like a two or three year cycle for some reason, where it gets higher one year and then kind of tapers off.”

After summer ends, Japanese Beetles go into the ground and become a grub throughout the fall and winter before re-emerging in the spring.