Gage County Extension

I have been receiving a lot of phone calls about Japanese beetles lately. Many linden trees are turning brown and upon closer inspection, the leaves are full of holes and have a lacey appearance to them. This is due to Japanese beetle feeding. If you still see the beetles on your lindens you can spray them with sevin or bifenthrin or organic products such as pyola or neem oil. Check out the other plants in your landscape as Japanese beetle have been found to feed voraciously on over 300 species of plants. You can also go out and pick the beetles off plants and throw them into a bucket of soapy water to kill them with no pesticide use.

I have also been receiving a lot of calls about Green June Beetles. These are the much larger green beetles that can be found in gardens, lawns, and around many different plants. They are large and heavy making them loud fliers. They are not terribly harmful to our plants, but can feed on things, especially in the garden. They are attracted to fruits, especially overripe fruits. Be sure to keep your garden harvested properly to reduce the incidence of this beetle. Insecticides are rarely necessary, but if they become damaging you can spray them with sevin or hand remove them from your plants and throw them into a bucket of soapy water to kill them.

Fleas can be a very annoying insect outside your home, but if they come into your home they are even more of a nuisance. Flea populations peak in the mid to late summer. If you haven’t been treating your cats and dogs all summer, you want to be sure to treat them now to keep the fleas from being brought into your home on your pets. There are many different methods of flea control that you can choose from. If you do get fleas in your home you need to treat everything at the same time, use flea controls on your pet, in your home, and outside. If you get all the avenues at once you will get better control.