The Japanese hornet is a pest that can be controlled by attracting birds to your landscape, such as sparrows, starlings, blackbirds, and jays. These birds are known to eat Japanese beetles, which have limited exposure to predators due to their hard protective shell and ability to fly. Hornets, wasps, and even larger insects like grasshoppers or crickets are the primary predators of Japanese beetles.
The Spring Tiphia wasp, also known as the spring Tiphia, is another natural predator of Japanese beetles. The female wasp lays eggs on the grub, eliminating up to 85 of the larvae in a single attack. This wasp is a small parasitic wasp that attacks the older larvae or grubs of the Japanese beetle.
Japanese beetles are among the most polyphagous plant-feeding insects, feeding on foliage, fruits, or flowers from over 300 species of wild and cultivated plants. They can also feed on robber flies, praying mantis, beetles, hoverflies, centipedes, and moths. The invasive Japanese beetle’s presence on plants across Colorado’s Front Range has been particularly hard this year.
In summary, the Japanese hornet is a pest that can be managed by attracting birds to your landscape, such as sparrows, starlings, blackbirds, and jays. By focusing on controlling these insects, you can ensure that your landscape remains free from the harmful effects of the Japanese beetle.
| Article | Description | Site |
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| Wasps and Japanese beetles #682656 | Your best bet would be to stay vigilant, eliminate any standing water, and remove paper wasp nests as soon as they form. | ask2.extension.org |
| Outside: Blue-winged wasps are inoffensive predators who … | Both eat scarab beetles, including June bugs and Japanese beetles, by attacking their grubs and laying an egg on them. But these wasps need more … | readingeagle.com |
📹 Handling a female European Hornet! 🔥 #wasp#insect#insects#bug#bugs#tarantula#tarantulas#spiders#fyp
What Do Giant Asian Hornets Eat?
The Giant Asian Hornet, often referred to as the Murder Hornet, is a formidable and aggressive predator, known for its exceptional hunting skills. These hornets primarily target larger insects, including bees, various hornet and wasp species, beetles, and mantises, especially during late summer and fall. Their diet also consists of tree sap and honey from beehives, making them a significant threat to honey bee populations. When hunting honey bees, these hornets utilize a technique called "hawking," signaling other hornets from their colony to assist in overtaking hives.
Asian Giant Hornets, which include both Giant Asian and Giant Japanese Hornets, are recognized for their intense predatory behavior and capability to cause substantial ecological impact due to their feeding habits. Their powerful armor allows them to raid bee nests, while the consumption of protein-rich prey like mantises is crucial for nurturing their larvae, specifically queens and drones.
Additionally, hornets are known to consume various organic materials, including tree sap and even apple juice from fallen apples. There are 23 known hornet species globally, with 15 of these species residing in India. The versatility in their diet, combined with their predatory nature, reinforces the ecological role of Asian Giant Hornets as apex predators of their environment.
What Kills Japanese Beetles Fast?
Neem oil is an effective organic treatment for managing Japanese beetles in roses, fruits, vegetables, and other plants. It kills the beetles at various life stages, including eggs, larvae, and adults, and can also be used on lawns to treat grubs. Addressing Japanese beetle problems early is crucial, as populations can grow quickly and become more challenging to eliminate. Regular monitoring of plants and promptly harvesting ripe or diseased fruits can help manage their attraction to your garden.
Natural sprays, such as neem oil or insecticidal soap, can help eradicate beetles and prevent further damage. Non-toxic powders are also available for use. Homemade solutions, like a soap and water mixture, have proven effective as well. For a more hands-on approach, physically removing beetles during early morning or late evening offers a straightforward method.
To prepare an effective trap, mix a couple of tablespoons of dish soap with water in a container and place it strategically to catch beetles. Alternative traps involve using empty beer or soda cans to drown beetles in the soapy solution.
For long-term control, consider using nematodes, which kill both Japanese beetle grubs and other pests, or Milky Spore, a natural bacteria that affects adjuvants and can provide extended protection. Immediate action upon sighting Japanese beetles or their grubs is essential, along with a multi-faceted treatment strategy that includes neem oil or pyrethrin to protect your plants effectively.
What Eats Hornets?
Hornets, which exist in various life stages from larvae to adults, are preyed upon by a diverse range of animals and insects. Their predators include birds like scarlet tanagers, purple martins, and caracaras, as well as flies such as satellite flies and cannibal flies. Scarlet tanagers, vibrant red birds with black wings, migrate from South America to the eastern United States for breeding, where they forage for insects in deciduous forests. Contrary to their fierce reputation, hornets have numerous natural enemies.
They primarily eat other insects, displaying a carnivorous diet that includes flies and bees, although they also consume fruit, nectar, and tree sap. The diet of European hornets specifically targets backyard pests like crickets and grasshoppers. Other animals, including mammals such as mice, raccoons, and wolverines, brave the stings to eat hornet larvae. Additionally, birds like Blue Jays and woodpeckers also partake in consuming hornets.
Other predators include frogs, lizards, toads, and even turtles, although these do not typically seek hornets as their primary food source. Overall, hornets play a significant role in their ecosystems as both predators and prey.
What Is The Best Deterrent For Japanese Beetles?
To eliminate Japanese beetles, utilize plants that naturally repel them, particularly near attractive plants. Effective options include catnip, garlic, leeks, onions, chives, nasturtium, and marigold. Early intervention is crucial, as their numbers can rapidly increase, making eradication challenging. These beetles are also attracted to ripening or diseased fruits, so vigilant monitoring and prompt harvesting of produce are essential. Employing neem oil sprays and homemade solutions, such as a mixture of water and dish soap, can directly kill the beetles upon contact.
Additionally, address the grub stage with methods like soil aeration, beneficial nematodes, and introducing natural predators or milky spore disease. Although Japanese beetles are difficult to control, a strategic approach can minimize their impact on your garden. Handpicking is effective; knocking beetles into soapy water is a less unpleasant method. Certain plants like garlic and scallions can also deter these pests. Start your defense with insect sprays (pyrethrin or neem) at the first signs of infestation and incorporate companion planting with beetle-repelling plants such as tansy or rue.
Consider essential oils like peppermint, lemongrass, and citronella for added protection. By utilizing these methods, you can create a multi-faceted approach to keep Japanese beetles at bay and protect your plants effectively.
Do Hornets Eat Bees?
The European hornet is the most prevalent hornet in North America and Europe, feeding on bees without posing a significant threat to hives. In contrast, other species like the Asian giant hornet have a much higher predatory impact, capable of killing up to 40 bees per minute. Hornets have a diverse diet that includes flying insects such as bees, wasps, flies, and larger prey like dragonflies and beetles, supplemented by tree sap and nectar. As social wasps, hornets live in organized colonies, with workers constructing large paper-like nests and primarily targeting honey bees as a protein source to sustain their queens and larvae.
Reports of invasive Asian hornet species alarming North American beekeepers indicate a serious concern as these hornets aggressively attack honey bee colonies. The Northern giant hornets, or Vespa mandarinia, pose a severe threat by preying on honey bees, often consuming their heads and stripping their bodies. One Asian hornet can kill up to 50 honeybees daily, negatively impacting native pollinators like bumblebees that provide essential pollination services.
While the yellow-legged hornet is known to eat honey and is a significant pest in Europe, hornets primarily act as hunters rather than gatherers. They consume bees and other insects to provide protein for their brood, removing the wings and heads of captured bees before bringing the thorax back to the nest. Despite evidence suggesting that Asian hornets may not significantly affect certain bee populations, their potential establishment in new regions poses a considerable threat.
Do Birds Eat Japanese Beetles?
Birds, specifically starlings, crows, robins, and cardinals, play a vital role in controlling invasive Japanese beetle populations, which can cause significant damage to gardens, crops, and ornamental plants. These pests, characterized by their metallic green appearance, reproduce rapidly and are challenging to manage. In addition to birds, various insects like ground beetles, assassin bugs, and spiders also act as natural predators by feeding on Japanese beetles. The parasitic wasp Tiphia vernalis effectively targets Japanese beetle grubs.
Birds such as sparrows, blackbirds, and jays are known to primarily consume adult Japanese beetles, especially in times of high beetle abundance. Other insectivorous species like bluebirds, wrens, and chickadees also contribute by eating these pests along with caterpillars and aphids. Additionally, gray catbirds and meadowlarks, alongside other birds, provide natural pest control by feeding on both the adult beetles and their larvae.
Mammals including opossums, raccoons, skunks, moles, and shrews will eat beetle grubs but may disturb lawns in the process. To enhance pest management in gardens, creating a bird-friendly habitat with birdhouses, feeders, and water sources can draw insectivorous birds. Overall, encouraging these birds not only supports the ecological balance but also effectively reduces Japanese beetle populations, safeguarding gardens from further destruction.
Do Wasps Eat Japanese Beetles?
The Tiphia wasp species actively targets fully grown Japanese beetle grubs during their feeding phase before pupation, as well as Oriental beetle grubs. They play a significant role as natural enemies, alongside ground beetles, assassin bugs, and spiders, which also prey on Japanese beetles. Tiphia vernalis, a parasitic wasp, effectively controls grub populations. Japanese beetles, small metallic-green insects native to Japan, were accidentally introduced to the U.
S. in the early 1900s and have since become widespread garden pests, known for their destructive feeding habits on foliage, flowers, and fruits. To mitigate their impact, scientists have introduced two species of parasitoid wasps and natural predators like certain birds that also consume adult beetles and their grubs. Among these predators, the Spring Tiphia stands out as a notable ally. Parasitic wasps do indeed prey upon Japanese beetles, with Tiphia vernalis and Tiphia popilliavora specifically targeting grubs during late summer or fall.
This strategic introduction of these wasps in gardens can significantly help manage the Japanese beetle population. Additionally, it's important to note that irrigated turfgrass lawns can facilitate the spread of these beetles into arid areas where they wouldn’t typically thrive. Overall, wasps are beneficial for controlling Japanese beetles.
What Causes An Infestation Of Japanese Beetles?
Japanese Beetles (Popillia japonica), originally from Japan, are highly destructive pests first identified in the United States in 1916. They thrive on a variety of flowers and plants, drawn by their fragrances, which encourages them to feed in groups, making them particularly damaging to landscapes. The lifecycle of these beetles includes both larval and adult stages; as grubs, they overwinter in soil and feed on the roots of grass and garden plants, causing significant damage.
Adult Japanese beetles emerge in late spring and are known for their shiny green and gold appearance. They feed on the leaves and fruits of numerous plant species, including ornamental plants, trees, and vegetables, often skeletonizing leaves by consuming the tissue between the veins, leaving them with a ragged, lacy appearance. The pests not only harm plants but can also create brown patches in turf due to their root damage, which resembles drought stress.
The spread of Japanese beetles occurs naturally or inadvertently through the movement of infested plants or soil. They are attracted to yards with expansive patches of grass and certain flowering plants, making regular monitoring and prompt removal of ripening fruits and vegetables crucial for control. Additionally, weeding out non-cultivated plants like smartweed or poison ivy can help reduce re-infestation risks.
Due to the absence of natural enemies in their non-native environment, Japanese beetles tend to proliferate, making early intervention critical for managing their populations. Effective management strategies are essential to preserve turf and landscape health, as they can be challenging to eradicate once established.
📹 We Fed Japanese Beetles to our Chickens (for $30)
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Getting rid of the adults before they lay eggs is the ideal solution, but you can also dig up the grubs and feed those to your poultry. In the spring, turf grasses will turn brown where the grubs are eating their roots. But also, consider adding bird feeders (with wild bird seed) near the traps that are farther out towards the edges of your property. All kinds of wild birds, as well as skunks and opossums will eat these beetles. Good luck!
I live near both a zoo and a horse ranch and I’ve spent the last few years trying to get on top of the fly population. The only thing I can advise is get those traps out there, early in the spring and try to make a big impact on the numbers before they start to breed. It has been hard, but the problem for me has reduced each year. This year is the best it has ever been since I moved here, nearly 4 years ago.
As is typical with invasive species a lack of natural predators make them an ever growing pest problem. Unfortunately the wild animals around you don’t know that the beetles are edible and avoid them. But something seems to be figuring it out going by the broken trap, maybe try leaving some off the dead beetles near that one and see if they get eaten? If a wild animal is willing to eat the dead ones you’ll have less beetles you need to deal with
Wow!! I’m so impressed by your ingenuity!! I was reading through the comments and I thought the wild bird feeders is also a good idea, but that feels like it takes more engineering 😅 Amazing start!! Those beetles are so invasive! Keep at it! All gardeners in North America are grateful for your service! 🙏
Have you looked at beetle grub control? I have used milky spore on my lawn and it worked. When I was still in the country, my chickens free ranged and did the grub work, lol. It is not a quick term solution but if you were able to apply it around garden and fruit trees and then work outward from there each year it might give you a good start. In some cases the application can last 10 years.
Milky Spore. Milky Spore. Milky Spore. Did I mention Milky Spore? It will take about three years of applications, but by the start of the third year, you will notice a difference. In Year 4, you will have almost no beetles. It is expensive, and it is a slow (but long-term) solution. It is worth it, though, if they are significantly impacting your fruit tree. It is a bacteria that specifically kills the grub. It is quite species-specific and very safe for anything else.
I’d forgo doing this on a pond like a lot of people suggested. You’re dealing with these bugs on an industrial level and having them on a pond isn’t going to turn out like you’d think. The fish might eat a couple, but most will not get eaten and they’ll just pollute the pond leading to diseases in the fish and, worst case, you’ll lose all your fish.
THIS IS GREAT!!!! There is no perfect solution to anything but this is definitely permaculture at its finest, you are making a dent in the beetle population for sure and making some chickens very happy! I am so sorry that people feel the need to make rude comments, obviously they have never tried to do anything like this. I love what you guys do on your farm, keep doing it!!!!
I love it. You should build traps like you have for your chickens that emply into 50 gallon drums that you empty once a season to reduce your labor. You could them compost them there at the edge of your property by just digging a hole, dumping it in, and covering it up. You appear to live in a very rural area, but I imaging you are helping your neighbors with their beetle challenges. I wonder if having the sent 6 feet in the air helps draw more battles. I love the effort.
I did start pondering about you setting up just a general trap area that could be around the open acre you got, allowing any of the wild life to try and munch on them. Of course, it would have to be away from yalls property, but as one suggested, you could add bird feed around the trap to lure in birds, or any other animals that like to ear insects, along with doing something about the grubs that are probably set up shop in the soil.
There will be opinions but we had them, emphasis on had, not “have”, and what made it worse was the lures/traps. My backyard is just a yard, and what worked for me may not scale up but getting rid of the traps was the first step. Step two was removing the beetles by hand, every day, primarily from my grape vine that they were destroying (and drowning them). Step three was adding a bird feeder and a bird house. I went from thousands to hundreds to three (a total of 3 so far this year) in four years time. My method may not work for you, but definitely ditch the traps. Maybe just fence off the area where the beetles are the worst and try free ranging some of the chickens you are just going to butcher anyway. (And move the fencing around from area to area as if you were rotating for cattle grazing or something).
Just for information, I’m studing at university in Italy and the we use a 5 gallon bottle modified instead of the bag that send with pheromone trap. If you use pherormone traps you attract japanease beetle in your land and nearby, if nobody in the area fight with you it’s almost impossible to get rid of it.
They infested a couple of my rose-of-sharons for years. They were so thick they’d eat all of the flowers down to nothing. Traps barely slowed them down. Even spraying the bushes with insecticide only killed the ones that were on the flowers. Finally, one year i applied grub killer to the ground around the bushes. The next year, there were NONE. I haven’t seen a japanese beetle in over a decade.
What about taking this idea much larger scale and moving the million beetles straight into a compost rotator that’s minimum the size of a 55 gallon drum. The rotation will probably crush them down to some degree and you can just leave it running during the daytime and mulch a huge amount of them all day every day
@White House on the Hill You could plant a ton of garlic in the weed fields but that could be expensive. I would suggest to get yourself an expendable flock of guinea fowl to let them free roam in the weed fields. Otherwise mowing them fields down is probably the best option but time is just as expensive.
I’m in Australia, I intend to feed my chickens, my fish and my pigs on – free flys, free fly larvae, worms, free saw fly larvae. Nothing is ever free it all takes time, but time on my farm rather than me spending money and time collecting bulk feed. I was thinking maybe a mulch or beetles and feed made into pellets..??
For my coconut trees, the pest is rhinoceros beetles. I use a bait too. While their numbers arent a lot, they cause heavy damage. They really stink bad when decomposing! Hard to get the stench off. For now, i dont have any chickens yet. I wonder what can i do with live rhino beetles. They kinda cute tho
Our numbers of these beetles dropped a lot this year. We have the Winsome Fly which uses the Japanese Beetle as a host. The Winsome Fly deposits one or more eggs on their back, right behind the head. As the hatch and develop they kill the Beetle. So I look for the small white dot, the leave those beetles alone.
also interesting question my first guide dog loved flies. I’ll never forget I was in the post office and I kept hearing chomping chomp chomp and everybody was laughing and I’m like what is he doing and they’re like he’s there’s a bunch of flies in here and he’s literally grabbing the flies out of the air, and he was wagging his tail like it was the best game he ever had and I was just so grossed out. I’m wondering if the dogs are eat these beetles
If they don’t like to eat them when they are de. ad i’d say the best option would be to dry them up and grind into dust, so then you can store them whole year in form of powder and add that protein rich powder to other meals you’re giving to chickens. Also by grinding them, you can also add little liquid and turn them into granulated meals, which can be used as a food for chickens, fertilizer for garden or free food for fish throughout the year, since you can store them in closed containers, cans, etc without worrying that they can smell up the fridge..
I hang my traps in the chicken run, so if they do lay eggs, at least the grubs will be next years chicken food…..weirdly, we haven’t had many jap beetles last 3 years (outside of Philly). Last 2 years been too cold during 1st week of July….but I’ve noticed a lack of all bugs this year. Not a lot of pollinating going on. Cucumbers have about 2000 flowers on them, yet only getting about 4 per day
in southeastern Asia, these beetles are collected by locals, first washed with water then seasoned with msg then fried in a pan with hot oil. Eaten raw they are super bitter and unpalatable to eat but once cooked they savory, crunchy, crispy, easy to consume and a flavor similar to shrimp or crab, potato chips and peanut. Chickens loves eating them once cooked 🪲
for the bag traps, eliminate the bag and design a catch with breathable fabric that will not cause the beetles to pile on top of each other. make a spout to a catch box that will fill but not crush them, add a sliding door so you can feed these direct to chickens or fish or whatever. for your traps in the chicken coop, look for a donut shaped catch pan so you can just run the post through the center and it will stay in place even in wind. drill a hole in the pan you have and use a pvc flange glued to the bottom will also work. do the traps work better if they are so high, seems you could cut them quite low to the ground. also, the scent maybe a pheromone that you can purchase separately.
You could put a small metal anchor in the ground underneath the poles then put a magnet in the water to hold it in place Removable for cleaning Or (just a simple heavy rock) Additional thought The more attractant used attracts them more. (It’s kind of a loop) But as a passive auto feeder (no chemicals) it’s a good idea I’d look into diets/behaviour of the beatles What they like to eat remove the plant(s) move the planets inside or another location driving them away from the property towards where you would want to go just a perspective
I could see you setting a trap like this over a really deep hole in the ground (10 ft or more, few inches diameter), when the hole is almost full just cap it off with dirt and move the trap over to a new hole a few feet away. Maybe too much labor to keep moving the traps around, but you wouldn’t have to empty bags all the time.
Just an FYI, beetle traps that use bait do not cure beetle infestations, they simply draw more beetles to your property. Obviously I this case you already have loads of bait in the fruit trees so that’s not an issue for you, but for people that have a few beetles destroying their home gardens putting a trap up will only draw in the beetles from the rest of the neighborhood.
These things were all over my 3 sisters beds my first gardening year. The next year I found a lovely vining weed that I liked the look of. I decided to let it grow with my corn like any lazy gardener would. Well, what to you know, the beetles LOVED that weed. They ate that vine like it was crack. And they left my corn and beans and my entire garden alone. God is good!
Add a 2nd t post on the other side of the water dish, couple of pieces of 2×4 or other scrap umber to bridge the t-post & to center the pipe over the water bowl. At that point a bit of rope/cord, tied to the t-posts warped around and over the top of the water bowl should hold it nicely. Then use the 2 t-posts to build a light shade lattice or something to lower the evaporation of the water and make it that much more attractive of a hang out spot for your birds. Or, just a good tent stake with loop/rope tie point opposite of the first T-post, and much the same securing with rope/cord. Or, take out the shovel and build an inclined dirt ramp(or dig down) so the edges of where the water dishes are flush and so they are effectively sunken in the ground.
Those traps can be really great for reducing population of insects. I use to have a big fly problem around my place. I started buying that exact same brand of trap, but for flies instead of beetles. They fill up so fast, but they kept the flies off the outside pet food. Then I started having other visitors to my house: jumping spiders. Lots of them, and big ones too. I didn’t even know jumping spiders could get so big until I saw a bunch of them set up on the wall near the traps. They’d wait for a fly to land on the wall, then pounce on them. Interesting little creatures. That brand is also great for wasps. I noticed a bunch of wasps building in my power line pipe, so rather than call someone out to get rid of them, I just set up a trap, and within a few days I didn’t see them anymore. My guess is that all the drones fell into the trap, and the hive starved.
I have had good luck making my own feed with Japanese beetles. The trick is they need to be freeze dried. I use 30% Corn · 30% Wheat · 35% freeze dried insects · fruit and crushed egg shells. I get my corn and wheat from the grocery store and farmers markets. I also get whatever eggs are busted and cant be sold. Fruit thats on the way out. Whatever corn and wheat products they are gonna toss I freeze dry with the insects. Once its all freeze dried I pound it into a powder add enough water to make a dough and pass it through a colander to make dough worms. Once they dry they get bagged out they go.
Birds don’t have strong sense of smell. So the smell should not be an issue with the chicken. Any chance their coloring makes them not visible to the birds, reason they are so abundant? The moving ones are just noticeable to the chicken? Possible to attract them to a grass patch sort of enclosed with very fine mesh and then daily leave some of the chickens in that enclosure. Us the scent pouch on the trap to attract the beetles into the enclosure we just discussed.
They can climb out of the water, but it takes a few minutes. They’re still being attracted after dusk; they’re just escaping. Overnight, you could block off the bottom to catch them like a traditional trap, then in the morning, unblock and empty the dead into a bucket and put the water under it again so the chickens can eat them. You could also break the surface tension of the water, which will cause them to drown immediately. But then you’re going to have a stinky mess in the morning.
We had ever increasing trouble with these beetles for about 3 or 4 years and then their numbers started to dwindle rapidly after that. This is in a grape vineyard where they would defoliate the entire vineyard in a few days. It was horrible. We don’t really have much problem with them now. It seems like natural disease and predators adapted to them after a few years and their numbers are kept in check now. Just trying to offer you some hope…
I feel the chickens dont eat the dead ones because its not moving anymore. The beetles already stink in general and I think movement is the last thing going for them for the chickens to be interested to eat them. If theyre dead and unmoving, the chickens might think theyre not good to eat anymore since it also just stinks to high heaven, IMO.
Spray the fields (non-edible and nontoxic to other animals) with some pesticides. I would call a pest control company and see if there is something they can do. There are certain plants or herbs you can plant that will stop deer or other animals from entering, so you may be able to find something that is harmful to only those beetles, while deterring or repelling others from entering
I’d be interested if you can tell if the eggs have improved? I remember when my parents had chickens. I’d be in the veggie garden with my borther picking up snails and grubs into an icecream bucket. All the chickens lined up in the coup quietly perusal. Once one of us picked up the container and started to walk towards the chickens they’d go crazy. I doubt anything survived more than a few seconds once the chickens got to them. I miss home farmed eggs.
Don’t know if this is a solution to get rid of the beetles or if it will significantly be part of the feed for your chickens but it sure looks promising on both fronts. I assume the beetles aren’t a year round issue, when do you see them. I don’t think this invention will make it on Shark tank but If I had this problem I would be making one of these traps this afternoon.
Chickens almost certainly can’t smell very well. You could dry those beetles out until they totally lose their smell and they probably still won’t eat them. The reason they don’t eat them is because they don’t look like food. Movement will catch the attention of a chicken, which is why they eat the living ones. The dead ones are probably no different than pebbles to a chicken, and of course they shouldn’t and wont go around eating pebbles of that size.
Hey there, I’ve got a simple solution that’ll save you money on chicken feed. In Asia, we make chicken feed with Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae mixed with rice husk. Just run them through a cheap pelletizer, and boom, you’ve got affordable chicken feed! If you’ve got layers or are concerned about your broilers’ nutrition, you can find recipes that use the larvae to meet their protein needs. This method can save you a ton of money. You can also mix in garlic, turmeric, and chili powder. These act as dewormers and give the eggs a bright orange color. One thing to keep in mind, though: BSF flies are tenacious. The eggs inside the females can survive in compost and eventually hatch. In our small operation, we’ve seen dormant eggs in compost turn into flies. I’ve never worked with Japanese beetles, so I’m not sure about them. Just make sure the compost you’re spreading on your crops and gardens doesn’t have dormant eggs that could hatch into pests. Best of luck to you! May the goddess of harvest and fertility bless all farmers.
I need some advice. Recently we let a broody hen hatch some eggs because of an accident that happened with our chicks when we were on a vacation. 2 chicks hatched naturally, and everything’s been great until now. We bought some chicks from our local feedstore. I’ve done tons of research and found that if you introduce the chicks with the hen, they should be fine, however she started attacking the chick over and over, sometimes she even tried to shake them or kick them. We are thinking of sneaking some of them into her nest tonight, but we are worried she’ll recognize them and kill them, what should we do?
Have you considered using a maggot bucket to process the dead beetles into a usable source of chicken food? Although, I have to admit I’m not sure if flies would consider rotting Japanese beetles a valid egg laying site. Also given how much you said they stink, I imagine they would smell a lot worse when they’re a week dead and infested with maggots, so that’d be a drawback.
Have you considered catfish? They are VORACIOUS and will eat just about ANYTHING. Have a couple traps set up over a pond with catfish. They will breed like crazy when there’s abundance of food. You can in turn harvest the catfish when they grow bigger and are unable to hunt for these small beetles. You get nutritious food from Catfish, while keeping the pond population in check. I really think this is a great idea. Please try it. Might I add that you’d spend zero dollars in catfish food all while harvesting delicious catfish for a couple of meals a month.
I think that making yourself a pellet out of ground beetle and grasses might be a way to get them to eat the beetles al year round. Maybe they have an instinct to avoid the dead ones. They can however adapt to pellets of different kinds. If I had this resource, I would figure it out. All that matters is that they swallow it. Lol
I had good luck in 2023 after spreading Beneficial Nematodes – HB (Heterohabditis bacteriophora) everywhere in fall of 2022, but I was bad about trapping the adults in 2023 that were around and they multiplied and are worse in 2024 than they were in 2023 but still not as bad as they were in 2022. I’m definitely going to do another application in the next month or two when the weather is right. Sadly I can’t raise chickens where I am but I enjoyed perusal your solution. Good luck!