Want an opportunity to do something noble yet a little weird at the same time? A new protozoan (Ovavesicula popilliae) disease that kills Japanese beetles has great potential to rid gardeners of a big problem. Japanese beetles are metallic green and bronze beetles that feed on a wide variety of plants. They are voracious eaters of nearly every plant in the garden, including ornamental trees and fruit. Their immature larval stage feed on grass roots, and can heavily damage lawns.
You can apply chemical controls to control Japanese beetle or use special traps to lure them to death, but milky spore disease and this new protozoan disease are more natural methods of controlling the Japanese beetle that won’t harm other creatures in the environment. Michigan State University would like to spread the protozoan pathogen across Michigan and you can help.
Join Michigan State educators Dr. David Smitley, Mary Wilson and Bob Bricault on Wednesday, July 28 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon for a short talk on this natural control method and they will give you a bag of infected Japanese beetles to take home and release. While it may seen odd to actually bring these beetles home and release them- when you may have hundreds eating your plants already- rest assured it’s a good thing to do.
The free talk and grab bag of beetles takes place at the MSU Tollgate Research farm in Novi. Tollgate farm is at the corner of 12 Mile and Meadowbrook roads- 28115 Meadowbrook. Call 248-347- 3860 for more information. Or go here for information about the farm. http://www.msue.msu.edu/portal/default.cfm?pageset_id=28728
This protozoan will take about 5-6 years to really establish a good control of Japanese beetles in an area. In that time homeowners should avoid applying chemical controls for Japanese beetles. The beetles need to go out and spread the protozoa. It’s a sacrifice for the environment. The protozoan was first tried for grub control in Michigan on some golf courses in 1999. It has been found to greatly reduce Japanese beetle populations once established and has no detrimental effects on other animals in the environment.
Biological controls like this protozoa and milky spore disease, caused by a fungus, don’t entirely eliminate Japanese beetles but they do bring them down to a much more manageable level. In some years heavy populations of Japanese beetles have severely damaged landscapes and caused loss of income for farmers and nursery owners. You can be part of a natural movement to control this pest, saving your garden and helping the environment. Homeowners tend to use huge amounts of pesticides, both on landscape plants and the lawn in an effort to control Japanese beetles. This will help stop some of that use.
So spread the bugs - pick yours up July 28. For more information about Japanese beetles see this article.
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