The blueberry bushes were beautiful. They were loaded with quickly ripening fruit and juuust about ready to pick. Then one day, the Japanese beetles arrived. They immediately attacked my blueberries! And this is what happened....
The attacked the berries (and the leaves a little bit) and bit into them and ate a little bit from each one. Those bites, combined with the very dry weather we've been having, caused the berries to dehydrate on the bush. And I don't know about you, but I think that chewed up blueberries are not appetizing at all!
I don't like to use pesticides at all and I put out my trusty Japanese beetle traps.
You can see that the bag is getting a nice load of beetles, and this is where my revenge begins.
I take the bag off the hangar and pour a couple of cups of water down the bag. There are small holes at the bottom so that the water will drain out and still keep in the beetles.
Then....
...I dump the bag in the poultry yard and feed them to the chickens and ducks. They go nuts for them!
The water poured into the bag part is VERY important. It keeps the beetles from flying away and accessible to the birds. I learned (from experience) that you'll find yourself standing in a disgusting virtual whirlwind of flying Japanese beetles if you decide not to add the water!
Next year, I'll plan to put row covers over the berries when they're green. That way I can get away without using chemicals and still have a decent blueberry crop.
Here is an idea of the Japanese Beetle lifecycle:
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| Source:http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/insects/find/japanese-beetles/ |
When I saw the beetles, I was able to cover my grapes before the beetles got to them and so far they look good!
You can see the ripening grapes under the cover and now I just hope that powdery mildew doesn't rear it's ugly head.
By the way, I've noticed, and I don't know if it's a byproduct of the increased amount of protein that the chickens are getting, that I'm getting much larger eggs lately!
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