Thanks for using the MVS-Amazon link!

[matthew1]

Update: after spraying, the beetles stay off the leaves of my rose bushes. However, they still do attack the buds. That's because these things bud so quickly that the petals have no Neem oil on them. Sprayed leaves take on a shiny sheen.

So... it works, but if you want to save the flowers as they bud, you must be out there with the spray when they do bud.

Neem oil on Amazon if you're interested in this imperfect, better-than-nothing solution.

Zep spray bottle on Amazon if you're interested in not using a wimpy repurposed spray bottle that will cause you to have Popeye forearms.

IMG_3905.jpeg (259.21 KiB) Viewed 48510 times

IMG_3908.jpeg (215 KiB) Viewed 48510 times

[BlackBart]

So you're saying we need to go out and sleep next to the roses and apply hourly?

[matthew1]

Man I wish there was a silver bullet, BB. These things make me pretty angry. I think if you live in a rural setting and have land, putting the trap at one corner of your property might work*... combined with JB grub mitigation methods during the spring when these creepy horrors are growing under the grass... but in a neighborhood where you can't control their growth (they do not respect property boundaries, apparently), Neem is probably your best weapon. That's my take as a hobbyist JB hater.



* think: 500 meters away from your roses

[matthew1]

I purposely under-watered what little grass I have during the spring, in hopes it would help deter the JB larvae/grub stage. But these things are very mobile (they fly), so it didn't matter a bit.

[BlackBart]

I'm glad we don't have these things here. I'll ask Mrs Gardener what her experience is with them. Pretty similar climates.

[matthew1]

They are invasive and weren't here as recently as (I think) 5-ish years ago. Do what you need to do to keep them out. Barricades, fires, heads on pikes, moats, flaming arrows, catapults firing diseased cows, whatever. You don't want them.

[BlackBart]

Heads on pikes, I like it!

We will close the drawbridge.

[454cid]

They've really eaten up my grape vines this year. The grape vines are wild, but I prune them with hope of the providing nice looking greenery and some privacy in the back yard. Last year I actually got some small grapes, but this year the leaves are all eaten up looking. I get the beetles every years, but they're worse this year.

[matthew1]

Here is one of my rose bushes today.

You can see some devastated leaves and flower buds from a week+ ago, and you can see all the leaves have a shiny appearance because of the Neem oil. It hasn't rained for days, so the oil stays on and helps keep The Enemy away from the bush.

Why are these new flower buds not decimated? I don't know. It may be because the leaves have so much Neem oil on them that The Enemy stays away, or the local Enemy population is down naturally. Or a combination.

IMG_3956.jpeg (354.75 KiB) Viewed 48455 times

[BlackBart]

You have struck The Enemy, and he has withdrawn.

It may be temporary, he may be waiting.