Having beautiful landscaping is challenging when you must constantly fight off pests whose only purpose is to devour it. One of the most annoying of these pests is the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica Newman). This insect is damaging in both its larvae stage, commonly known as white grubs, and its adult stage.
The larvae feed on the roots of grasses making them a dreaded pest of golf courses, parks, and, of course, to your lawn. The adult goes on to consume turfgrass as well as ornamentals. In fact, they aren’t very picky – there are roughly 300 species of plants that can be host to the Japanese beetle.
The adult Japanese beetle is actually quite attractive and if it weren’t for its voracious and destructive appetite, you might not want to even consider Japanese beetle control. They have a beautiful metallic green body with bronze/copper wing covers. These critters also have patches of white hair in groupings of five on each side and another pair at the far end, which makes them very distinctive.
Although the Japanese beetle has a relatively short lifespan of about a month or two, during that time they are quite active at producing offspring. They can mate as many as 16 times in their short life and deposit a total of 40 to 60 eggs, which hatch in under two weeks. It is easy to see how a small Japanese beetle problem can become a large one in a short period of time if Japanese beetle control doesn’t happen.
If you want to take back your yard with Japanese beetle control, give us a call at Englewood Lawn & Landscapes. We have five fully equipped crews with 150 years of combined experience, so we are confident we can help you get the lush lawn and landscaping you desire. Contact us today!