How to Rid Basil Plants of Japanese Beetles
If you have swarms of the dreaded Japanese beetle munching on your basil or other plants around your home, you are not alone. Japanese beetles love sweet plants and will turn your rose bushes and some herbs into "lace." They especially love basil, and of course you don't want to put harmful chemicals on your basil. Luckily there are a few ways to rid your herbs of Japanese beetles and prevent the return of their offspring. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Newspaper
- Bucket of soap water
- Garlic cloves
- Marigold plants
- Radish plants
- Milky Spore
- Sugar
- Bananas
- Plastic jugs
Instructions
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Remove Beetles and Larvae
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1
Shake the plants free of existing beetles. Go out to your garden in the morning when the dew is still on the ground and place newspaper under your basil plants. Shake the plants just hard enough to make the beetles fall on the newspaper. The dew on their wings and the cooler temperature will make it harder for them to get away. Dump the beetles from the newspaper into a bucket of soapy water to kill them.
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2
Break some fresh garlic off of the cloves and remove the skin. Crush of the pieces of garlic and spread them around your basil plants. Take it a step further by adding water and mixing it up in a blender. Sprinkle the plants with the "garlic shake." Japanese beetles hate garlic, and this will keep them away for a while so you can move on to the other steps.
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3
Plant a variety of plants around your home and around your garden where your basil grows. Marigolds make a nice perimeter and will repel a number of pests, Japanese beetles included. Plant radishes, garlic and onions as close to your basil plants as you can.
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4
Spread Milky Spore powder on the ground around your basil plants to kill the larvae of Japanese beetles in the soil. It is a disease that naturally occurs and does not hurt the plants, people or other animals. You may have to repeat this once a year for a few years to rid the soil of the larvae.
Make Japanese Beetle Traps
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5
Add 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of warm water to dissolve it and stir with a spoon. Smash one ripe banana and mix it into the sugar water. Mix in a package of yeast.
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6
Pour the mixture into an empty plastic jug and leave the lid off so the beetles can get in. Make a few of these traps.
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7
Place the traps somewhere away from your basil plants so the beetles won't want to visit the basil instead. Check the traps after a week or so to empty out the rotten bait and dead beetles. Make another mixture and replace them.
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Tips & Warnings
If you don't have room to plant anything else near your basil, spray around your plants with the "garlic water" about once a week.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Japanese Beetle image by ssquared from Fotolia.com
