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Dreaded Japanese beetles found at two Sacramento County sites

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUN 10, 2020

Japanese beetles are serious destructive pests. Hundreds of traps are now out in a 49-square-mile area. (Photo courtesy Sacramento County Agricultural Commission)

Trapping follows discoveries in Rancho Cordova, Arden-Arcade

America’s No. 1 turf pest is trying to invade Sacramento – again. But much more than lawn is at stake. This bad bug is a major threat to California agriculture, too; it can destroy more than 300 crops including wine grapes, citrus and stone fruit. And it really likes roses, too.

The dreaded Japanese beetle has been discovered in two locations in Sacramento County, triggering a massive trapping campaign.

According to the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, a total of 19 Japanese beetles – eight in Arden-Arcade and 11 in Rancho Cordova – were recently found. Those initial detections were confirmed June 4, the county announced Tuesday.

This week, state and county staff placed hundreds of green plastic traps over a 49-square-mile area. Those beetle traps will be monitored daily within a mile of the initial sightings; weekly farther away.

Most of the traps are placed near Japanese beetles’ favorite domain – lush green lawn. Its grubs devour the roots of turf grasses, causing an estimated $250 million in damage annually, according to the USDA.

As their name implies, Japanese beetles are native to Japan, where they are not considered a pest. Natural predators keep their numbers in check. But in North America, Japanese beetles have found an unlimited buffet with no predators to stop them. And they eat their entire lives; below ground as larvae on roots, and above ground as adults on fruit and foliage, which they skeletonize.

“Among the plants most commonly damaged are apple, pears, cherries, corn, grapes, roses and turfgrass,” said the county’s announcement. “Adults leave behind skeletonized leaves and large, irregular holes. The grubs develop in soil, feeding on the roots of various plants and grasses and often destroying turf in lawns, parks, golf courses and pastures.”

Sacramento County residents are urged to be on the lookout for this pest. The Arden-Arcade discovery was made near the intersection of Watt and Whitney avenues.

According to the CDFA website, these are the first Japanese beetles to be detected in Sacramento County neighborhoods since 2017 when one beetle was trapped in Fair Oaks.

The adults appear in June and July before tunneling back underground to lay eggs. Those eggs hatch in late summer and the larvae spend the next nine months eating roots.

This is a fig beetle or green fruit beetle, which is sometimes
mistaken for a Japanese beetle. But it's nearly twice as large as the
invasive pest -- up to 1-1/3 inches long. (Photo courtesy UC IPM)

About a half-inch long with bronze iridescent wings, Japanese beetles look a lot like other beetles common in Sacramento in early summer, including fig, hoplia and June beetles. But the Japanese beetle is a lot more destructive. Among the trees at highest risk: Japanese maple, crape myrtle, apple, stone fruit (peach, plum, apricot, pluot, cherry etc.), pin oak, linden, birch, black walnut, Lombardy poplar and willow.

Herbaceous plants most likely to be attacked include: Roses, grapes, sweet corn, asparagus, dahlias, sunflowers, hollyhocks, peonies, gladiola and zinnias. The grubs, which are white and about an inch long, love lawns of all sorts.

If you think you’ve seen Japanese beetles in your garden, call the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner’s office at (916) 875-6603 or the state’s Pest Hotline at (800) 491-1899.

Details: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/jb/

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Keywords:

orchard Sacramento California crops pests roses trees orchard fruit crops citrus gardening Rancho Cordova lawns invasive pest UC IPM

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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