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Japanese Beetles  Question… What is considered the worst turf grass infesting pest in the United States? Answer… The Japanese Beetle.
Origins:
The Japanese beetle is from Japan where it has natural enemies to keep it in check. It was first found in New Jersey around the 1916 timeframe and found very favorable conditions o thrive without natural enemies to control its populations.
 Adult Beetles: An adult Japanese beetle is a shiny metallic green and around ˝ inch long. Both males and females have the same markings but the females are usually slightly larger. It’s not the adults that do the damage to the root systems of turf and ornamentals, it’s the beetle grubs. The adults take their damage to the foliage of most plants.  Beetle Grubs: The beetle grubs chew on the root systems and reduce a plants ability to take up enough water and nutrients to withstand the normal stresses of hot and dry weather. One of the first clues of beetle grub infestation is localized patches of pale and dying grass. The end result if unchecked is that the damaged area keeps increasing until the turf is not well anchored and can be rolled back like a carpet.  Controlling Japanese Beetles: Grubs: 1- Young grubs and eggs have trouble surviving in dry soil conditions. Thus, limiting or withholding watering during peak adult beetle flight may help reduce grub populations. On the other hand, make sure you have adequate moisture in the soil in late summer to help damaged turf recover from grub damage. 2- You can also control Japanese beetles biologically or with chemicals. The chemicals methods have proven to be the most effective in the case of Japanese beetles. The best answer to finding a solution in your local area is to visit a lawn and garden center and read the choices available in your market. Chemical examples for grub control include: a- Imidacloprid b- Marathon c- Bendiocarb d- Isofenphos e- Chlorpyrifos f- Diazinon Adults: 1- Many people believe that Japanese beetle traps are a good idea but this may not be the case. The presence of beetles will attract more beetles so a trap may attract more Japanese beetles and thus cause more damage to your plants. 2- Removing Japanese beetles by hand when the population is low may be a good option and it will act as a natural pest control method. 3- Chemical control is effective and there will be many choices at your local lawn and garden center. Apply your chemical control in the afternoon when the Japanese beetles are most active for best results. Chemical control for adult Japanese beetles include: a- Carbaryl b- Malathion c- Methoxychlor
d- Rotenone
 Japanese beetle life cycle: The female Japanese beetle feed, mate, and burrow 2-4 inches into the soil under turf. This is where they lay their eggs which will hatch in approximately 2 weeks. The grubs begin to feed on the turf grass roots almost immediately and grow to about 1 inch by late summer. Japanese beetles instinctively choose areas that are higher in moisture to lay their eggs which is why keeping soil dry during peek beetle time is a strategy to control them.
Grubs will over-winter in the soil about 2-6 inches down with some burrowing up to 20 inches if conditions warrant it for survival. Japanese beetle grubs become inactive when the soil reaches 50 degrees F and resume activity once it goes above that in the spring. The grubs will again resume feeding for about 3-5 weeks and then stop feeding to create an earthen cell where by they transform into adult Japanese beetles.
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