Japanese Beetles

This year is a comparatively bad year for Japanese Beetles.  Not catastrophic by any means, but fairly annoying.  Over the years we've put down Milky Spore over pretty much the whole property which has cut down a lot over the years.  These days they concentrate around the porcelain vine next to the side door.  It's sort of like a beetle round-up.  They don't bother the beans and rarely even the raspberries but they still love this vine.  I keep a Bag-A-Bug nearby which draws them to that side of the house and then they spot the party vine!

This is what a Beetle Party looks like

This makes them sitting ducks.  Every day I collect them up in a cup of soapy water.  It's easier to catch them in the morning when they are cold and dewy and sluggish.

In five minutes I can clean the vine of 4 or 5 dozen beetles.  A few will startle and decamp but if I wait 5 or 10 minutes they'll be back.  There's not much fun stuff to do away from the party vine.

I put Castile soap in the water which kills them almost immediately.  

I leave them for a bit then I pour it out on the pavers of the compost area and crush them with a shovel to make sure they're very dead.  Beetles are controllable but like most pests, you have to do it every day every year to keep them in check.  You are never really rid of them.