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Combatting Deer and Japanese Beetles

acrewoodflowers

Ahh June. School is out, the pool is open, it’s not quite sweltering hot yet, our gardens, perennials, and annuals are just beginning to come into their prime, then BOOM. Just like that you walk out one morning to find your hostas and hydrangeas eaten almost to the ground and your beautiful rose bushes peppered with holes.


Deer and Japanese Beetles are two nuisances that most Southern gardeners deal with in the month of June (and beyond) and I’m often asked what to do about them. Below are some tried and true ways that I’ve found help me combat deer and beetles. This is by no means and exhaustive list – just what works best for me!


Oh deer – Unless you install a 7’+ deer fence around your property, you’re probably going to experience damage from deer in some capacity. I recommend either planting things deer don’t like (ex – plants with a strong smell like marigolds and peonies, toxic plants like daffodils, or plants with off-putting textures like salvia) or using deer spray.


Deer damage on my rudbeckia because I got a little lazy and didn't put out deer spray early enough. Be assured, once they find something yummy, they'll keep coming back to it until it's gone.
Deer damage on my rudbeckia because I got a little lazy and didn't put out deer spray early enough. Be assured, once they find something yummy, they'll keep coming back to it until it's gone.

During the late spring and summer months I spray the perimeter of my property every other week with Bobbex deer spray, and directly spray highly susceptible plants like my hydrangeas and hostas. This works extremely well to repel deer. I also find fertilizing with fish emulsion helps because of its strong smell.


Beware – your property will be stinky for about 24 hours but the smell fades quickly (to us, but deer have more sensitive noses). I like to spray in the evening when I know it won’t rain for 24 hours. Don’t spray Bobbex directly on vegetables you plan to eat. Although it’s organic, it contains some gross stuff and you wouldn’t want to chance ingesting it. Spray the foliage or perimeter instead.


Now, on to beetles. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and prevention is the key here. My favorite method of getting rid of beetles is to walk my gardens and yard with a cup of soapy water in the evenings. I knock the beetles into the water and they drown. Doing this breaks their lifecycle - I’m eliminating the adults so they can’t lay their eggs. I’ve been doing this for four years and have seen a massive difference in the amount of Japanese Beetles on our property.


Another organic prevention is to apply Milky Spore to your yard and gardens. It takes several applications over a few years, but then works for about a decade to eliminate Japanese Beetle grubs in the soil. Again, this breaks the lifecycle and reduces their population drastically. Note – this won’t work well in places you till seasonally.


I would caution against using beetle bags/traps, especially if you live in a neighborhood, because you’re basically inviting all your neighbor’s beetles over to your yard. Along the way they’ll probably stop to have a snack. No one wants that (well the beetles do, but you don’t).


If you’re having issues with deer, Japanese beetles, or another pest, please feel free to reach out. I would love to help if I can. Happy beetle hunting!

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