Can anyone tell me if Purple Martins, Bluebird, Tree Swallows and/or Barn Swallows will eat Japanese Beetles? We're having an outbreak here and I'm contemplating putting out one of the Japanese Beetle hormone traps and placing it near my martin and bluebird houses for some "biological" control if they'll eat them. Since there are no trees or shrubs around, the beetles would have to fly to the trap and hopefully get picked off by my fine feathered friends. Does anyone know why that wouldn't work or if it has a down side?
P.S. This is only my second year with Martins and I have a full house! Only one compartment is empty. I converted a twelve-room Trio into one with three 12 X 6 compartments and nine 6 X 6 compartments and two hanging gourds! Last year I only had two pair of Subbies!
Will Martins eat Japanese Beetles?
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Guest
I see dragonflies all around my martin housing during some periods of time. The martins seem to ignore them. The martins would probably ignore the beetles, but you will never know unless someone has tried it.
Its also possible that the martins like a variety of bugs, so they may catch a few of the beetles, but then they would ignore them. They may be like humans, and like a variety. I love watermelon, but after eating a lot for a day or two, I surely don't want any the next day.
Good luck if you try it, and let us know what happens
Its also possible that the martins like a variety of bugs, so they may catch a few of the beetles, but then they would ignore them. They may be like humans, and like a variety. I love watermelon, but after eating a lot for a day or two, I surely don't want any the next day.
Good luck if you try it, and let us know what happens
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Guest
wyatt,
I was amazed at the same thing. There was a dragonfly perched ontop of the housing and the martins didn't even notice. I guess he didn't look so "juicy" after all...
I was amazed at the same thing. There was a dragonfly perched ontop of the housing and the martins didn't even notice. I guess he didn't look so "juicy" after all...
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John Miller
- Posts: 4863
- Joined: Mon Mar 22, 2004 9:11 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Bill
Martins eat Japanese beetles. We've had some bad infestations in recent summers in St. Louis, and I find beetle wings in the martin housing. But the martins feed high and so probably catch their beetles across a broad area of the open sky.
I know one horticulture professional who thinks these traps attract more beetles to a yard than they capture. You could just plant some roses to attract beetles (grin) -- my few roses are pretty well decimated.
I've seen mocking birds take a lot of Japanese beetles when feeding babies; not sure about the other birds you mentioned. May be too large for barnies? Not sure of toxic risks from the beetles caught in traps -- maybe none but not qualified to comment. You can shake off beetles into a bucket of soapy water and they drown.
John
Martins eat Japanese beetles. We've had some bad infestations in recent summers in St. Louis, and I find beetle wings in the martin housing. But the martins feed high and so probably catch their beetles across a broad area of the open sky.
I know one horticulture professional who thinks these traps attract more beetles to a yard than they capture. You could just plant some roses to attract beetles (grin) -- my few roses are pretty well decimated.
I've seen mocking birds take a lot of Japanese beetles when feeding babies; not sure about the other birds you mentioned. May be too large for barnies? Not sure of toxic risks from the beetles caught in traps -- maybe none but not qualified to comment. You can shake off beetles into a bucket of soapy water and they drown.
John
Last edited by John Miller on Mon Jul 14, 2008 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Putting up the harmone bait trap is not advised as it will draw more and more and you will end up with an outbreak of them you will regret.
the martins like to feed high up in th air and not as low as that.
the martins like to feed high up in th air and not as low as that.
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flyin-lowe
- Posts: 3788
- Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:49 am
- Location: Indiana/Henry Co.
The best thing you can do is find a neighbor a few houses down that will put out one of these traps. They work, and that is the problem,they work too good. I put one out a few years ago and within a few days my entire back yard was swarmed with them. The trap was completely full and actually bent over touching the ground. I am convinced that even with the HUGE number that I trapped I still had ten times more in my yard that were not trapped. I too would suggest not putting a trap out.
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Guest
Everybody is correct in saying "Don't use a hormone trap" The guys at work used to always pull pranks on each other. One day the prank was pulled on me.
My Coworker put a hormone bate container in my Jeep. Within 8 hrs my Jeep had to have several hundred or maybe a thousand beetles in it. They were everywhere, in the dash board, in the radio and worst of all, in the vents. The prankster had put the hormone into the vent. It was over 90 outside and the hormone had melted into the air/heating system.
It cost $3,500 to have everything torn down and cleaned out. They never really got things cleaned out. Every once in awhile a bug would get blown out when the air was on. The hormone wasn't all removed because I would still see live bugs in the jeep from time to time.. Ended up selling the Jeep. The prankster paid me in full but I never fully forgave him.
My Coworker put a hormone bate container in my Jeep. Within 8 hrs my Jeep had to have several hundred or maybe a thousand beetles in it. They were everywhere, in the dash board, in the radio and worst of all, in the vents. The prankster had put the hormone into the vent. It was over 90 outside and the hormone had melted into the air/heating system.
It cost $3,500 to have everything torn down and cleaned out. They never really got things cleaned out. Every once in awhile a bug would get blown out when the air was on. The hormone wasn't all removed because I would still see live bugs in the jeep from time to time.. Ended up selling the Jeep. The prankster paid me in full but I never fully forgave him.
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Glen Webb Jr
- Posts: 478
- Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2004 1:03 pm
- Location: Illinois/Stewardson
Yes, martins do eat the Japanese beetles. I find their remains all the time. I have witnessed on many occasions where martins, tree swallows, and barn swallows would congregate in a certain area and pick off the beetles like crazy. The beetles were swarming on a weed, bush, or some other plant type and the feeding frenzy was usually started by the tree swallows. Martins quickly caught on and before it was finished, the barnies joined in. I also see bluebirds, kingbirds, thrashers, mockingbirds, pewees, and I hate to admit it, but house sparrows feed on those damned beetles. There are hundreds of beetles on this elm next to my back porch and the house sparrows are feeding like crazy on them. They are usually the adults that are picking the beetles off the leaves and taking them back to the nest.
But I have never seen any kind of control of beetles from birds feeding on them. There are just too many. And as far as the martins go, they still prefer the dragonflies this time of year.
But I have never seen any kind of control of beetles from birds feeding on them. There are just too many. And as far as the martins go, they still prefer the dragonflies this time of year.
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Guest
I can toss the J beetles up in the air and the barn swallows will grab them.
As far as using the hormone traps is concerned: I've done quite a bit of work on this subject for the last four years. You have to make some changes and be very committed to doing this. The traps as sold are simply not up to the task. A couple of years ago I modified the system (still use the pheromone lures) to be more effective. I caught approx five to ten gallons of them per day - well over a million for the season. I dug quite a few holes in the ground that summer! And no, I did not have a mass of beetles the next summer. You must realize that this is due to attracting them but not catching them. If you substantially lower the escape rate, your lawn won't be hosting them for the off season.
It's unfortunate because this is another human mess-up; we introduced these pests too, but the attitude in resolving the problem is totally fatalistic. I've been in contact with numerous "authorities" on the subject and this is what I've found without fail. The attitude is "the government has spent millions of dollars on research and eradication programs, what do you think you can do?"
Well I hate to be the bearer of radical thought, but to me, if something doesn't work it's not because it can't. It's because we've been asking the wrong questions or going about the solution the wrong way. I think the track record of our government makes this a distinct possibility. (I know, lock me up and toss the key!) So I wish these people would listen instead of throwing up their arms in defeat.
Now, I'm not going to say that I can eradicate the J beetle, but no one can tell me that we are incapable of having an impact on their population. And not just a minor one. There's nothing wrong with the lures, they work fantastically; it's the traps that are completely deficient.
- Steve
As far as using the hormone traps is concerned: I've done quite a bit of work on this subject for the last four years. You have to make some changes and be very committed to doing this. The traps as sold are simply not up to the task. A couple of years ago I modified the system (still use the pheromone lures) to be more effective. I caught approx five to ten gallons of them per day - well over a million for the season. I dug quite a few holes in the ground that summer! And no, I did not have a mass of beetles the next summer. You must realize that this is due to attracting them but not catching them. If you substantially lower the escape rate, your lawn won't be hosting them for the off season.
It's unfortunate because this is another human mess-up; we introduced these pests too, but the attitude in resolving the problem is totally fatalistic. I've been in contact with numerous "authorities" on the subject and this is what I've found without fail. The attitude is "the government has spent millions of dollars on research and eradication programs, what do you think you can do?"
Well I hate to be the bearer of radical thought, but to me, if something doesn't work it's not because it can't. It's because we've been asking the wrong questions or going about the solution the wrong way. I think the track record of our government makes this a distinct possibility. (I know, lock me up and toss the key!) So I wish these people would listen instead of throwing up their arms in defeat.
Now, I'm not going to say that I can eradicate the J beetle, but no one can tell me that we are incapable of having an impact on their population. And not just a minor one. There's nothing wrong with the lures, they work fantastically; it's the traps that are completely deficient.
- Steve
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Guest
Dennis:
My set up isn't quite like that. There are a couple of flaws with that type of design. Many people have used large garbage bags or garbage cans to simply enlarge the existing baggies.
One problem is that, in my case, the beetles come in so fast that the hourglass shape cannot handle the influx of beetles. The necked-down section simply clogs with a mass of beetles, and then they fly in & out of the trap, and don't fall in. This is true of the original trap baggies too.
Using a garbage can allows the beetles to escape the trap. You cannot rely only on some soapy water to keep the beetles from flying out of the trap if they've been caught. With any significant amount of beetles, the water will be covered, and then the beetles can simply fly off.
Another problem is that designs which use the existing hardware (a wire) to hold up the bag simply won't support the weight. They tend to bend over and/or collapse onto the ground. Tim's design, as seen on the video simply had a failure of the duct tape. Tim's video is fun to watch, but for a serious trap design, all of these shortcomings must be addressed, plus the "system" must be easy to set up and use, of course.
If I sound like I'm dodging giving info, it's because I'm trying to get my design to go somewhere, so you'll have to bear with me while this plays out (or not). I'm also lining up people to field test the design. Back to Martins (for now)...
- Steve
My set up isn't quite like that. There are a couple of flaws with that type of design. Many people have used large garbage bags or garbage cans to simply enlarge the existing baggies.
One problem is that, in my case, the beetles come in so fast that the hourglass shape cannot handle the influx of beetles. The necked-down section simply clogs with a mass of beetles, and then they fly in & out of the trap, and don't fall in. This is true of the original trap baggies too.
Using a garbage can allows the beetles to escape the trap. You cannot rely only on some soapy water to keep the beetles from flying out of the trap if they've been caught. With any significant amount of beetles, the water will be covered, and then the beetles can simply fly off.
Another problem is that designs which use the existing hardware (a wire) to hold up the bag simply won't support the weight. They tend to bend over and/or collapse onto the ground. Tim's design, as seen on the video simply had a failure of the duct tape. Tim's video is fun to watch, but for a serious trap design, all of these shortcomings must be addressed, plus the "system" must be easy to set up and use, of course.
If I sound like I'm dodging giving info, it's because I'm trying to get my design to go somewhere, so you'll have to bear with me while this plays out (or not). I'm also lining up people to field test the design. Back to Martins (for now)...
- Steve