You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Gray or fawn colored beetle. Reddish-brown head. Long legged and slender, 1/2 inch long. Feeds on foliage, buds and flowers of host plants such as blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, cabbage, beans, beet and pepper. Rose chafers are found in the Eastern U.S.
The larvae overwinter in the soil. As temperatures rise in the spring, larvae move up towards the soil surface and pupate. In a few weeks adult beetles emerge and begin feeding for a period of about four to six weeks. Females deposit groups of 6-40 eggs about six inches below the soil surface in sandy or grassy areas. Larvae hatch in one to three weeks, depending on temperature, and begin to feed on roots.
How to control them
1. Hand-pick them.
2. A temporary cheesecloth fence (slightly higher than the plant) can be used to deter the beetles. The beetles seem not to fly over the fence.
3. Start treatment with a registered insecticide when cut buds or leaf holes are seen. This is usually just after beginning of bloom (late March or early April). Treat at weekly intervals as needed. Rotate strawberries to a part of the garden that has not had strawberries in the last year.
Note - always follow the latest product label when using any pesticide. If you have any doubt, contact your local county extension agency
They are ravenous annoying beetles that eat the leaves of my one climbing rose, birch tree, hollyhocks, and this year have moved on to the heuchera. I hand pick them in the morning when they seem to be slow, and drop into a jar of water with a skin of gasoline.
