RADIO TRANSCRIPT
Date: June 30, 2020
Agent: Donna Teasley

Hello, this is Donna Teasley, horticulture agent with the North Carolina Cooperative
Extension, Burke Center.

There’s always a pest to fight when you garden in Burke County. July brings out Japanese beetles and June bugs and this year, the June bugs are everywhere. They have much the same life cycle as Japanese beetles, hatching out as small grubs in mid-August and overwintering in the soil until late June when they become adults. They do damage plants differently than Japanese beetles, however. Japanese beetles do little damage as grubs but become destructive when they emerge as adults by eating everything in sight. June bugs are at their worst as grubs, chewing and eating grass and other plant roots. They also come out of the ground at night as grubs and feed while crawling around on their backs. They don’t do
any damage as adults.

Although they are both common pests, the June bugs have been much more plentiful this year than Japanese beetles. They can be controlled in the same way by using either a preventive in late July and early August which contains imidacloprid or a curative chemical from mid-August to late October which contains chlortrifon. So, don’t lock yourself in the house because you see millions of June bugs flying over the lawn, get busy and control them using one of these two methods.

This is Donna Teasley with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Burke Center. If you would like more information about this program, you can call us at 439-4460.