In normal summers our Harry Lauder's Walking Stick shrub gets eaten up by Japanese Beetles, but this year we noticed it did not. Not a beetle to be seen. Why was this?
Most experts say it was because of the drought conditions which made vegetation bitter and tough. Then grass which dried up was not amenable for the laying of eggs. Japanese Beetles love a nice moist green lawn in which to lay eggs and if this is not available they go elsewhere.
Advice to homeowners is to not water their lawns in summer if they want to cut down on the beetle population. But if you do have them, or had them, some advice to getting rid of them which is kind of amusing.
"Plug a vacuum cleaner (preferably a shop vac) into the nearest grounded outlet and hose the little nasties up like they was dust bunnies under a couch." And yes, the grammar is an exact quote from the article.
"Make beetle-repelling “bug juice” with your catch! Whiz a handful of the sucked-up beasts in an old garage-sale blender with a pint of water (this alone should make you feel much better!), strain the resulting slurry and spray it on your plants. Old time farmers swear that pests won’t go near plants that have been sprayed with the remains of their relatives."
Would you not think using a shop vac in the garden would take the plant leaves as well as beetles?
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