What can I do to keep Japanese beetles off my basil.?

Question

I planted it on sunday and today I noticed there were at least 10 of them. Yesterday there was only one. I have Rosemary next to it and it is bug free.

Answer 1

I respectfully disagree with the previous answer about beetle traps.  The pheromones in them tend to attract MORE bugs to your yard, from further away, than would otherwise come. If anything, I think they make the problem worse.  I use a systemic insecticide on flowering plants that I don't plan to eat, and that works well, but I'm not sure it would be safe for an edible plant.  You might want to consider covering the basil with fine mesh mosquito netting.  June and July are Japanese beetle months, but by late July, they'll be gone.  You might also want to purchase some Milky Spore powder and apply it to your lawn in Fall.  It will keep the beetles down in subsequent years by destroying them in the larval stage.

Answer 2

Keep your basil inside by a window that has lots of light.

Answer 3

Hanging beetle traps.  They work well on roses too.  I bought mine at Walmart.

Answer 4

Thumbs up to Rodney.  Put traps upwind of the plants the bugs are attacking.  We've been consistenly using beetle traps for several years - darned Japanese Beetles were making a mess of our Crape Myrtles.  The other thing we've been doing is spreading Milky Spore on the yard.  Milky Spore is a fungus that grows in the soil and attacks grubs including cutworms and beetle grubs.

I have actually not seen any Japanese Beetles yet this year so I'm hoping that consistent trapping and Milky Spore have made a difference.  Hope it does for you, too.