any herb garden growers?

grrrrr, i have japanese beetles eating all my basil, habanero plants, and parsley at night!! supposedly catnip is supposed to be a deterrent or so i read . . . and i have catnip out there growing . . .but it's not working. also made a "beetle bait" w/ yeast, banana, sugar and water but that is only interesting to a couple of beetles.

i'm sad, i want my plants to thrive!! they were doing so well til the last couple of weeks of beetle attack!! anybody have any tricks or solutions (non chemical of course!) to help? much obliged!

Wed. Jul 26, 10:21pm

You could try Neem oil - I am only familiar with it as an organic rose care solution to japanese beatles, but you could google it and see if it would be harmful to put on veggies. I believe it smothers them - most insects have very sensitive breathing aparatus.

Thursday, July 27, 2006, 12:25 PM

thanks! i've never heard of it but i'll look into it!! they're pesty little buggers!!

Friday, July 28, 2006, 1:17 AM

I know my mom used to have bag traps hanging all over the place to save her rose bushes. I don't know how much they saved the roses, but they certainly filled the bags quick enough. I wish you luck :( I've kept all of my herbs inside for that very reason. They don't thrive like they would outside, but at least they only die when I don't water them... Do you have a window that gets good sunlight?

Friday, July 28, 2006, 8:32 AM

I rent, so all of my plants are in pots on my front doorstep. They get plenty of sunlight, and i made a few extra drainage holes in them to help w/ the extra rainfall we have been getting here (in NH!), and up until about two weeks ago, all of my plants were doing BEAUTIFULLY!! at first i didn't know beetles ate stuff like that, i started doing some research after i noticed "lace-like" holes in many of my plants (i'm brand spanking new to gardening!). since the beetles are everywhere right now at night, it seems like they are the culprit. i haven't talked to anyone at our local nursery yet, but i'm going to . . .i too live for basil, (and other fresh herbs!) and i hate buying them at the store!

i would move them indoors, except i have a cat who is deaf-and because of this she knocks EVERYTHING (no exaggeration here-you should see my house every morning!) off of counters, windowsills, tables etc. So i fear for their safety indoors as well as out! haha!

well, thanks for you suggestions so far-i will let you know if they survive!

Saturday, July 29, 2006, 2:03 AM

extreme measures

This is a bit extreme, but one remedy for bugs is to catch some, blend them up with water, and then spray the mixture back onto the plants. Apparently it acts as a warning to the others (it'd work for me....).

First though, try a soap and water spray. It works wonders on most bugs.

happy gardening,

Sunday, July 30, 2006, 6:22 AM

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