chickens are great for getting rid of japanese beetles

[bantybabylover]

i have had serious problems with japanese beetles every year, but now i have better than any pesticide, chickens! i noticed about three weeks ago those rotten pests were back, i dont like using pesticides because they get in my roses and the roses are very close to my koi pond. the seven dust often flies in the wind, so i used to pick them off and kill them. then i got the idea of picking them off and putting them in a container and letting the chickens have a treat, well let me tell you it was like they found gold. the beetles didnt have time to fly out of the container. well my battle with the beetles was aggravating, i had to pick them off 2 or 3 times a day and the havoc they were causing was ruining my blooms. my husband and i were sitting on the back porch talking about how funny it was when i fed the girls their treat, we looked at each other and the same time said, "beetle trap in the chicken yard"! so i hung one 2 days ago, the beetles flock to it, i empty it into a bowl lower it to the girls and tada, the ones that fly away just fly right back into the trap for the next round of treats. when i went out today, they gathered under the tree like little kids on halloween, i swear i heard them say, trick or treat

 

[nab58]

I was wondering if the chickens would eat the Japanese beetles! We have a million too and they're just starting to show up now. I tried feeding one to a chicken but it got lost. I'm hoping they're eating them when they're out ranging.
I did see a chicken dig up a grub today and fight off another chicken like it was a fat juicy steak!

 

[sagealbright]

I wish my chickens would eat all the beetles we have! All they seem to be interested in are ants and caterpillars.


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[bantybabylover]

i caught them first then put them in a closed container, japanese beetles will just drop off the plant. put your container under the left or bloom and they will fall in. but the beetle trap bag is perfect, i just open the bottom and let them drop in a ball into a container and then set it down. the festival begins

 

[centrarchid]

Mine eat them as well but number I can trap may exceed chickens capacity to consume them. The problem may be related to when large numbers are consumed they also have a diet to too high in protein and too low in other nutrients. I also suspect at least some of the beetles are toxic or otherwise nasty tasting.

 

[bantybabylover]

like i said they are a treat and not a substitute for food. i am sorry you have such a mass of beetles centrachid, about the only thing that wards them off is 7dust, i dont advocate pesticides because they dont discriminate against the bug it kills. we are protective of our bees and praying mantis, the dust doesnt always stay on the plant

 

[dheltzel]

I wonder if you could replace the bag on the trap with a 5 gallon bucket with some holes for the chickens to stick their head into. Then you'd have a self feeder. A few beetles might escape through the holes, but most would get eaten.

 

[bantybabylover]

i dont know if a 5 gallon bucket would do, since the beetles would be flying around to get out. i have noticed that when i empty the bag into a container they fall out as a ball. the ones that fly away fly right back into the trap, since it has a feramone to attract them. i would think the sharp edges of a bucket would be a problem because of the flying around of the beetles, the chickens would be straining to catch them

 

[dheltzel]

i dont know if a 5 gallon bucket would do, since the beetles would be flying around to get out. i have noticed that when i empty the bag into a container they fall out as a ball. the ones that fly away fly right back into the trap, since it has a feramone to attract them. i would think the sharp edges of a bucket would be a problem because of the flying around of the beetles, the chickens would be straining to catch them

I was thinking you mount the trap on the lid of the bucket, then use a hole saw to drill like a 4 inch hole part way up 1 side. The beetles fall inside and climb or fly around, the chickens can stick their head in and pick off the beetles as they appear withing range. Might need to tweak the number and size of holes to get it most effective.

Might even be able to skip the bucket and let them fall on the ground. Mount the trap low enough (or with a perch next to it) that they can get the ones that land on the trap, or eat off the ground when they fall.

 

[bantybabylover]

they wont fall to the group, the beauty of the trap is the beat fly in but cant fly out. they start making a mating ball and fall to the bottom of the trap. i too thought they would drop down but they just flew up into my poor tree. although a feed trough set up is interesting i wonder if that could be done with a fly trap which is the same kind of trap just fly pheromone. when you do this please post a picture and maybe even pictures of how to do