Japanese beetle trap for chicken run

[valmom]

I was going to try the cut the bottom off a bag of a trap this summer to entertain my girls, but we haven't seen a Japanese beetle at all on our property. Maybe they ate all of them last year when they were free rangeing?

 

[1acrefarm]

I would just catch the beetles with the bag trap then give then to the chickens. The trouble is I have my bag trap out but no beetles around. I think my chickens must have wiped them out free ranging. I wish I could say the same for various caterpillars that destroy my garden.

 

[fivebigreds]

Quote:
Just remember to share with your chickens!

-Kim

If they are good

 

[Agilityscots]

Quote:
Oh oh, I LOVE this idea! I placed a modified trap up last night, and have already had many visitors, but the ones that hit the ground and take off when the chickens aren't around are obviously a problem. I'm going out now to place an old pan of water underneath it....

Amy

 

[Rollandwasteland]

Should we worry about how many beetles a chicken will eat? This is a serious question as I have 4 traps that are catching about a 1,000 plus beetles a day and only 52 chickens. I like the idea about freezing. May have to try that, if I can get it past my wife.... Right now I am drowning the beetles in a soap water, but had to go to a 55 gallon drum as I was filling up a 6 gallon can way to fast. Also, would the soap on the beetles from the soap bath hurt the chickens?

 

[pontoosuc]

The Agway I went to yesterday had a beetle trap and the plastic bag had a "zip lock" on it so you could empty.

Of course I purchased the one without the ziplock and was planning to put my bag in the freezer for a few
minutes and then bring out to the chickens.

I like the pan of water though!

 

[SunnysideupstateNY]

Time to add some guinea hens to the flock

 

[CityChook]

Weird - my chickens won't eat Japanese beetles. Spoiled.

 

[Cluckin'Along]

Somewhere, ( I will find it again eventually

)
There was an article/video of someone with an orchard. They put the "finned" beetle traps (I think the were yellow and looked like an "X" from the top) On top of a big piece of PVC pipe, this shuttled the beetles to ground level. They attached the pipe to a piece of re-bar pounded into the ground. I guess you could put your pan of water at the bottom, or get an elbow and a cap, use a short length of PVC and make a trough at the bottom of the pipe, add your water to that and have waterer and snack bar all in one!

Good Luck!

 

[they'reHISchickens]

I read about this a long time ago in Organic Gardening. It works best with confined chickens. You use the typical JB trap but attach the bottom of the bag to a long METAL drainpipe angled down into the chickenpen with a bucket of water at the end of the pipe. The beetles make more noise in the metal pipe as they bang their way down and this summons the chickens to await lunch.
Now as to quantity: Ours freerange and beetles have been down lately here, but after a recent thunderstorm ended a drought, we had an enormous hatching of June bugs. They were swarming over the lawn!! Chickens had a feast but those bugs are big and their crops filled up pretty fast!
I feel for you with buckets of bugs. We had that about 2 years ago. Unimaginable!