Our gardens and flowering pots spring again to life all through April and Might — however their arrival alerts that “June” bugs are quickly to observe. Many owners can’t assist however discover a myriad of shiny beetles buzzing round their favourite planting beds, seasonal mulch or worse but, flying round close to the entryways of your own home (identical to mosquitos!). Whereas they’re not notably harmful in your well being, June bugs are certainly a hazard for lots of the vegetation, flowers and yard crops it’s possible you’ll be planting proper now for the summer time season.
Calling them June bugs is a reference to a colloquial time period, specialists say, as there are literally effectively over 200 completely different species of bugs throughout North America. “June” bugs might go by completely different nicknames in numerous U.S. areas, “however they typically get this moniker as a result of the adults are generally seen rising in late Spring — often, in Might or June,” explains Avery Russell, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology at Missouri State College.
Whether or not you name them Might-June beetles or screen-thumpers, these giant pests are sometimes seen gathering round exterior lights as the primary signal they’ve chosen to settle in your personal yard. What different warning indicators might clue you into an infestation, it’s possible you’ll ask? Learn on to be taught extra about June bugs’ menace to gardens, how they work together with your loved ones, and find out how to eliminate them in keeping with pest specialists in academia in addition to business pest removing.
What are June bugs — and what precisely do they do?
These pests are means too giant so that you can miss, and embody frequent variations of Japanese beetles and European chafers, in keeping with horticulture data printed by the College of Wisconsin-Madison. They’re additionally generally known as scarab beetles — however there’s a superb probability you already know them as “Might” bugs in the event you’re situated in a area the place temperatures are larger this month than these within the Northeast or Pacific Northwest.
“They’re most likely most identified for crashing into home windows and screens at evening in the event you depart the sunshine on,” explains David Coyle, Ph.D., assistant professor of forest well being and invasive species at Clemson College. “The larval type — or younger — of those bugs known as a white grub; in the event you’ve ever been digging within the backyard and seen a ‘C’-shaped white grub within the spring and early summer time, that’s most likely a younger June bug.”
June bugs can vary in coloration, often a shade of sunshine brown or darkish brown; every beetle-like bug has six legs that comprise hair-like protrusions, as most different beetles do.
“Most people can determine a June bug as a brown beetle that always can startle an individual by flying into their face or hair,” explains Megan Wede, a pest management specialist, advertising lead and co-owner of Minnesota-based Completed Proper Pest Options. “Pets typically eat them in the event that they turn out to be a nuisance to the pet.”
No matter which stage of life they’re at, June bugs can encroach in your backyard and the flora in and round your exterior areas (in addition to some indoor spots, too!). They’re identified to feast on the leaves of backyard vegetation, timber and shrubbery; whereas they aren’t often capable of kill vegetation off completely till a serious infestation has shaped, Wede says they will destroy the outward look and profile of a lot of your leaves and flowers.
“There are lots of species of June bugs, a few of which may feed on backyard and panorama vegetation; in some instances, this feeding might be very extreme and injure, or kill vegetation,” Coyle provides. “Most species, nonetheless, are likely to feed on shrubs and timber, and their feeding harm might be barely noticeable.”
Generally, June bugs catch the flack for the difficulty that bigger animals that hunt them — together with moles — convey to your backyard. Often, June bugs want to munch on turfgrass, and may trigger giant patches of this grass to wither and die; they might additionally want corn, roses and thin-skinned fruits along with the decorative vegetation they’re identified to gravitate in the direction of, in keeping with supplies printed by the College of Maine.
Can June bugs chunk you? The true hurt they pose:
Whereas they will spell catastrophe for gardening perfectionists and purists, June bugs don’t pose any menace to people, together with youngsters. “Their jaws are weak and may pinch, used solely in protection,” Russell explains.
When you’ve heard of or have seen somebody wrestle with a June bug connected to their pores and skin, it’s doubtless as a result of these bugs have claws that “stick” to your fingers or arms, resulting in a ticklish impact — however nothing harmful, Coyle tells Good Housekeeping.
“June bugs don’t pose any menace to individuals or pets, and I’ve by no means identified anybody or something to be bitten by one in every of these beetles,” he says. “In actual fact, scarab beetles are revered in historic Egyptian tradition as they have been seen as a logo of renewal and rebirth, which is why you see such a beetle featured on many historic artifacts.”
Moreover, June bugs received’t threaten the structural integrity of the interiors of your own home or its basis, so don’t sweat it if one follows you inside. They’re intensely drawn to gentle, Wede says, and will get inside your own home by a gap in doorways or home windows at evening. “When this occurs, they’re — at most — annoying and thought of gross. However there’s no danger to at least one’s house structurally.”
Indicators of a June bug infestation
Whereas they arrive in early summer time within the type of larvae (or grubs!), most householders don’t understand their gardens or yards are being impacted by a June bug infestation till early fall when the climate tends to dry out. “Harm to leaves is commonly minor and largely unnoticeable, however harm by the larvae to turfgrass is the very first thing many individuals discover, in lifeless grass patches,” Russell shares.
As a result of new child June bugs burrow underground in yards and gardens, it’s possible you’ll discover that holes are being dug by predators, per the U.S. Division of Agriculture — however it is a uncommon incidence. Garden situations are sometimes the primary clue that you could be be coping with extreme June bugs in your property. In the end, nonetheless, motion might not be required.
“In pure landscapes, grubs are a standard element of the soil fauna throughout the nation. Their harm is never, if ever, seen,” advises Coyle, who provides that fungi and different causes might be the foundation reason behind impacted greenery. “Simply since you see patches of garden dying doesn’t essentially imply you may have a June bug downside… Step one is determining precisely what’s inflicting the harm you see.”
When you’re involved about holes and irregularities showing on flowering vegetation in your backyard as a consequence of June bugs, although, focused removing is commonly your finest wager for coping with them in the long term. You’ll want to begin by contacting a neighborhood Extension workplace in your space and talking with a consultant. “They’ll present you unbiased data and recommendation,” Coyle stresses.
How one can eliminate June bugs
When you’ve confirmed your backyard woes are certainly attributable to grownup June bugs or their larvae, you’ll have to pursue just a few completely different methods to forestall common harm each season. Many pest management suppliers will suggest what’s often known as grub management, that means they’ll deal with lawns and backyard beds with chemical therapy — however these therapies must be a resort provided that a licensed supplier has confirmed larvae are current, as they are often extra harmful than you’d suppose.
“Remember these won’t solely kill the June bug grub, however may even kill many different kinds of soil fauna, a few of that are useful,” Coyle explains. “There are additionally useful nematodes that may be utilized in focused areas. These microscopic predatory worms search out and feed on June bug grubs.”
In any other case, grownup June bugs could also be focused with gardening instruments that hold them away from the vegetation they’ve been munching on, so to talk. Coyle says deterrent sprays — like neem oil — might be utilized to leaves and different downside areas as wanted. When you solely discover a swarm in a single space, grownup June bugs might be picked off one after the other and dropped right into a container of soapy water, which kills the bugs.
The season for June bugs is brief, they usually die off pretty shortly, Wede says. It’s possible you’ll discover success by turning to an electrical gentle that targets different flying bugs for mitigation, and even business beetle traps that may hold June bugs from flying round. “You possibly can put these out on the patio or deck so you may benefit from the outside,” she provides.
The underside line: “Top-of-the-line issues you are able to do is promote a various ecosystem in your property. Many kinds of birds — like crows, robins, and blue jays — feed on grubs within the soil,” Coyle says. “Since birds are pure predators of grubs, doing issues that promote a wholesome chicken inhabitants will assist hold grub numbers below management.”
Well being Editor
Zee Krstic is a well being editor for Good Housekeeping, the place he covers well being and vitamin information, decodes eating regimen and health tendencies and opinions the most effective merchandise within the wellness aisle. Previous to becoming a member of GH in 2019, Zee fostered a vitamin background as an editor at Cooking Gentle and is regularly creating his grasp of holistic well being by collaboration with main tutorial specialists and scientific care suppliers. He has written about meals and eating for Time, amongst different publications.
Dr. Coyle, assistant professorof Forest Well being and Invasive Species, joined Clemson College in 2018 with a concentrate on the forest well being and invasive species Extension. Previous to Clemson, he created and directed the Southern Forest Well being and Invasive Species program, which offered training and coaching to forestry professionals throughout the southeastern U.S. Dr. Coyle makes use of numerous types of communication – together with social media, conventional writing, and in-person visits – to assist educate individuals about forest well being, invasive species, and forest administration. He’s a member of the Society of American Foresters and the Entomological Society of America, serves on the Board of Administrators for the North American Invasive Species Administration Affiliation, and is Co-Director of ProForest (a corporation working to advertise proactive forest pest administration).
