Japanese Beetle Traps + Chickens = FUN

[so lucky]

I was amazed at how the beetles swarmed the pheremone beetle trap when I put it out this afternoon. I was thinking about how much the chickens would love them, then it hit me: Put the trap in the chicken run! I hung the trap inside the run, where the chickens can grab the beetles that bumble around and hit the ground. My girls loved it, and paid close attention for the duration of the air attack. Once the beetles stopped flying for the evening, I put them in a plastic bag and popped them in the freezer. I harvested about 2 cups of beetles in about 3 hours!! My chooks will have a nice nutritious snack this winter. Now I don't mind if the Japanese Beetles keep coming! (I never thought I would say that!):/

 

[vfem]

Is there posion in the bag they digest when going to the trap? I've seen them but not sure how they work. So this is safe for the birds?

 

[lesa]

It is a pheromone, no poison- at least in the ones I have used. I walk around the yard with a cup filled with water and hand pick. When I come near the chickens with that cup- they freak out!! When I set the cup on the ground, they are like heat seeking missiles! The only good part about JB's!

 

[nachoqtpie]

June Bugs FREAK me out!!

 

[hoodat]

There is a large green beetle in this area I call a fig beetle because it loves to eat ripe figs. They look like big shiny green June bugs. Quite pretty actually. When they are ready to lay eggs in the ground they fly high up into the air, then start circling in a spiral getting lower and lower as they zero in on soft ground to lay their eggs. When I had chickens they would spot one way up in the air and run in circles on the ground beneath it waiting for it to get low enough to grab. What made it comical to watch was that they never took their eyes off the beetle as they ran so they would end up colliding with each other, Bouncing off the fence and running into bushes. It was a chicken circus clown act.

 

[so lucky]

So THAT'S what those bugs are doing when they circle in the air like that! When I was a kid, we used to catch June bugs and tie a long thread to one of their legs. Then it would fly, but on a tether; we would hold onto the other end of the thread. Instant toy! (Poor folks have poor ways!)

 

[hoodat]

We used to do that with cicadas. The nice thing about cicadas is you get the "engine noise" so you can pretend you're flying an airplane.

 

[so lucky]

Ha! I'll have to try that!

 

[nc chicksnmore]

I'll have to try the beetle traps-they are heck on my roses! So aggravating- We have loved the chicken show this year so the beetles will be a great addition!