What Are June Bugs And How Do You Get Rid Of Them?

They're all over the place! I see them all the time around the radio stations.  I've even seen some in my neighborhood. So what are these little buggers and how do you stop them? Well, I did some reading on The Internet, so I think I've got some information for you.

Basically June Bugs are actually about six different varieties of beetle. The most common in our area are the brown ones, the European Chafer Beetle.  They're nocturnal, and they're drawn to lights at night.  So that's probably why I see them in our parking lot, since we have lights that are on all night.

They don't bite, but their legs have little stickers on them, and that doesn't feel good. Some people have problems with them in their yards or clinging to screens.  The good news is, you can get rid of them so they don't eat up your yard.  You can't really do much, but you can get rid of the babies. There are plenty of treatments to kill the grubs you can buy, then you just spray the outside of the house or around the plants they like.  You just attach it to your hose and you're good to go.  That stops them before they even get to adulthood.  If you're wanting to get rid of the adults, unfortunately you're going to have to get more serious. You can pick them off your plants and throw them into a bucket with some soapy water.  That's gross, but it works.  If I had to do that you know I'd be wearing some thick gloves.

Another method is to set up a trap.  You just put your bucket of soapy water out and attach a light to the top.  Maybe you could use something like a book light or an attachable light.  They're clumsy things and they don't fly very well, so the idea is they go to the light, they hit the bucket, and fall into your water.  I've also heard variants of this method that say to put some vegetable oil in the bottom of your bucket.

One more method you might try is to change your porch light.  They're drawn to the bright light, so if you got a slightly different color they won't be able to see it as well. Usually they don't see in the red or blue lights very well. So you could just pop over and get a slightly red light for your porch and that would work to keep them away.  Of course, you're at risk for... well, turning on the red light, but hey.  I'd rather have my neighbors think I'm crazy then have a June Bug in my hair.

Do you have any other methods to deal with June Bugs? Are you seeing any around your house this year? Tell me all about it!

Buggingly Yours,
Behka