Problems with insecticides on a bluebird trail (Part 5)

In addition to Messages that have appeared in the Bluebird Mailing Lists on this topic, the following are on the Audubon Society of Omaha website:  Predators and Problems On The Bluebird Trail

From: "Paula" PaulaZ"at"columbus.rr.com
To: BLUEBIRD-L"at"cornell.edu
Subject: Insecticide Questions
Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 12:25:58 -0400

I have some questions regarding insecticide use for those on the list.

I saw several japanese beetle grubs in my yard the other day - have not put down beetle control this year (just fledged 5 hungry EABL) and wondered if there is relatively safe chemical out there or not.

Also, neighbor is using the Scott's "Step" program which involves slow release lawn fertilizer mixed with insecticide in one of applications (seems like great marketing scheme to me personally as I only treat lawn for what it needs - usually just fertilizer). How do/can these chemicals affect EABL?

Finally, I have two fruit trees (nectarine and peach) in my yard that I have not sprayed this year, but am concerned about. Is there any safe insect control (especially for peach borers) that can be used for these and if so, what is safe time/schedule to apply? Used to be avid gardener, but EABL have "supplanted the plants" and I want to put their welfare first.

Paula Z
Powell (Central) Ohio

For the past two years we have been having a problem with grubs in areas of our lawn. Right now we have a lot of starlings eating the grubs, but the damaged areas of the lawn appear to be getting bigger. This year my husband wants to use a grub killer. I am concerned because of the birds in our yard, especially the two bluebirds that have been hanging around and hopefully will nest here. Is there any natural safe grub killer that we can use that won't hurt the birds, but will actually get rid of the grubs? Any advice or experiences will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Linda
Roseto PA

Hi Linda,

There are nematodes you can inoculate your lawn with that kill grubs without using pesticides, but the down side is that they take a little time to get established so you won't see immediate results. Grub-away is one brand. Most lawn and garden supply stores carry them. You just mix them with water and spray it on your lawn.

I hope that helps.

Rob Barron

From: Keith & Sandy Kridler [mailto:txbluebirder"at"sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Saturday, February 18, 2006 11:17 AM
Subject: Re: Problem with Grubs

(Sorry this turned into one of my soap boxes, but good food for thought.)
Keith Kridler Mt. Pleasant, Texas
As with the mealworms every creature has other creatures and diseases that affect their population. I did some research of old government articles on "May Beetles".

In Pennsylvania there are four species of May beetles (we called them June bugs) that feed on conifers as adults and they have a four year life cycle where they spend most of 4 years under the soil feeding on roots of various plants.

They list about 17 other species of May Beetles in the northern tier of states that all have a three year life cycle and these species mostly feed on hardwood trees as adults spending three years as a "white" grub. It is interesting that there are Robber Fly species that also spend three years as a "white" grub only these are pointed on both ends and they spend three years eating May Beetle grubs! (In Central Texas on south and other deep southern states the May Beetles have a two year life cycle due to warmer soil temperatures.)

They list dozens of other insects that feed on the grubs and dozens more predatory flies and wasps that feed on the adults. Some attacking by day others attacking by night. They list various fungi, Bacterial and animal parasitic diseases that kill off the May Beetles. If you routinely spray fungicides or insecticides on your yard or property you will kill beneficial as well as harmful varieties of organisms. A well balanced soil and natural predators should limit the population of any insect species over the long haul!

They list 78 species of birds and two species of toads that depend on these beetles at certain times of the year for a major part of their diet. Skunks and hogs are the two top animals at removing white grubs from the soil and the turkey is the top bird that digs up grubs. Other top birds that follow the plow were crows, gulls and blackbirds but a single grackle will eat 20 or more grubs at a time.

The AVERAGE infested acre of grass will contain 106,680 grubs per acre. On average it takes 454 grubs to the pound and beetles will be slightly less per pound because they are heavier. The average acre of ground infested with this species of beetle will contain 235 pounds of grubs and 157 pounds of adult beetles. To put this in perspective they estimate that two heaping tablespoons of healthy soil will contain more than 6 billion living organisms!

Food value of May Beetles compared to yellow dent field corn
(This probably won't work right in an e-mail!)
Grubs Beetles Corn
79.9% 69.4% 10.6% Moisture
3.1% 4.9% 5.0% Crude Fat
11.1% 20.1% 10.3% Crude Protein
1.6% 3.7% 2.2% Crude Fiber
2.0% .3% 1.5% Crude Ash
2.3% .3% 70.4% Carbohydrates

This shows that they are an excellent source of moisture, protein and fat or almost a perfect diet for growing baby birds!

These grubs spend most of the cool months deep in the soil, too deep to kill with most insecticides. In 1929 to kill white grubs in turf grasses they recommended using 1,500 pounds of Lead Arsenic per acre tilled in three inches deep to prevent white grub damage for up to 6 years. They recommended using 160 pounds of Sodium Cyanide mixed with 12,000 gallons of water and sprayed on one acre every year and for golf courses this could be applied three times a year. They also gave a formula for a kerosene emulsion grub killer (soap, lye, water and kerosene) but said the cost was prohibitive when treating an acre of ground.

Today you can treat and acre of grass with approved chemicals for white grubs with about $240.00 worth of chemical if you apply this yourself.

The adult May beetles favorite food in the Northern Tier of states are White and Burr Oaks (lesser feeding on red and black oak species), Hickory, Poplar, Elm, Willow, Locust, Hackberry, Ash and Walnut. They prefer to lay their eggs in weedy areas near their favorite trees for adult feeding. They will lay eggs in any grasses if they don't have "natural areas" near their trees. They totally avoid all types of clover species. They peak every third year in the north. In Wisconsin and Illinois severe outbreaks occurred in 1909, 1912, 1915, 1918, 1921, 1924 and 1927.

Bright lights at night attract the adult beetles who are active at night and burrow into the ground to hide from predators if possible by day break. The female will lay an average of 50>100 eggs that she will bury between 1 and 12" below ground level. The eggs hatch in a few weeks and if possible the baby grubs will feed on dead organic matter for most of the first summer. Most damage is done the second summer of life when they feed on living plant roots and the third year is mostly spent either pupating to a beetle or as a beetle resting in the soil waiting for next spring.

They recommended flooding if possible to allow birds to eat the grubs that come to the surface to avoid drowning.

98% of the time when people THINK they have a grub problem in their yard grass it will ultimately be found that it is either a fungal problem or even a fertilizer or chemical burn possibly from something they over used months before. Grub damage will be mostly on actively growing grass at the edge of a "bad spot" and you should be able to pull up green grass easily because it won't have any roots! If you cannot pull up freshly dying grass then you have a fungus or bacterial or virus problem EVEN IF you find grubs under the grass. Remember grubs should normally show up in every other shovel of dirt and healthy grass should easily be able to out grow their damage.

Instead of feeding grackles and blackbirds at a feeder spread cracked corn in your short grass lawn. As they are hunting for the corn they will gladly eat any grubs and weed seeds near the surface. Starlings are attracted to suet. Once you have them coming to your feeder, run the suet through a food processor and train them to eat this from the damaged section of your yard. Scatter small chunks of suet ground up in tiny hamburger like pieces so they have to hunt and dig for the suet, again they will also eat grubs they encounter. The suet might attract skunks or armadillos in the south and they will aerate the soil while digging for grubs:-)) I would not recommend getting a hog though!

Treat your yard as if it was your very own skin! If you would not put insecticide on your skin then remember that your yard is the skin of Mother Earth! KK

What is the group's take on insecticide control of Japanese beetles and its impact on bluebirds? Will it hurt the birds?
-David

Hi David,

I've had great luck with Japanese Beetle traps. Any insecticide spraying has the potential to hurt all insect eating birds and non-target insects. What are the Japanese beetles causing a problem on?
Thanks,
Rob Barron

I believe the preferred approach to Japanese beetle control is to trap the adults - I don't believe that pesticides have been proven effective on the adults. Some recommend use of pesticides on the larvae in the grub stage, but even that is tricky - there is a brief time of effective application, when they have come closer to the surface but are still feeding and have not pupated yet. I understand this window of effectiveness can sometimes be just a week or two each spring. Milky Spore disease has even been somewhat discredited recently in its effectiveness against the larvae.

I am reluctant to use any pesticides. Bluebirds are very susceptible to pesticide poisoning as a dying bug, flapping around on the ground, attracts the attention of the birds.

I encourage the starlings to grub hunt in the yard and use traps for the adult beetles.

Pam in Harford County, MD

I use Neem oil. Works great! I get it at Lowes hardware.

Dottie, Hickory Hollow
Brown County, Indiana

I tried a Japanese Beetle trap last year and shed some tears when I found several butterflies dead in the bottom of the trap. It made me so sad that I have been hand picking every day instead of trying anything else. I started milky spore 2 years ago but think that they are coming in from outside my 4 acres of property.

Dottie in Waleska, GA

Will the bluebirds eat Japanese beetles (provided you don't use any
pesticides)?

Bill
Southwest Ohio

Those beetle traps work great, and they attract lot of them. One way to get rid of the beetles is to give the trap to your neighbor. They attract beetles from half a mile away - even your neighbor's beetles.

Lynn near Bernville PA

I have been told that Japanese beetle traps actually attract a large number of beetles to your yard that would otherwise not be there. An entomologist once jokingly told me that the best way to control them was to put the bait traps in my NEIGHBOR's yard, and preferably in the yard of the neighbor who I was not fond of. He said that once the beetles are there, they may lay their eggs before they get trapped and you can easily end up having more larva in your yard than you would otherwise.

Paula Z
Powell (Central) Ohio

I've never seen any bird eat Japanese beetles. Fish love them.

Dottie, Hickory Hollow
Brown County, Indiana

Western Bluebirds will eat the larvae of Japanese Beetles.
Linda Violett
Yorba Linda, Calif.

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