They’ve got voracious appetites and they like many of the plants we do, pretty flowers and delicious blueberries.
So the City of Pitt Meadows is helping out the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and has set up about 36 Japanese beetle traps in the city as part of an annual survey to figure how many of the pests are in this area.
The traps are placed on a grid of 1.6-sq-kilometres and are harmless to children, adults, animals, and birds. The insect is attracted by the colour and scent of the trap.
According to the inspection agency, the beetle can damage landscape plants, ornamental plants, fruit and vegetable gardens, nurseries, orchards, and agricultural crops. Japanese beetle larvae feed on the roots of turf grass and other plants. Adults are heavy feeders, attacking the flowers, foliage and fruit of more than 250 plant species, including roses, blueberries and grapevines.