There are lots of things to look forward to about summer, but the arrival of warm weather pests isn’t one of them. June bugs get their name from the month you’ll typically begin seeing them in your yard (they’re also sometimes referred to as May bugs).
They fall under the scarab beetle category, and according to Orkin, adults are typically a half-inch to one inch long and are brown or red in color. Because they aren’t the most graceful flyers, you can often find them crashing into windows or screens.
While adult June bugs are certainly a nuisance, it’s the larvae that you really need to be concerned about when it comes to causing damage to your property. As The Spruce explains, larvae are worms that can live underground in different molt stages for 1-3 years, during which time they’ll chew plant roots, disrupt turf, and create dry patches in your lawn.
Because June bugs can lay 75 to 100 eggs by midsummer, as soon as you catch sight of these pests, you should act fast on coming up with an extermination plan. Luckily, in just a few simple steps, you can be well on your way to ridding yourself of June bugs and protecting your outdoor space.
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Trap Adult Insects
A good first step when tackling a June bug infestation is to target adult insects in order to stop the reproduction cycle. According to Cedarcide, you can easily make your own traps by mixing one part molasses and one part hot water in an empty jar and then placing the jar near areas where these pests are known to hang out, like plants or outdoor lighting. Another method is to trap them by hand since they’re so clumsy they can easily be caught.
