Asian Beetles - Can I Save The Grapes?

[LittleBearGameFarm]

Help please- I was planning on picking the weekend of the 15th but need to move it up to this weekend because of these pests! Brix was in the 20-25 range Monday. Are the clusters that have been damaged by the beetles junk? I was thinking of submerging the clusters in water to get the beetles to float and remove them and then proceed with the wine making process. They are going to town and attracting other bugs. Any advice?

Thanks!

 

[CK55]

Help please- I was planning on picking the weekend of the 15th but need to move it up to this weekend because of these pests! Brix was in the 20-25 range Monday. Are the clusters that have been damaged by the beetles junk? I was thinking of submerging the clusters in water to get the beetles to float and remove them and then proceed with the wine making process. They are going to town and attracting other bugs. Any advice?

Thanks!

Neem Oil, go buy some at literally any store with a garden section and spray them ASAP. Should kill and help a lot with the bugs.

 

[LittleBearGameFarm]

Thanks for the info! Looked into the Neem Oil and will definitely have some on hand next year. This year the grapes are just about ready to pick so I plan on starting tomorrow night. Should I just plan on throwing any damaged clusters away or try to pick off good grapes from the clusters and just throw damaged ones out?

Thanks

 

[balatonwine]

Should I just plan on throwing any damaged clusters away or try to pick off good grapes from the clusters and just throw damaged ones out?

Damage to clusters are more likely due to other factors, such as over ripe grapes, weather, etc. The beetles are just attracted to the damaged grapes rather than the cause of it. Selecting out or processing damaged grapes is an issue and question that may even go beyond if there are beetles present or not. Some highly process their clusters to avoid any that have damage. Others do not. Suggest consulting such topics first.

But, these beetles can taint wine. I wrote a blog post about it some years ago when we had a major infestation, and some mechanical solutions:

https://stcoemgen.com/2013/09/11/gardeners-friend-winemakers-horror/

 

[CK55]

Thanks for the info! Looked into the Neem Oil and will definitely have some on hand next year. This year the grapes are just about ready to pick so I plan on starting tomorrow night. Should I just plan on throwing any damaged clusters away or try to pick off good grapes from the clusters and just throw damaged ones out?

Thanks

I would toss the damaged grapes, and Balaton is partially right the beetles will get on vines with or without grapes being present but they can foul up wine.

 

[LittleBearGameFarm]

Could have been the weather. I was worried about that as they were getting close to maturity. Then, the sun went away and we've gotten 10 inches of rain in the last week+. Could have made them burst. Thanks for the help

 

[GreginND]

Lady asian beetles hang out in farm fields, particularly soybean fields, and eat aphids. Once the beans start to dry up and mature the aphids are gone and the beetles come out of the fields. They do like grapes and seek out those that have been opened already from birds or other things. I don't know how much they damage intact berries but that may also be possible. We are surrounded by soybean fields so it is a big issue for us.

I usually don't worry about a bit of damaged fruit. It is the beetles themselves which taint the wine. When I harvest I try to shake the clusters to knock off any beetles before I put it in my bin. If clusters are badly damaged or look at all rotten, I won't use those grapes.

I thought I would escape the problem this year, but I am seeing them show up now. I will probably try neem oil next year too.

 

[CK55]

Lady asian beetles hang out in farm fields, particularly soybean fields, and eat aphids. Once the beans start to dry up and mature the aphids are gone and the beetles come out of the fields. They do like grapes and seek out those that have been opened already from birds or other things. I don't know how much they damage intact berries but that may also be possible. We are surrounded by soybean fields so it is a big issue for us.

I usually don't worry about a bit of damaged fruit. It is the beetles themselves which taint the wine. When I harvest I try to shake the clusters to knock off any beetles before I put it in my bin. If clusters are badly damaged or look at all rotten, I won't use those grapes.

I thought I would escape the problem this year, but I am seeing them show up now. I will probably try neem oil next year too.

Yeah, Neem is great stuff, kills a lot of bad bugs but will not kill the bees. So thats a plus for me. I use it as more of a preventative measure than anything. i havent really ever had much in the way of bugs in california except nasty worms that eat up the leaves. And some spiders lol.

 

[Stressbaby]

Help please- I was planning on picking the weekend of the 15th but need to move it up to this weekend because of these pests! Brix was in the 20-25 range Monday. Are the clusters that have been damaged by the beetles junk? I was thinking of submerging the clusters in water to get the beetles to float and remove them and then proceed with the wine making process. They are going to town and attracting other bugs. Any advice?

Thanks!

Neem Oil, go buy some at literally any store with a garden section and spray them ASAP. Should kill and help a lot with the bugs.

Neem oil will not kill them either, at least not adults. Neem has a number of mechanisms of action but mainly it is a growth regulator, preventing immature forms from growing into adults. It takes some time to see results of neem, but it is fairly effective and there is virtually no resistance.

 

[Masbustelo]

Neem oil tastes terrible, the taste might be a deterrent to the bugs as well. Depending on the days it takes for it to breakdown and the quantity used to spray, the Neem potentially could effect taste in the must as well.

 

[CK55]

Neem oil will not kill them either, at least not adults. Neem has a number of mechanisms of action but mainly it is a growth regulator, preventing immature forms from growing into adults. It takes some time to see results of neem, but it is fairly effective and there is virtually no resistance.

It does kill them states on the companies site that it does. Just saying. It states that neem oul disrupts hormones inside insects and if they consume it it can starve them to death by destroying their insides. My source is Oregon.State University.

Neem oil tastes terrible, the taste might be a deterrent to the bugs as well. Depending on the days it takes for it to breakdown and the quantity used to spray, the Neem potentially could effect taste in the must as well.

Neem is toxic to humans, but it does not impact flavor of grapes and is completely safe as it degrades within 2 weeks so you have to re apply every couple weeks. But it does not impact wine making and no amount of evidence says it does.

 

[Stressbaby]

It does kill them states on the companies site that it does. Just saying. It states that neem oul disrupts hormones inside insects and if they consume it it can starve them to death by destroying their insides. My source is Oregon.State University.


Neem is toxic to humans, but it does not impact flavor of grapes and is completely safe as it degrades within 2 weeks so you have to re apply every couple weeks. But it does not impact wine making and no amount of evidence says it does.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/neemgen.html
http://ipm.uconn.edu/documents/raw2/Neem Based Insecticides/Neem Based Insecticides.php?aid=152

I've been using neem oil in my greenhouse for 15 years. It's terrific, but if you want to kill the bugs right away, you have to use something else.

 

[kyle5434]

Neem didn't do a darn thing to kill the Japanese beetles that had invaded my grapes this summer. Liquid Sevin was the only thing that worked for me.

That will be my first line of attack next summer.

 

[CK55]

Neem didn't do a darn thing to kill the Japanese beetles that had invaded my grapes this summer. Liquid Sevin was the only thing that worked for me.

That will be my first line of attack next summer.

Despite it saying it kills Japanese beetles I find that to be interesting

 

[Dennis Griffith]

Neem didn't do a darn thing to kill the Japanese beetles that had invaded my grapes this summer. Liquid Sevin was the only thing that worked for me.

That will be my first line of attack next summer.

Neem is a repellant, but it has been shown to disrupt the beetle life cycle. I include it in my spray mix, but don't rely on it alone. Yep, the new liquid Sevin is awesome (not the carbaryl stuff). I also use Ortho Fruit & Vegetable Insect Killer as something to rotate to. Beetles are one for the biggest issues I have here. I do use Neem and Serenade near harvest to help control the fungi crop that seems to grow in these parts.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

I should have added that the Garden Tech liquid Sevin has a PHI of 1 day, so (according to the label), you can use it before the harvest. And it WILL kill the beetles.

 

[Dennis Griffith]

It does kill them states on the companies site that it does. Just saying. It states that neem oul disrupts hormones inside insects and if they consume it it can starve them to death by destroying their insides. My source is Oregon.State University.


Neem is toxic to humans, but it does not impact flavor of grapes and is completely safe as it degrades within 2 weeks so you have to re apply every couple weeks. But it does not impact wine making and no amount of evidence says it does.

Did you mean to say 'non-toxic' to humans? Most official sites says that it is 'practically non-toxic to mammals and birds, with the exception of fish'. I have read that in some cultures they consume Neem as for it's medicinal effects. Not me, as said above, it can't taste good.

 

[opus345]

8 oz of Sevin + 2 Gals of water + hand sprayer saved an infested fruit tree in the back yard this summer. Good stuff.

 

[CK55]

Did you mean to say 'non-toxic' to humans? Most official sites says that it is 'practically non-toxic to mammals and birds, with the exception of fish'. I have read that in some cultures they consume Neem as for it's medicinal effects. Not me, as said above, it can't taste good.

phone typo and yeah i did, it is toxic to people according to the internet if you ingest a bit of it. But not like it is to bugs.