sigh

Japanese Beetles

the war is starting
in the summer
beetle battlefield
of my yard
they lost three today
I will stand my ground, I will not surrender
I will be diligent in trying to protect my roses
but I will lose

if this year is anything like last year
soon each morning will great me with a hundred beetles covering the plants,
I will do my best to capture them all
but by the time I finish my first circle of the beds, another round of beetles will have descended
over and over, all day long, day after day.
It doesn't matter how many I kill, for reasons I can not fathom, God has made an unending supply.

So here I am. DAY 1.
I wish I had a good plan

The beetle traps do trap beetles, but they also call beetles to my yard, It seems an equal amount get trapped, as fly past the trap onto my flowers. (by my rough estimate, a trillion)

Milky spore is of great interest to me, but it would only work if everybody in the neighborhood used it, otherwise, beetles born in other's yards, would just fly over to my rosiest yard of all.

Seven, or however it is spelled, insecticide of some sort. Oh yeah, I would totally do that, except...I worry about the lady bugs, and the bees, et. cetera. Still I can't help thinking about it.

Just let them go. Surrender the plants, till about mid-August, when they naturally slow down for the year, and expect to have a lovely bloom by the end of August to enjoy. I can see the value in this, much more peaceful, acceptance, I however seem unable to feel anything less than rage, when I see the dainty blossom petals, transformed into a hard backed beetle orgy. I am amazed by the flowers though, blossom after blossom, bud after bud, are consumed, and still she makes more and more, forever trying, reaching, for that full bloom, and she will have it, eventually. She will be consumed in parts for a time, but in the end, she still stands, and will have time and space, to bloom freely and beautifully.

The last option, the one that I do, is the old bucket of soapy water thing, you knock the beetles off into a bucket or jar (though I do often forget to add the soap). This is why it is a battle, because every day it must be done, and every day I count their losses, and mine. And I hate having to kill things, or deciding to kill something, making each day, also, a moral dilemma.

I wonder if it would work, and if it is legal, and if there are any negative consequences to establishing winsome flies in my yard? I wish these beetles would just go back to Japan, where they are naturally controlled by those flies.