(NAPSA)—Japanese beetles can feast on the beautiful flowers and foliage in your yard, making leaves look like Swiss cheese. “Japanese beetles are a double menace to lawns and gardens, as they eat ferociously on plant ae Bei: am / tl leaves as adults, then lay eggs that hatch as destructive grubs that feed on lawn roots,” says Bayer Advanced” Garden Expert Lance Walheim, co-author of “Landscaping for Dummies.” These metallic-green insects are approximately %-inch long with bronze-colored wing covers. As adults, they feed on more than 300 plant varieties, defoliating them by chewing tissue between the leaf veins, leaving a lacelike skeleton, according to the University of Illinois Extension Program. The damage is extensive. Efforts to control the larval and adult stages are estimated to cost more than $460 million annually, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. There are many insecticides on the market that treat Japanese beetles. However, most dusts and sprays often wash off in the rain and need frequent reapplication. In addition, spraying can be a messy proposition, particularly on a windy day, and even more challenging when treating large trees, due to the risk of falling off a lad- der or overspraying nontarget plants. But there is a new method in the fight against the Japanese beetles that solves these problems. Rather than wait for the beetles to arrive and destroy your favorite plants, you can protect them in advance without spray- ‘ @- “ he best way to protect your trees, flowers and shrubs from Japanese beetle infestation is to drench them with a product that works systemically. ing. Bayer Advanced, one of the largest lawn and garden brands in the United States, has a line of no-spray drench products that are mixed in a watering can and poured around the base of the rose, shrub or tree to be protected. These drench products work systemically, as the active ingredient is absorbed by the roots and then moves up through the tree, shrub or flower into the leaves. Treated flowers, trees and shrubs will be protected from the inside out from roots to the very tops of the plants. And the protection will not washoff with rain. Bayer Advanced offers three kinds of drench products: Bayer Advanced” 12 Month Tree & Shrub Insect Control, Bayer Advanced” Dual Protection Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron Insect & Disease Control, and Bayer Advanced” All-In-One Rose & Flower Care. Each contains the active ingredient Merit, which kills Japanese beetles when they try to eat the leaves. You can learn more by visiting www.bayer advanced.com or by calling (877) BAYERAG.
