What's with all the beetles?

[denisbaldwin]

It's interesting watching my pool evolve. Since the cleanup, I've dealt with a couple weeks of pollen, a couple of weeks of heavy leaf fall. The newest infestation is beetles.

There's literally dozens of beetles every day that appear floating dead on top of the water. This is on top of the 100+ I pulled out of the skimmer sock! They're black, about 1/2" long in color and they are all dead. Before this week, I never saw a beetle in the pool. Now I have tons of them!

 

[MikeInTN]

It's interesting watching my pool evolve. Since the cleanup, I've dealt with a couple weeks of pollen, a couple of weeks of heavy leaf fall. The newest infestation is beetles.

There's literally dozens of beetles every day that appear floating dead on top of the water. This is on top of the 100+ I pulled out of the skimmer sock! They're black, about 1/2" long in color and they are all dead. Before this week, I never saw a beetle in the pool. Now I have tons of them!

They aren't lovebugs, are they? I had the misfortune to drive to the panhandle once during the fall lovebug hatch. I didn't think I'd ever get the squashed ones washed off of the car!

 

[geekgranny]

Down here in Texas we have a few weeks when the "June" bugs fill the skimmer to capacity every morning. They are similar to what you describe. I grew up in KY. The bugs we called "June" bugs there were larger with more iridescence than the ones here. At any rate, it is a regular thing here. They really start stinking if you don't keep your waste container, where you dump the skimmer contents, emptied every other day or so.

Over the past couple of decades, with so much climatic changes, there are lots of "critters" appearing in places they commonly don't inhabit or didn't before. Sometimes it is occasional and you wont' see them the next year but sometimes they stay. We are pretty into bugs and keep a dissecting microscope in our kitchen. Every year, since we've been here, going on 24 years, I spot at least one new "bug" I've never seen before, out this way.

gg=alice

 

[dlduvall]

gg, I remember those extra-large june bugs too! We "poor mountain kids" used to catch them and tie strings to their legs and fly 'em like a kite. (well, until their legs popped off anyway ) Gosh we were evil kids.

 

[NWMNMom]

I am currently filling my pool and it's the June Bug time of the year here. I have been digging oodles of them out of my pool every morning - it's worse for me since my pool sits right under our large utility yard light which I am sure is attracting them. They are the great big "almond in the shell" sized June Bugs. There have been years during the "migration" where I have scooped out thousands of them and had to haul them away in a wheelbarrow so that they don't smell! The Magpies and Crows appreciate it though - Breakfast boys!

 

[257WbyMag]

It's fixin' to be june bug city down here. We try our best to NOT use the pool light around this time because of it. I remember one night last year when I forgot to turn the pool light off prior to going to bed. Got up the next morning to a skimmer full of june bugs.

Yep, I did say "fixin" too. I'm from Texas if "yall" couldn't tell.

 

[NWMNMom]

LOL - NO really? Texas - I couldn't tell :lol: Maybe I should throw in some hotdish references since I am from MinneSOda - Junebug hotdish? Ewww - maybe for the crows or something.

 

[257WbyMag]

LOL - NO really? Texas - I couldn't tell :lol: Maybe I should throw in some hotdish references since I am from MinneSOda - Junebug hotdish? Ewww - maybe for the crows or something.

:lol: :lol: :lol: My wife is from out dere Minnesoda way. She makes a good hotdish. That's how I know what uff da means. Her sister and bro in law will be here for a week tomorrow so it's gonna sound like we are on the set of Fargo. :-D

 

[Butterfly]

gg, I remember those extra-large june bugs too! We "poor mountain kids" used to catch them and tie strings to their legs and fly 'em like a kite. (well, until their legs popped off anyway ) Gosh we were evil kids.

As kids, we did the same thing in Charleston, SC :lol:

.........but we learned how to do it from our Tennessee born & raised mom

 

[NWMNMom]

:lol: :lol: :lol: My wife is from out dere Minnesoda way. She makes a good hotdish. That's how I know what uff da means. Her sister and bro in law will be here for a week tomorrow so it's gonna sound like we are on the set of Fargo. :-D

Well alright then. Ya, you just enjoy them there Minnesoda folks down for a visit and don't be servin no Junebug Hotdish.

 

[geekgranny]

We learned the June bug toy from Coal Miners Daughter, my Mom. Momma didn't teach us this but there's the lightning bug rings, from lighting bug behinds. And sound toys from the whirlies off of trees; another one of Momma's. I don't remember. Do the whirlies come from Maple trees? There aren't many of those out here. In fact I've spent years exploring my woods and have never seen a maple.

gg= coal miner grand daughter

 

[MikeInTN]

We learned the June bug toy from Coal Miners Daughter, my Mom. Momma didn't teach us this but there's the lightning bug rings, from lighting bug behinds. And sound toys from the whirlies off of trees; another one of Momma's. I don't remember. Do the whirlies come from Maple trees? There aren't many of those out here. In fact I've spent years exploring my woods and have never seen a maple.

gg= coal miner grand daughter

Yes, the whirlybirds are from maple trees. My neighbor has a silver maple in his front yard that dumps prodigious amounts of them every spring, usually on my pool cover, my gutters, my driveway, my flower beds, etc.

 

[SinistrV6]

Back to the original poster's question...I don't have a solution but I have to deal with these beetles at this time of the year too (I'm on the Mississippi Gulf Coast or BP's dumping ground as it's known these days). I find them dead in the garage constantly and they LOVE my pool. Kinda creepy when you're swimming at night (the only time I see 'em) but I don't know of a solution. I bought some broadcast pesticide for the lawn yesterday that says it kills Japanese Beetles (that's what I think these are). Maybe it'll help, maybe not. We'll see.

 

[geekgranny]

Back to the original poster's question...I don't have a solution but I have to deal with these beetles at this time of the year too (I'm on the Mississippi Gulf Coast or BP's dumping ground as it's known these days). I find them dead in the garage constantly and they LOVE my pool. Kinda creepy when you're swimming at night (the only time I see 'em) but I don't know of a solution. I bought some broadcast pesticide for the lawn yesterday that says it kills Japanese Beetles (that's what I think these are). Maybe it'll help, maybe not. We'll see.

The green June beetle is in the Scarab family of beetles and is commonly referred to as a "June beetle" or "Junebug."
The adult is 3/4 inch to 1 inch long, and 1/2 inch wide with a dull green and tan back, with or without lengthwise tan stripes on the wings. The underside is iridescent bright greenish gold.

The Japanese beetle is a different species and not seen west of the Mississippi or in the deep south with a few exceptions. According to what I just read, in another article, the Japanese beetles are starting to appear, though, in several Texas counties.

There are hundreds of species in the Scarab family so we are probably seeing related but different species around the country. At any rate they are a pest in many ways, and I don't know anyone who "enjoys" having them in their pools. I get them in the skimmer even if the light is not on but not in the huge quantities I get if the light is kept on all night.

See this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_beetle

gg=alice