I have really awesome Russian neighbors.  They are older than me and have an adult son so I try to keep my kids from driving them crazy.  On the whole we have a very nice neighborly relationship.  Gardening is the main bond at this point as it seems the one thing we've got in common.   They've given me a pie for making the view from their kitchen sink pleasurable while they do their dishes.  I spend all summer trying to convince them to take the surplus of veggies out of my beds.  So far they've been happily accepting cucumbers.  We live on small lots so if we are outside at the same time doing yard work, chances are we are going to bump into each other. We share our gardening successes and aggravations, ask for advice and plot future projects together.  None of us are trained horticulturalists or landscapers.  We are trial and error and like to trade our hard learned tidbits of info. with each other.

My neighbors have been driven batty by the onslaught of japanese beetles that are devouring almost everything in our gardens.  My rose leaves are lacy, they are eating the buds before they even have a chance to open.  My apple trees, gladiolas and crape myrtles are also suffering.  They are now onto the chaste trees and munching happily away on both flowers and leaves.

I hate them with a blind passion.  At least the rabbit who is visiting often is cute and there is only one of him to contend with.  No solution had been found to adequately deal with this dreadful little insect.  I kept meeting my neighbors outside as I shook my rose bushes as they were trying and collect beetles in a bucket of soapy water - every few hours.

A few days ago I mentioned that my granny would dump "grey water" otherwise known as used dish water on plants at times.  I wondered if the soap in the water would deter the bugs.   With nothing more than a hunch a spray bottle was procured, a few squirts of Dawn were added to the water inside and we stood together as my front bed rose bushes were inspected and found to be loaded with japanese beetles.  He sprayed and we stood there hopefully watching.  Within 30 seconds the beetles looked drunk and sloppy.  Within 5 minutes they were all dead.  DEAD!

We stood together and laughed.  I do believe some arm cheering occurred.  I almost hugged him!

Do I think this is really a longterm effective solution for japanese beetle control?  No.  But I DO know that it makes me inordinately cheerful to watch those suckers die right before my eyes.  Creatures of God they may be, but my roses are prettier and deliciously fragrant so in comparison the beetles are extraordinarily low down on my list of creatures to appreciate as part of the miracle of life.  Yuck is about all I can muster up when I think of them.

They died!  This solution is cheap and easy.  I've done the expected poking around on the internet and it appears that this is indeed an old-fashioned remedy.  There are heated arguments over which dish liquid to use and whether to add anything else to it to make it more effective.   Dawn is cheap and working well so I'm sticking with that for now.

YAY!

ETA on June 28th:  I have been spraying once or twice a day and it does work.  Unfortunately the cottoneaster planted right behind it is shouting its displeasure as it is turning yellow and looking pretty sad.  It's got to be the detergent bothering it.  So, the beetles will get to eat my roses and I'm going back to shaking them off instead of spraying.