Help, nighttime beetles shredding young lychee

[JoeP450]

Very annoying, these small brown beetles come out at night and are eating the hell out of the newly flushed growth on my young seedling lychee. No other trees are being affected by these beetles in my yard including a much larger lychee opposite the property 🤷‍♂️. Any ideas how to kill these bastards?


-Joep450
 

[achetadomestica]

https://www.amazon.com/Bifen-Control-Solutions-Insecticide-Concentrates/dp/B003W0OVBE/ref=sr_1_1?crid=XOSJW2X56XJH&keywords=bifen+i%2Ft+insecticide&qid=1558243171&s=gateway&sprefix=bifen%2Caps%2C195&sr=8-1

This stuff is the only thing I've found that kills the Sri Lankan Weevil.

[Oolie]

Looks different, but has the same MO as the leaf chafer beetles that are wrecking my plants.

Their larvae eat the roots, stunting the plant, and the adult beetles finish off the plants by eating the leaves.

I catch them all in a bottle, they would rather fall than fly, and a wide mouth container will collect them.

A bit of a nightmare, I am hoping the plants will outgrow them if I am persistent, as all the ones that appear appear soon after dark, and they don't venture far.

[Coach62]

Imidacloprid would probably work best for long term control.

[Mvule101]

I have exactly the same problem here in Uganda. It’s very frustrating as my Lychee seedling only just survive. And don’t grow significantly.

[kalan]

They look like Cuban May Beetles.not sure how helpful this is, but if you have a pool in your back yard with lights, leave them on over night and turn off surrounding porch/flood lights. By morning you'll have several hundred floating in your pool and the local grackles will have a fine buffet.

Not sure if this post is really all that helpful...

[sahai1]

you can place a container with sweet smelling liquid, and if possible pheromone (of species identified), with a funnel going in, much like a white fly trap but larger. 

I used before with molasses, water, and Jurinsee (thai language) and have seen if you want to read about Jurinsee in English can look up Bokashi fertilizer.

[Mvule101]

I moved my seedlings from quite heavy shade to light shade and this has really helped. So far only one beatle found and only one leaf damaged. Both seedlings are putting out a nice flush.

So maybe more sunshine results in a more resistance flush of young leaves?

[sahai1]

They type I had on my property were seasonal, they would come and be gone within a month, they would target 1 tree at a time, so they were like a swarm.  Moving the tree helped, not sunlight!

I moved my seedlings from quite heavy shade to light shade and this has really helped. So far only one beatle found and only one leaf damaged. Both seedlings are putting out a nice flush.

So maybe more sunshine results in a more resistance flush of young leaves?

[Johnny Redland]

They do the exact same thing to my juvenile Mamey tree. I have found how to prevent it.  They come from the ground at night, so you only need to sprinkle a ring of lawn insect killer around the tree such as the one in the below link. I do this once every other month and there hasn't been a sign of a beetle since.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectracide-20-lbs-Triazicide-Lawn-Insect-Killer-Granules-HG-83961-4/202056480

[sahai1]

awesome tip, maybe an organic treatment of diatomaceous earth all around the tree would help.

I think when we plant saplings that loose earth gives them a good breeding ground.

I tried the bucket and funnel, but had poor results with all beetles, I think to make that work you need to identify the type of beetles and get the right hormone attractant, similar to to white fly baiting. 

They do the exact same thing to my juvenile Mamey tree. I have found how to prevent it.  They come from the ground at night, so you only need to sprinkle a ring of lawn insect killer around the tree such as the one in the below link. I do this once every other month and there hasn't been a sign of a beetle since.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Spectracide-20-lbs-Triazicide-Lawn-Insect-Killer-Granules-HG-83961-4/202056480