Are Japanese Beetles Nocturnal?

Japanese beetles are not nocturnal; they are in fact diurnal. Diurnal is a word used less common then nocturnal and it means the exact opposite.

Japanese beetles are generally only active during the day time and at night they are largely dormant and sleeping. During the day is when they carry out all their activities from feeding to mating.

Your garden and trees are safe during the cool of night from being destroyed by a Japanese beetle invasion. In the sunshine is when you want to be on the lookout for the seemingly insatiably hungry insect.

In addition to the recommended methods of Japanese beetle control, you can pick the insects off of your plants and flowers with your fingers and drop them into a bowl of water with a little bit of soap. This can sometimes feel like a hopeless battle, though, if there are so many of them.

The soap breaks the surface tension of the water which makes them drown. Be sure to wear protective gloves when doing this, however, because Japanese beetles can bite.