• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Diseases
    • Plant Profiles
    • Raised Bed Gardening
    • Seed Starting
    • Tools & Equipment
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Japanese Beetles on Basil – Ask the Gardener

July 2, 2021 by Jeanne

Your best option for organic Japanese beetle control and to handle Japanese beetles on basil is to pick them off by hand. I know, it’s gross. But you really can’t use pesticides on basil plants you intend to eat.

Kill Japanese Beetles

Unfortunately, there’s no easy pest control for Japanese beetles on your basil. Whatever chemical they sell for Japanese beetle control or just insect control at the garden center is just not going to be good on your basil because you want to eat the basil, right? I mean, I love basil on tomatoes and everything in the summertime, I grow tons of it. So hand picking is probably your only solution.

Dishwashing Liquid and Water to Kill Bugs

Here’s a simple and organic method to kill Japanese beetle. Squirt about a quarter cup of liquid dish soap in the bottom of an old coffee can or another can with a lid. Then add about a cup of water.

When you’re in the garden, stop by the basil plants and just flick the beetles into the can of soapy water. If it grosses you out, use a spoon or chopsticks to push them into the can.

What happens is that the soap coats their wings, and t they can’t fly out. You just put the lid on the can let them die a happy death and then throw the whole can out. That’s what I do mostly with my potato beetles and the squash beetles who are my nemesis here.

For more about Japanese beetle control and the Japanese beetle life cycle, check out my post on these icky bugs.

The Gardener’s Journal

When I was a child, I used to go to my uncle’s farm in Glens Falls, New York. He’s the one who showed me how to kill Japanese beetles just by pushing them into a coffee can. Only in his case, he used kerosene in the bottom of the can. I found out many years later that soap and water do the trick just as well, and are certainly less toxic to the environment!

Killing Japanese beetles on basil is the same as getting them off the corn at my uncle’s farm. And, although it takes a bit of work, cheer up – the beetles will be gone in a few weeks, and then you’re free to enjoy that tasty basil!

Filed Under: Garden Pests

Previous Post: « Italian Herb Vinegar Recipe
Next Post: Why Choosing Dutch Tulip Bulbs Matters for Growing Great Tulips »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

Latest Articles

  • Sunscald on Tomatoes: What It Is and How to Prevent It
  • Herbal Profile: Growing Calendula
  • Battling Anthracnose: A Cucumber Grower’s Guide to a Sneaky Fungal Foe

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

a close up of a cucumber leaf with anthracnose

Battling Anthracnose: A Cucumber Grower’s Guide to a Sneaky Fungal Foe

If you’ve ever stepped into your garden and noticed strange brown spots or sunken blemishes on your cucumbers, you might be facing a common but troublesome fungal disease known as anthracnose. Caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare, anthracnose thrives in warm, humid conditions and can quickly spread across your crop if not addressed early. This year in…

Read More

cucumbers and tomatoes in harvest basket

How to Grow Cucumbers: A Complete Guide

Learn how to grow cucumbers in this complete guide. I’ve grown cucumbers my entire life, and I still marvel at the prices of them at the supermarket. I can only imagine that we’re all paying for the transportation, for cucumbers are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. In fact, you may find yourself muttering,…

Read More

small round eggplant

Growing Eggplant: A Guide for Gardeners

Growing eggplant (a small garden devoted to fresh, seasonal edibles) is relatively easy in zone 7, where I garden, but combating the bugs is another story. Growing epplant in pots, containers, raised beds, or garden soil is all possible if you are willing to go the extra mile to control its nemesis, the Colorado potato…

Read More

cherry tomatoes in various stages of ripeness

Volunteer Plants – Nature’s Unexpected Gifts

Volunteer plants are one of nature’s most delightful surprises. They spring up unbidden, often in places we didn’t expect—cracks in sidewalks, corners of compost piles, or nestled beside a stone foundation, like the vibrant coleus seedlings growing near my deck shown in these pictures. These botanical freeloaders aren’t weeds; they’re plants that have reseeded themselves…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme