“Mom, they’re back! Come here and look at this!”
My heart fell. It’s mid-June, so I knew that “they” could only be one thing. Reluctantly, I went into the boys’ room. I found Joe staring out his window at the rose bushes and my heart fell further.
“See that shiny?”
Yes. Yes I did see that shiny. That shiny, evil, Japanese beetle that so tormented us last year. And the year before that. And the year before that. And–you get the idea.
“Those are the scouts,” I told Joe. “We have to try and get rid of them before they can alert the troops.”
Armed with soapy water and two eagle-eye scouts of my own, we patrolled the roses, the vineyard and the fedge. Thankfully, we found only a few…but I’m sure there are more out there.
“It’s time to start morning and evening patrols again boys.”
“I can get in the small spaces,” said Jake as he burrowed under the vines.
“I’ll hold the soapy water,” said Joe as he squirted dish soap in the water.
And me? I’ll be determined that this year will not be as bad as the last few…my confidence is starting to flag.
Shiny scouts are here
Swarming over the roses
Creeping on the vines
a pinch of homestead 
Soapy water does it for them? I use that only on homopteran insects.
Yep. We drop them in a bucket full…it doesn’t take too long. They are most docile at dawn and dusk.