If you're noticing patches of brown lawn, dying plants in one area of your garden or damage to your fruit trees, your yard might be home to Japanese beetles. These small critters will eat away at fruit, foliage and even plant roots once they get comfortable among your plants.
As their name indicates, these beetles are native to Japan and were first found in the US in the late 1960s. They can now be spotted throughout eastern US states, where their larvae feed on roots in the ground and adult beetles munch on mature leaves and fruit. That's why many gardeners choose to kill Japanese beetles if they find a large population in their yard.
