Japanese Beetle Host Plant Preferences
One way to limit the impact of adult Japanese beetle defoliation may be to select plants that the Japanese beetles tend to avoid. The following list of the Japanese beetle's most and least-favored woody plants may be useful to people designing new landscapes in areas infested by this beetle.
| Most Favored by Japanese Beetle | Least Favored by Japanese Beetle |
| Birch, gray | Ash, white, green |
|
Elm |
Boxelder |
| Grape | Boxwood |
| Hollyhock |
Conifers (arborvitae, spruce, pine, fir, yew, juniper) |
| Horse Chestnut |
Dogwood |
| Linden, American (suscetibiity varies with variety) |
Euonymus |
|
Lombardy poplar |
Hickory, shagbark |
| London planetree |
Holly |
|
Malus spp. (apple crabapple, etc.) Susceptibility of crabapples varies with variety |
Lilac |
|
Maple, Norway, Japanese |
Magnolia |
| Mountain ash |
Maple, red, silver |
|
Prunus spp. (flowering cherry, etc.) |
Mulberry |
|
Rose |
Oak, white, red, scarlet, black |
|
Sassafras |
Persimmon |
|
Walnut, black |
Poplar, white |
| Weeds (wild grape, multiflora rose, smartweed, poison ivy) |
Sweet gum |
| Yellow poplar (tuliptree) |
Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Horticulture and Home Pest News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on . The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.