Those darn lily beetles

by Theresa S
(Mississauga, Ontario, Canada)

I have them. Or should I say my lilies do. In all stages of the beetles life. Adults, larva etc. I started using Neem oil spray on them today, & plan on spraying them every morning. But I was wondering, I've heard tell that the only way to truly get rid of the beetle is to remove the plant & surrounding soil from my garden. Is this true or can my lilies be saved nestled among their blooming friends?
P.S. We're in zone 4

Doug says you aren't going to get rid of this beetle once you have it. Fact of life. The only way to eliminate it is to eliminate lilies from your garden. And as soon as you put them back in after a few years, the beetles will be back from surrounding lands/neighbor gardens etc.

And yes, neem and handpicking seem to be the options of choice. Some gardeners are reporting some success with diatomaceous earth and rotenone but this isn't universal.