Anyone following this blog for the last few years knows I like to remind y’all to make sure you treat your plants for Japanese beetle before May 15! This is because NO pesticides are allowed when Japanese beetle (JB) pupae are present (generally, May 15-June 15 in Ontario),which has gotten some growers into a pickle during spring shipping in the past.
Note that if you’re a nursery crop grower also treating for boxtree moth, you may surpass the maximum allowed applications or rate of Acelepryn per year if you also need to treat for JB. In that case, it might be better to time your treatments for JB in order to use intercept (imidacloprid) instead. So make sure to check out the pesticide timing chart in the JB Infographic in the full post.
This year, I’ve updated the JB Decision Tree and Infographic to include shipping requirements to different areas in the United States. So, if you or your staff need more clarification on any of these points, make sure download the latest PDF.
Infographic developed by S. Jandricic in collaboration with the CFIA. Only applicable to Ontario crops.
2026 Updates
There have been no significant changes to any pesticides requirements or the JB Directive, except for a requirement to keep records associated with JB programs for 5 years (vs. 3 years, previously). So if you’ve already treated your plants based on last year’s recommendations, you’re good!
STEP 1: Which JB Program Do I Fall Under?
If you’re shipping plants out of Ontario (a Category 3, or REGULATED AREA), and your plants have EVER been outside (or you are accepting ANY product that has been grown outside) your first step is to check the tables below. These summarize which conditions/programs you must fall under to make your product eligible for shipment out of Ontario to anywhere else in Canada (Table 1) or the U.S. (Table 2).
The program/requirements you need to follow depend on WHERE you are shipping (see the left-hand column). This table also includes any additional requirements/exceptions (e.g root ball size).
You’ll also want to call your local CFIA inspector, and discus the benefits of joining any of the JB programs. The application form for facilities seeking approval to participate in one or more of these programs is available here.
As indicated in the tables, you may not have to join a program if certain requirements are met, i.e. plants are grown entirely outside the flight period of JB, or treated as in the pesticide timing chart, below (Figure 3). However, these options may involve needing to schedule regular inspections from CFIA to ensure compliance for each shipment.
If you want more info, D-96-15 is the directive that governs movement of plants from JB infested areas to non-JB areas. Use the link to go to particular reference sections indicated in the tables.
If you’re shipping exclusively within Ontario, you won’t need to worry about these programs, but might still want to control for JB (so go to Step 3!).
Further information on shipping requirements to the U.S. can be found under Section 6.1 of the D-96-15 Phytosanitary Requirements.
Below is also the most current map of JB regulated states in the U.S. You check yearly for updated version of the map at Japanese Beetle Harmonization Plan – National Plant Board , which also contains other useful information about the U.S. J.B. Harmonization Plan.
Step 2: How Do I Know If I Need to Treat for JB?
Thinking you need may need to treat your plants to be JB-compliant? Your next step is to look at the decision tree pictured below. This will help you decide if you need to apply chemical treatments for JB control before shipping in order to be compliant with CFIA or USDA regulations. (Otherwise you risk having your shipment stopped or destroyed!)
If your plants have been grown exclusively indoors during critical periods, or you’re not shipping to areas that restrict Japanese beetle (i.e. Category 1 and 2 provinces/states), then you might not have to apply any treatments.
Step 3: Pesticide Choice and Timing
If you’ve figured out that you DO need to use chemical controls for JB, the next question is WHAT do I apply and WHEN? As there are only 2 products registered for JB certification programs in Ontario, the “what” part is easy (see the infographic, below).
Make sure you’re aware of some important changes that were made as of 2023/2024:
- 1. Intercept (imidacloprid) is now only allowed for JB control on NON-FLOWERING plants. Therefore, most tree and shrub products can still use imidacloprid as a preventative treatment before shipping. However, growers shipping a crop like potted garden mums Category 1 or 2 provinces / states will have to use Acelepryn (chlorantraniliprole) instead.
- 2. Products containing chlorpyrifos (Lorsban, Dursban) are no longer allowed. Although these products were allowed under the program as a curative treatment for many years, this active ingredient was phased out for most crops by the PMRA in 2023.
(Note – a clearer image of this infographic can be obtained by downloading the PDF file, below).
Important Reminders
There’s always at least 1 grower who misses this each year: please note that there are NO ACCEPTABLE PRODUCTS YOU CAN APPLY FOR JB CONTROL FROM MAY 15-JUNE 15. Why? Refer to this post on the timing of JB pupae and their susceptibility to pesticides.
Because there is a window where you can’t apply products, we strongly suggest growers shipping in late spring/early summer (i.e. May 1-July 15) make sure they get a curative application of Acelepryn on BEFORE MAY 15TH to avoid any issues with shipping to non-JB areas (both domestically and to the U.S.)
However, if you treated the plants CURATIVELY after Aug 15, 2025 with Acelepryn (which has a long residual, and should have killed all larvae that hatched in 2025), you won’t need to treat them again this spring. As long as you are shipping these plants BEFORE the new JB flight period starts, you should be good. Note, the flight period USUALLY starts June 15 in Ontario, but can be early or late, depending on weather.
You can download a PDF of the entire 2026 JB infographic here: