As far as I know, nothing works -I hear rumours that there is some treatment available on the shelves that professes to kill it, but not sure.

~ tried Provado?~ stamping on them always works well~ horrible little things!l!

Did Provado work

~ well I didn't have a problem last year so it must have!I have lots of lilies too!~keep an eye on your lilies though as they can be brought in on new plants etc~

I SAW one in the garden yesterday - but no lilies around? What on earth was it doing there? Grrrrrr..... and no - I didn't manage to catch it, either. :-((

Many thanks for the replies, I have so far found 12 so am going to try Provado Ultimate Bug Killer and see what happens. The one I have found so far I have put in a jar of water.

Oh dear - I always wear a plastic bag over my fingers and I snap the little devil's backs as I pick them off the plant - horrible, I know, but at least its quick...

I found another one wandering around the garden today - nowhere near my lilies, though! He went for a swim in the stream.

I agree with everyone they are pesky creatures that are so difficult to get rid of. I now have no lillies, as they destroyed all of them. I tried Provado. I only have one regal lily left. It is weak and has no bud. I have given up on growing them. Provado helps to keep vine weevil at bay. May be more effective on pot grown lily rather than in the ground. if i find them they are crunched under foot with great glee.

I've given up growing lilies in the soil - I plant them in pots, so that it's much easier to catch the little devils, and then pop a pot into the border when they're in flower. This works for me.

mine are all in pots too~not found anything yet but my lilies are just coming through~

I've got some in the g'house to try to get some earlier flowers! I suppose I'll have to check those. too.

I've given up on lilies too - can't keep up with the beetles. I never found Provado worked either.

I have one poor little spindly Regal Lily left in the garden out of about 5 which originally bloomed regally. This morning there was a lily beetle on this poor little plant. Just amazing how persistent they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GRRRRRRRRRRRR

Unbelievable, how they 'seek and find'. :-(((

I have lots of lilies in pots just starting to come through that I bought last year~going to the Cardiff show on Friday so will be asking the experts for advice~

~ found this on a US site~
ACTIVE CONTROL: First of all, if you’re in an infested area, avoid sending any lilies or other plants to anyone else, and carefully inspect any plants you receive.

Hand-picking should be the first level of control if possible. Constant vigilance and quick removal and disposal of beetles, eggs and larvae can control an infestation on a small number of plants. Make sure the critters are actually dead! If you squash them, don't leave the squashee in the garden. Some gardeners drop them into a can of water with vegetable oil on the top.

If you suspect the beetles may be lurking around your lilies but you don't see any, carefully dig in the top half inch of the soil - no deeper! They hide just under the surface, so be ready to get them when they pop out.

Roxanna reports the following tip: "I recently read somewhere what seems to be a good tip, and pass it along to you in case you want to include it in your FAQ info: the adults are easily spooked when you try to pick them by hand, and if you "miss" them, they tend to drop to the ground where THEY LAND UPSIDE DOWN, and since their tummies are black, they effectively vanish. The suggestion was to place a light-colored cloth under the plant before you hand-pick in order to be able to see the nasty little things if they fall."

If this isn’t feasible, then treatment with Neem is the next choice. Neem will repel beetles and kill young larvae, but must be applied every 5 to 7 days after the eggs hatch.

Merit (imidacloprid) is a systemic insecticide which may work if applied to the soil in early spring. Many New England gardeners are also reporting good results from the use of products containing imidacloprid when applied later in the season. Bayer manufactures several products containing systemic insecticides, both in spray and in granular form.

The Bayer Rose and Flower Spray has provided excellent control for many gardeners, without serious toxicity issues. However, it's important to follow the label directions to prevent destruction of bees and other beneficial insects while the spray is drying. The general principle is to apply the product when beneficial insects are not around, and to let it dry. This is probably a good idea with any insecticide since they are not specifically targeted to one insect species.

Other chemicals of relatively low toxicity include the following:

*10% household ammonia, applied to the newly emerging lily sprouts and surrounding soil (reported by northerner on of Ontario, Canada).

*Pyrethroid insecticides (Permethrin is one) kill adult beetles (reported by the UMass Extension).

*Spinosad insecticides kill larvae (reported by the UMass Extension).

..~ I managed to get a bottle of Neem Oil from ebay~ it's a natural insecticide` so will be trying that although I have had it a while. so might not be fully effective.~ will be checking ebay now!

Thanks for all the info Arlene, very useful. Today, as well there was a comment in an answer to a another question on Lily Beetles that there is a suggestion that Provado contains a chemical that might be causing harm to honey bees. So your info is even more important to use alternative ways of attacking Lily Beetle and Vine Weevils, which are less plant specific than the red devils. I have always turfed out my smaller pots and rifled through the soil to find the white grubs and squash them. Unfortunately larger pots are not so easy. I have used an early drench on the larger pots to try and stop them developing too far. Now I will not repeat the drench this year. Bees are more important than my plants. Just googled imidacloprid It is 'neuroactive' and suspected of affecting bees..........:))))))

~ just got back from the Cardiff show and both the Lily bulb growers Hyde and Hart that I asked said they used Provado ultimate bug killer ~ the RHS specialist said he uses that with success but you can also use Bayer Sprayday and Westland Plant Rescue Bugkiller but said you would only get those at good garden centres which probably doesn't mean Wyevale etc.
I haven't checked the ingredients but wouldn't use if it affects bees.

Dorjac, I don't know what the white grubs in the soil which you squash are (cockchafers? vine weevil?) but they're nothing to do with lily beetle - this one lays its eggs (which hatch into larvae) on the lily stems, not in the soil.

The white maggots in soil are vine weevils in one phase of life Bamboo. I have used provado as a drench on larger pots for some time. To kill them off before those fresh white roots start to grow, which they feed on, and weaken or kill the plant. Now I am dismayed that a chemical in Provado may be causing honey bee pollinators a problem. I never used P on lily beetles always picked them and their maggotts off by hand. The robin loves vine weevil maggotts. now I don't grow lillies or fritillaries any more.

Done a bit more research, Dorjac, having discovered two clematis in pots (that weren't growing past the original six inches) with about 2 inches of root left on each plant, when the pot should have been full of roots. Suspect vine weevil, so have sent for some Nemesys (nematodes, apply as a drench to soil once now or in May, and repeat with another pack in autumn) to see if that sorts it out - I didn't want to use the Provado for the same reason you quote. Will report back as to how effective (or not) this treatment is. Also discovered that lily beetle overwinters by burrowing into soil, sitting there till spring, when it emerges, so there might be some sense in changing compost, though I wouldn't bother, frankly - even if you do, more will only fly in. Again, like you, I don't grow lilies any more.