With the widespread colony collapse disorder devastating the bee population, it's even more important to try to not harm bees while battling pests such as Japanese beetles. Researchers say one-third of all the honeybee colonies in the country have vanished.

Japanese beetles are pesky, irritating and ugly.

“They've just shredded the roses and they look horrible,” said Pat Grieshaber.

The invasive Japanese beetle bugs Grieshaber, who tends to her garden every day only to find more of these little suckers.

“It just destroys the plants. They're in my husband’s bees now; they're getting into the corn; they love okra,” she said.

The ravenous pests gobble up the greenery, chew holes right through leaves, and leave gardeners with what seems like no other option but to battle the beetle with insecticide. But this avid gardener and her beekeeper husband urges people to read the pesticide instructions carefully.

“May kill honeybees in substantial numbers. This product is highly toxic to bees,” one label says.

Bees are necessary to pollinate crops.

“It doesn't only kill bees; it kills other good insects,” said Grieshaber.

She says a good, safe alternative to using pesticide is to drop the Japanese beetles into a bucket of soapy water.

“Now they tell you that you should still kill them. Don't throw those in your trash to go to the waste because many of those eggs will hatch,” said Grieshaber.

Surprisingly, these beetles aren't hurting your trees, at least in most cases.

“Yes, it's unsightly. Yes, it's kind of alarming to look at when you see these leaves just skeletized but, in most mature trees, you also see a lot of good healthy leaves and that damage is just temporary,” said Francis Skalicky, a metro media specialist for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

If you do prefer pesticide, you can avoid harming the good bugs by spraying your plants at night when the bees are not at work.

Foresters say another option you can use to try to get rid of Japanese beetles is what's called a systemic insecticide that you put at the base of the tree. It comes up through the tree, slowing the activity of the beetles as they're chewing on the leaves. Foresters recommend applying a systemic insecticide in the spring.