Diseased Crepe Myrtle Help

I have several crepe myrtle trees. Most are in their second year of growth and doing just fine.

However, I have one from last year's planting, and one from this year's planting that have tons of leaves with a gazillion holes in them and the leaves are definitely dead.

What could be causing this? How do I fix them? Do I cut off all the dead leaves? Is there something specific I can use to spray them?

I don't see any bugs on them, but something is destroying them and I don't want my larger CM trees to have the same fate.

Thanks.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/plant_pests/trees/hgic2002.html

Check out this web site and see if this isn't your problem. Japanese beetles are very hard to control. You will find this info near the end of the article. Hope this helps.

Well, it turns out it was Japanese Beetles. From everything I've read (what type of JB killing stuff to use), I think I've done the right thing. Got the roots too because that's where they come from.

However, I haven't been able to determine if I should cut back the eaten leaves (what's left of them) or not.

Fortunately, the JBs didn't get to my larger trees ... these were just the newest ones I planted earlier this year.

Thanks for your response! It's much appreciated.

In my neck of the woods, Japanese Beetles go away by late July/early August. I wouldn't bother with cutting your tree back, especially in this heat and humidity. Your crepe myrtle will rebound.

Ooh. I saw the first Japanese Beetle of the season on my light yellow canna this week. They have probably been here, but that's my first sighting of the year. Didn't know they bothered crape myrtles!
Entlie

After proper treatment of the Japanese Beetles, my crepe myrtles came back! Almost all of the massacred leaves are gone and have been replaced with beautiful, non- chewed up leaves and it is flowering nicely.

Thanks everyone for helping. I know now how to take care of them from coming back and hopefully if they do, I'll see them early enough to prevent them from devouring my crepe myrtles. Oh, and btw, they didn't touch any of my Hostas or other plants in the garden. Weird.