Topic: vine weevil

[tezz brown]

while doing this springs repotting exercise i decided to devide up a potted up clump of [Black Grass],nigrescens,which had been in its pot for a couple of years and had out grown it,...after removing the compost no less than 15 weevil grubs where laid bare on the floor in front of me ,........i need help,....as any body got a solution to these as i need to protect my other potted plants, e, g ,..fuscia,rhodos,azalia,tree phoania,auricula,.......help,please :'( :'( :o :( >:( >:(

[froglets]

nematodes - see gardening mags & commercial websites
Chemical control - my only lapse from organic
physical intervention - I knock succeptible plants out of pots & lift from the garden and thoroughly check their roots once every two years or more if they show sign of sudden collapse.  I know it harms the plant, but not as much as those little b*****s do when they get hold
hunting - for the mature grubs at dusk - they drop to the ground and play dead if you shake the plants - follow through with violence
hygene- dispose of used or suspect soil
Paranoia - moi???

[tezz brown]

thanks for that froglets, i have disposed of the old compost as well as a dozen of one year and two year old fuscias,..i am concerned about 4 very large potted maple trees and rhododendrons,....do the weevils attack these,..i have noticed some leaves on a young rhodo have been chewed but on lifting it out of its pot i can not see any damage or grubs,.....i am know off to the local nursery to get some chemicals for treatment..

[froglets]

I haven't noticed any problems with potted maples, I have to keep a close eye on primulas and primroses & have had some problems with alpines in pots.  I know vine weevil also like a selection of other plants, but I don't have that info to hand - time to ask the audience.

[Palustris]

Just bear in mind that one of the chemicals available is reputed to kill bees and certainly kills worms.
If you have single stem plants in pots (like Acers say,) you can use the same sort of protection as veg gardeners use against cabbage root fly, ie a physical barrier. Cut a circle out of a piece of plastic about the size of the trunk and (hard to describe really) place on the soil surface. Hidw with mulch or gravel. Vine weevils lay their eggs on the soil near to the base of the favoured plants, so prevention of laying is part of the control strategy.

[froglets]

"Insert Quote 
Just bear in mind that one of the chemicals available is reputed to kill bees and certainly kills worms"

Yikes!  I had no idea.  I've always limited it's use to pots, but that's food for thought.  Cheers

[beejay]

You are less likely to get problems with a soil based compost in your pots.

[tezz brown]

thanks to all of you guys, i am going to do all you suggest,...i have just come back from the garden centre after buying a product called Provado,this i will use straight away and hope,... and that tip from beejay about the soil based compost could help solve any problems in the future,...that i will definately try because i have been using peat based in the past and it was in that compost that my troubles started,.....gravel is going onto each pot especially the auriculas  as palustris suggests........thanks again for your reply ,much apriciated,tezz

[Palustris]

Provado is the one which is supposed to be a problem for bees and worms

[tezz brown]

palustris,...i didnt realise i had bought that one,.......if i was to use it it  would only be used on pot plants that i have and not on plants that are in the bare soil,.....i could take precations to stop it getting into the soil and posing a threat to worms ,....i have just been on a web site as suggested by froglets and it did say it was only to be used for container grown ornamental  plants,..,....you also mentioned the bee problem ,...i also want to use it when i come to repot my auriculas which should be sometime in may and will be indoors and from there into a cold frame which shoudnt cause them problems,..what should i do,?? not use it . :-\ :-\ ????

[Robert_Brenchley]

What's the bee-killing chemical?

[Palustris]

Hey, I was only reporting what was said elsewhere. I have no first hand knowledge of Provado killing bees. I do know it kills worms in pots, but then who wants worms in pots? Seriously I will try to find out more and report back. In the mean time I would use the stuff or lose your plants.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I thought as much; I did a quick search, and it's imidacloprid. That's a systemic insecticide I've been hearing about persistently. It was first used on a large scale to treat sunflowers in France; immediately afterwards, bee colonies started dying out on a very large scale, provoking massive protests. When it was used on patatoes in Canada, once again there were large-scale bee deaths. It doesn't seem to be the only factor, but it does seem to precipitate it when used on an industrial scale. It's apersistent chemical, which takes 2-3 years to disappear, and it poisons every part of the plant including the pollen. Basically it's bad news.

[tezz brown]

Hey, I was only reporting what was said elsewhere. I have no first hand knowledge of Provado killing bees. I do know it kills worms in pots, but then who wants worms in pots? Seriously I will try to find out more and report back. In the mean time I would use the stuff or lose your plants.

ok i am going to use it this once but i will make shure it only goes where it is required,...thanks again palustris for making me aware ,

[jennym]

Imidacloprid in the form that it is applied to pots, i.e. as a liquid drench, is unlikely to affect bees, as they wouldn't come into contact with it. Sprayed though, as it is frequently used in sprays, then bees are bound to suffer.
You can deal with pots by washing off all the soil from the plant's roots and relacing with sterile compost/soil. You can sterilse your own by microwaving slightly damp soil for about 7 minutes on full power - my microwave takes an 8" pot full. You can also steam sterilise it - apply the steamer to an open tray with soil/compost in. This does of course kill any worms as effectively as Imidacloprid would! I sieve my soil first to get them out.  :)

[laurieuk]

If you use the levington container compost that has the vine weevil chemical aready in it you will have no problem.My B&L begonias cost around £12.00 per corm so I have used ot for several years.You must check when you buy as it has a use-by date after which the chemical does not work.

[tezz brown]

laurieuk,...jennym,... thank you also for your helpful posts,..your suggestions have been noted and with all your help i am sure that i will rid my garden l of this night mare which i honestly beleive came in from a purchase from a nursery,..i can not think any where else it could have come from apart from the time when i was asked to look after some of my gransons plants while he was moving house about 2 years ago,.???.tezz

[kentishchloe]

Strawberries - watch out for your strawberries! I had some lovely little strawb plants in pots that i went to plant in my new fruitbed on thurs but half of them had been completely munched!! I managed to rescue the others but there was much swearing...

[veggie perin]

Try this out...I used to use it on my fuchsias...another tip;
cover greenhouse benches with fleece, the adults do not like walking on it as the small 'hook' on their hind legs catch on it...good luck ..Veggie P.

http://www.armillatox.com/vine_weevil.htm

[Gardengirl]

To protect my fuchsias and begonias I always use the Levington Plant Protection Compost and have no problems with keeping them from year to year.