Topic: Vine Weevil

[teresa]

Found my first attack yesterday checking on begonia corms which were sitting on the bench dry had left some compost on them and the devils had hatched and were starting to munch.

Put them on the bird table or in my case the hens loved them.

 If you havent come across them ;
They are a white grub with a brown head and curl up into a cresent moon shape when found.
Treatment water spring and autum with pravado this will give your pots and anything planted in peat 12 months protection.

I must have missed this pot ah well we learn from our mistakes?

[Mrs Ava]

OH NO!  Oh Teresa, how could you.  The bane of my life these little white grubs.  I loose primulas every year to them, and have to keep a close eye on all my pots.  I do seem to really suffer, but I don't think I am alone.  Blasted things!

[queenbee]

Same thing happened to me regarding my Begonia corms. Must tell you about a small pot with a a fuchsia plant in it. It was wilting and I suspected vine weevil. I took it out of the pot and washed the roots. I then set about removing the grubs from the compost. I placed the grubs on a flag stone with the intention of disposing them with my foot, I could not believe what happened next, hundreds of ants came and proceeded to take the grubs back to their nearby nest. They were all gone in minutes. I now look on the ants as my friends ( so long as the stay outdoors ) The Fuchsia thrived and gave me a lovely show of flowers.

regards Queenbee   

[Bugloss2009]

GQT had a good tip for vine weevil, for things growing in pots. The weevils can't fly and can only walk from one place to another - so if you can make a physical barrier like a tray of water, they can't get to the pots

[Vinlander]

My best tip is for when you go to all the trouble of setting up the perfect classic traditional 4 level strawberry pot with a free draining centre section (perlite and gravel) to help the water get to the plants on each level.

Then you find vine weevil in there.

Don't strip the whole thing down and lose all that work - just take the remaining plants out of their cubbies (the nibbled ones can be re-rooted in a plastic bag if you catch them before they dry out).

Then put the whole pot in an empty bin and fill it with water.

Vine weevil drown in about 10 days in fresh water, less if you make it oxygen depleted (eutrophic) by adding manure water or any nitrogen fertiliser.

Then you can pull the pot out, let it drain and it will be safe to re-plant with strawberries.

Easy.

[superspud]

I put my beehive stand legs in baked bean tins filled with engine oil, the ants dont like that, could that work ?.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Probably. I haven't encountered the things myself.