Author Topic: Vine weavils. They are back  (Read 2850 times)

strawberry1

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 630
Vine weavils. They are back
« on: August 14, 2017, 21:09:22 »
Grhh  I am sure they are back, just discovered a pink without roots in one pot. I am taking no chances, gave that pot and close pots, a quick drench with vine weavil chemical tonight. Nematodes ordered and will be treating my very many pots plus raised beds.

I really hate vine weavil, seen it take a neighbour`s  magnificent plants down. This pink is next to lovely begonias in pots and begonias are loved by vine weavil. At the moment it is only that one plant but that is what happened to my elevated strawberries a few years ago, one plant and then all the grow bags were affected

ed dibbles

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 523
  • somerset/dorset border. clay loam.
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2017, 22:19:47 »
I'm drowning any vine weevil larvae  that are lurking in pots of vulnerable plants at the moment, lilies and grapes mostly.

The pots are submerged overnight so that any weevils present are drowned. After draining the plants are no worse for wear.

After experiencing first hand what the grubs can do and how tough they are (they are harder to squash than you might think) I wouldn't trust a drench to have complete control. Nematodes may do a better job after an interval.

The drowning method is the cheapest option. :happy7:

Paulines7

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,499
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2017, 02:15:59 »
Commiserations Strawberry1.  We lost most of our strawberries this spring and had to replace them all.  We put the new plants well away from the old ones and they are healthy at the moment. 

Ed  dibbles, I went through the growbags carefully, taking out the larvae which were then fed to the chickens so I had no need to squash them.  They were gobbled up straight away.

strawberry1

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 630
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2017, 06:11:00 »
The soil in that pink`s pot will be thoroughly affected by vine weavil insecticide last night, it was almost dark when I did it. I will find a tall bucket today and start drowning them. I see two mints in large pots are looking very off colour and weavil likes mint roots, they didn`t give me slepless nights but I cannot wait to get the nematodes in. I have 9 trees in pots and it would be a calamity if they were affected. Today I will start to make sure soils are moist and ready for nematodes. Stupid me, I thought I was safe again. I will do the nematodes every august from now on. I will just factor the cost in, two packets, about £22

strawberry1

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 630
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2017, 06:32:10 »
I said 11 trees but they are the large trees, like my M26 apples and my lilacs. Then there are japanese acers, dwarf lilacs and so on and my many semperviviums. Must be over 40 pots and none are small

So now, two heavy stone pots containing pinks are submerged in trugs full of water and I don`t know if I will be able to lift them out. One mint in a bucket. Maybe, just maybe they are dry, bubbles rose,  but I am clutching at straws as the pink definitely lost its roots. However all the begonias look very healthy, so If I have it then it is not affecting many pots yet


Palustris

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,357
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2017, 08:41:57 »
We have had weevils in lots of things, but never seen them on Pinks before. Bad that, always thought they were immune.
Gardening is the great leveller.

strawberry1

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 630
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2017, 09:57:44 »
I haven`t taken any soil out to look but have taken many rootless stems of pinks out this morning so at the back of my mind, they are weavils. Had a good look at everything else this morning and everything is now well watered as the nematodes need damp soil. Reading on google, they are even eating the likes of rosemary so thay are a very bad pest. I am expecting the nematodes to arrive in one or two days and will be ready to go, not forgetting the pots in the front. Oh heck a neighbour has a hydrangea in a pot, looks poorly and weavils love hydrangea. They don`t water it enough, so will be too dry for nematodes to work. I will have to do a bit of educating, very diplpomatically of course. I can`t be drowning in those heavy pots again, they are far too heavy to lift when waterlogged. Right now, I feel as though I have caught them in time

Palustris

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,357
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2017, 10:12:00 »
Time to go through my Auriculas again then.
Gardening is the great leveller.

Palustris

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,357
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2017, 16:56:46 »
Well, I have been through about 120 Auriculas so far and found grubs in about a third of them Washed the roots clean and repotted. Will do the rest as my back allows.
Gardening is the great leveller.

ancellsfarmer

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,335
  • Plot is London clay, rich in Mesozoic fossils
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2017, 19:00:20 »
"They are back" !
The fearful truth is that they never went away.
Always consider "imported" plants as (probably) infected. Look at new purchases, and gifts from well-meaning folk with a subjective eye. Treat and isolate.
Garden centres are rife.
 Its the plastic shiny pots that are a problem. Natural predators (beetles) cannot climb the sides (no grip) of plastic pots whereas the weevils can.
Freelance cultivator qualified within the University of Life.

strawberry1

  • Hectare
  • *****
  • Posts: 630
Re: Vine weavils. They are back
« Reply #10 on: August 18, 2017, 17:18:21 »
everything has been nematoded, took me a good couple of hours after previously making sure all pots and raised beds were damp and thank heavens for the very welcome showers since. I got two packs at about£22, maybe could have been one pack but that would only have given a small sprinkle in each pot. So now I rest easy, peace of mind

 

SimplePortal 2.3.5 © 2008-2012, SimplePortal