Vine weevils are members of the beetle family. There are many species of vine weevils but all are tiny (1-1.5cm) and are hard shelled. They range in colour from brown, gray and black.Â
Adult vine weevil (left), Black vine weevil-S. Fitzpatrick (R)
Description
They all have a long snout. In fact there are many different species of weevils put together so I thought I’d group them by types. Larvae are very tiny at first, cream coloured with brown heads and are usually found in a ‘c’ shape.
larvae (left)-L. Vasuary, Rutgers University, Lifecycle (right)-North Carolina University
Habitat and Lifecycle
These are found throughout North America and are an awful pest in the hotter regions. They overwinter in the grub stage in the soil. In the spring they wake up when the soil warms and they begin to feed. When they are fully grown they burrow deeper in the soil and pupate. The adults hatch in 2-3 weeks. Adults lay their eggs near the base of the host plants late summer and the cycle continues until the weather becomes cooler.
Vine weevil damage on camelia-K. Peper
Diet and Damage
Berry crops, cane fruits, grapes, plants in pots, ornamentals and many other leafy crops. Beware of some soil mixtures bought from nurseries. Check the soil thoroughly before using. Check the roots of plants you buy for signs of vine weevils. Adults are nocturnal and feed on the leaves making large notch like holes. The grubs live in the soil and feed on roots of host plants and cause the leaves of the plants to turn brown. Plants will eventually die from severe infestation of grubs.
Control
1) Sticky traps
Shake affected plants lightly and the beetles will fall to ground where you have placed your traps. Destroy the pest immediately.
2) Hand Pick
Dig lightly around the soil if you see vine weevils and pick out the small grubs. Drop them in hot soapy water.
3) Clean up Garden Debris
Vine weevils hide in garden debris during the day so it is a good idea to keep your garden clean.
4) Bt
Bt used correctly will kill the grubs in the soil.
5) Garlic
Plant garlic near strawberries and other susceptible plants. The odour should repel them.
I stumbled across this site while trying to figure out exactly WHAT was in our kitchen–some sources said we have drain flies/drain gnats, but they didn’t respond to the same sort of home remedies we found online. After MUCH more research I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m dealing with some sort of grain weevil. In my case, the weevils were especially interested in a poorly-sealed bag of barley (apparently, they were in the mood for love there, too. Nasty!!)
Our kitchen is a pretty clean place, but it seems that may not make a difference if they find what they’re looking for. I swept up all the weevils I could see (some were even around the floorboards) and flushed them. Then I went through our pantry one shelf at a time, brushing them off and flushing those, too, and wiped the shelves clean with some standard Listerine–I figured that’s a decent disinfectant that’s also safe around our food. I immediately put the barley, along with some other cereals and crackers that were iffy, outside for trash pick-up and carefully checked all the other containers. I recycle cardboard, so I made extra sure that any boxes I put in the bin were absolutely clean.
Now, I’m going to cross my fingers and keep a watchful eye on our kitchen. I doubt they’re all gone, but I figure at least now I can fight back! There’s more info at:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071010130222AAZr6em
Nekirimushi must be fairly close to the subject in this article. The larvae do a fine job of eating the the section between stems and bulbs. Not good if you are expecting onions. As I don’t want to use chemicals the ideas above are useful.
The Vine Weevil- will they die off if no plants are available to them?
I brought an ivy in from outside and put in my laundry room downstairs-when I looked at it, when I came back from Christmas get-away in December the plant was eaten away, I throw the plant outside and thought I had eliminated the problem, but now I find the odd one in my kitchen upstairs.
What is my chances of having more of these around the house and what can I do to rid myself of these creatures.
Thanks for your help!