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Post by NellyDee on Mar 4, 2016 11:29:57 GMT
Getting paranoid. This is the 3rd beetle I have found wandering around the house and I am hoping it is not one that the larvae eats the roots of plants, thus killing the plant. Seems the wrong time of years also - or am I wrong?  DSCF2911 by Helen Skelton, on Flickr
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Post by aeshna5 on Mar 4, 2016 17:29:50 GMT
Your worries are well founded as it's a deadringer for a Vine Weevil. The adults nibble notches out of the edge of leaves but the white larvae are the biggest problem feeding on roots of plants like Cyclamen, Primulas, Heuchera, etc.
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Post by NellyDee on Mar 4, 2016 17:47:29 GMT
Damn! Can only think the larvae is lurking in one of my house plants, which is why they are appearing. I was given two plants for xmas, maybe they are in one of those, I would hate for them to get into my really big mature house plants. Oh Scream! Thanks Aeshna for your quick response.
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Post by Harold Smith on Mar 4, 2016 19:41:08 GMT
Vine Weevil larva are also very partial to Blueberry plants. I had three in large pots and they managed to eat the roots of two of them. Fortunately the third survived and is now so well established the larva have no chance and the crops are really great.
They are an enormous nuisance. Vine Weevils lay hundred of eggs at the base of plants the adults feed on. One year I lost a completer crop of Strawberries to them.
Controlling them is very difficult. Keeping the soil around the plants disturbed does help. If you are able to collect the eggs put them in a small bowl. The birds love them! There are no effective chemical treatments and would not use them if there were! They can be controlled by biological treatments. My garden encourages a lot of wildlife but I do also grow fruit and veg and have used a quite an effective nematode treatment to control the Vine Weevil larva. After all I want to benefit from my harvest. There is no detrimental effect on any wildlife and is perfectly safe to use.
Harold. |
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Post by NellyDee on Mar 5, 2016 18:18:41 GMT
It is keeping them out the house plants I am worried about Harold. My garden area would be difficult to control as it is part woodland, bog and grass land with flat bits which are technically grass but are mainly moss, with borders around them. I have spent years trying to find plants that grow in this environment.
Interesting point about Vine Weevils being partial to blueberry plants. I did have a very large swathe of Bilberries (think they are same family) then last year they all seemed to die. I had assumed that it was due the bad weather - gales, storms, snow laying for days then seemingly nothing but rain, but maybe it was an infestation of Vine Weevil? Maybe the appearance of 3 in the house is just that they were carried in on boots or clothing.
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Post by Harold Smith on Mar 6, 2016 9:53:58 GMT
Hallo NellyDee,
From the description of your garden I would think you have little or no trouble with Vine Weevil. Possibly the occasional infestation.
It is possible your Bilberries were hit by Vine Weevil larvae. One way of finding out is to pull up one of the affected plants. If it comes away easily with little or no roots then it is a good indication that Vine Weevil larvae was the culprit. If you dig into the soil you may find little round spheres with hard shells and varying in colour from white to brownish. If found then it is most definitely Vine Weevil.
Shame about them getting into your house plants. I'm afraid about the only way to rid yourself of them is to re-pot all your house plants in fresh clean compost and root out any adults that maybe lingering about. Spread the infected compost outside in the garden. Any eggs in the compost will be quickly eaten by birds.
Vine Weevil adults are mainly nocturnal. Take a torch out at night and check your plants, particularly the potted ones. If you find any feeding on the plants remove them. The adults mainly feed on the leaves of their food plant. Notches in the leaves are a good indicator that adults are about. If you find any adults on plants then disturb the soil around the base of the plant. This will disturb any eggs that may have been laid and they are less likely to grow and hatch.
Harold.
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Post by NellyDee on Mar 6, 2016 12:21:46 GMT
Thank you Harold, very helpful - torches out and will have a good inspect for nibbled leaves. As for the area where the bilberries were, it is all gone now - too long a story, but drainage work being done so I will have a huge area which at the moment is all sloped muddy peat, they had to bank up the area. it will be interesting to see what eventually grows back there, hopefully lots of wild flowers and grasses.
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