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Vine Weevil

Evil lurks underground, says Plant Doctor Helen Derrin, as she unearths the indiscriminate damage caused by the hooligan youth of the Vine Weevil

It’s easy to be taken in by the innocent good looks of the adult, as the flightless females hobble slowly around the garden at night nibbling a leaf here and a leaf there. In my garden the worst damage caused by the adults is to evergreens, like my prized rhododendron which looks like its been crimped with pinking shears, or the brown-scarred edges of the variegated Euonymus hedge, not to mention the ragged silhouettes that are an excuse for Bergenia leaves. But this is nothing when compared to the havoc wreaked by the larval stage underground. The misspent youth of the Vine Weevil are eating machines that feed on roots and bore into tubers. If a seemingly healthy plant suddenly keels over and dies in your garden, check the roots for the larvae. I’ve lost primulas and strawberries in the garden as well as all sorts of herbaceous plants in pots and tubs. The scary thing is that vine weevil adults are nearly all female and reproduce parthenogenically (they do not need a male partner)…and each weevil can lay hundreds of eggs!

What to look for

The 1cm-long, pear-shaped adults are charcoal grey with faint red spotting. The helpless looking plump white, legless grubs are a similar size and have pale brown heads.

Control

Garden walks at night collecting the slow-moving, flightless adults can seem very productive, but seldom that effective in my experience. For serious attacks, consider introducing Nemasys Vine Weevil Killer - a biological control containing nematodes that attack only vine weevils. The nematodes come in powdered form and are watered on during mid-spring and late summer, while the soil is warm and the grubs active. If you are happy using chemicals, you could try Bio Provado which is a new product based on thicloprid, that can be used as a soil drench to control vine weevil grubs. For new container plants try Levington Plant Protection Compost which also contains the same chemical.

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