I'm finding more and more climbing walls and in random places so they're definitely exploring more at the moment and probably looking for my best plants to ruin with their larvae
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I'm finding more and more climbing walls and in random places so they're definitely exploring more at the moment and probably looking for my best plants to ruin with their larvae
That's my worry I have a wall on the road side of my garden but with a wide strip outside that belongs to me, as a lot of new builds do, it's heavily planted and I can see a lot of vine weevil damage to some plants but as it's rather open to neighbours have not plucked up the courage to do any hunting. I now have visions of them scaling the wall enmass and invading the garden! Having caught so many this year I did expect to find a few dead plants from over wintering larvae but no signs
I had a quick hunt this evening while making sure the garden was wind and rain proof before the worst of the weather hits. It was only just getting dark but I still found over twenty again. I found five in one of my best alpine pots, another four crawling over another sedum that's been doing especially well and worst of all I found one in the greenhouse which I thought was a weevil-free zone. So many vulnerable plants in there that I'd hoped were safe
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I'm feeling quite smug then @wild edges only one during the day and one tonight along with 1 earwig, 2 slugs and a caterpillar but you certainly have my sympathy. Mind you I have a sneaky suspicion they have moved onto plants I can't get at easily.
No chemicals and no nematodes for me. My garden is too full of life to risk either. I'm going to keep up the night hunts and try to reduce the number of pots I've got with susceptible plants over the winter. I'm keeping those pots for now as decoys for the adults in the hope that they'll lay eggs in them instead of having to concentrate on the pots I'm keeping.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Weevil experts... is this vine weevil damage? I'm suspecting it is, although I thought they didn't take holes out of the middle of leaves, just around the edges?
This damage is on Helenium leaves and I really don't want to lose them!
@Devonian Weevils do eat from the edges rather than the middle.
I had a tiarella with holes and nibbles on it like that. I found a few weevils AND a few slugs AND a caterpillar in there a few nights back. The weevil damage to leaves is normally notches (like the leaf top right).
I would go out over the next couple of nights (just as it's approaching darkness or any time after dark) with a torch and have a poke about. I tend to find mine on the leaves or on the edge of the inside of the pot.
Beware of them dropping to the floor at the slightest vibration. I have a shallow dish to put under the leaf to catch them if they drop and roll. Lol.
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Having caught so many this year I did expect to find a few dead plants from over wintering larvae but no signs
Mind you I have a sneaky suspicion they have moved onto plants I can't get at easily.
It's gonna be dry and sunny tomorrow so will do a proper hunt tomorrow night.
Your numbers are fitting the August egg laying info @wild edges - are you averse to using chemical treatments in September?
This damage is on Helenium leaves and I really don't want to lose them!
I had a tiarella with holes and nibbles on it like that. I found a few weevils AND a few slugs AND a caterpillar in there a few nights back. The weevil damage to leaves is normally notches (like the leaf top right).
I would go out over the next couple of nights (just as it's approaching darkness or any time after dark) with a torch and have a poke about. I tend to find mine on the leaves or on the edge of the inside of the pot.
Beware of them dropping to the floor at the slightest vibration. I have a shallow dish to put under the leaf to catch them if they drop and roll. Lol.