I've just discovered (although it's not a surprise) vine weevil grubs in my
permanent outdoor pots.

I know vine weevil are a common pests in pots. But will I also have them in
my garden borders, or will they probably be confined just to the pots?

Also, if I replant the plants from the pots into the garden borders will I
be just spreading the pest?

Thanks.

"Adrian Jones" wrote in message
...
I've just discovered (although it's not a surprise) vine weevil
grubs in my
permanent outdoor pots.

I know vine weevil are a common pests in pots. But will I also have
them in
my garden borders, or will they probably be confined just to the
pots?

Also, if I replant the plants from the pots into the garden borders
will I
be just spreading the pest?

Thanks.

I can't answer the first part of your question Adrian, but if you
decide to put the plants in a border you must rinse of ALL the earth
first as it can still contain eggs........

Jenny

In my experience, they are very difficult to get rid of. Even if you rinse
off all the earth, you only need to miss the odd egg or grub and you've got
problems again.
Wine Weevils generally need drastic remedies - you can buy a soil drench
pesticide specific for vine weevils from most garden centres but it is very
expensive if you have a lot of pots to do. However, odds are if you find
them in one pot they will be in other nearby pots too. What we do is decide
how much we really like an infected plant first. If not that keen then we
put the plant and all its compost into the dustbin. If you want to keep it
then go for the soil drench pesticide - and do all surrounding pots to
minimise re-infestation.

I suggest you familiarise yourself with what the adult beetle looks like -
both as a warning that you may have problems and also so you can flatten
them on sight!

I've never encountered vine weevils in the garden. Presumably there are
predators there that find the soft juicy grubs good to eat.


--
Drakanthus.


(Spam filter: Include the word VB anywhere in the subject line or emails
will never reach me.)

In article ,
Drakanthus writes
In my experience, they are very difficult to get rid of. Even if you rinse
off all the earth, you only need to miss the odd egg or grub and you've got
problems again.

I must be incredibly lucky. I occasionally find the adults in the house
or the greenhouse and I escort them outside, and the other day I found
some grubs in a window box I was excavating, so I put them one the
birdtable. About 10 years ago I had to rescue a cyclamen from them, and
one I had to rescue a primrose, but that's the sum total of all the
damage.

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Many thanks for your reply. Now I have another question.

I suspect I've got vine weevils on a couple of astilbe and a small
rhododendron (the leaves are being eaten). Would it be a good idea to dig
them up to check for larvae, or should I just go ahead and use pest control
methods? I know what the adult weevils look like but I can't see myself
going out at night, armed with a torch, and squishing them!

Thanks again.



"Jim W" wrote in message
news:1fvsd8l.sqpfa3oqpgauN%00senetnospamtodayta@ma cunlimited.net...
Adrian Jones wrote:

I've just discovered (although it's not a surprise) vine weevil grubs in
my
permanent outdoor pots.

I know vine weevil are a common pests in pots. But will I also have
them in
my garden borders, or will they probably be confined just to the pots?

Also, if I replant the plants from the pots into the garden borders will
I
be just spreading the pest?

Thanks.

In answer to your Q.

YES
..

Biological treatments are available and are effective at above about 8c.
But you do need to be meticulous about application and make sure you
water every pot for at least 2 weeks afterwards.

Nematode control is available mail order from
http://www.organiccatalog.com/
among others.

Vine weevil is a recent, modern pest promoted by the methods of modern
Horticulture mainly due to the large movement of huge numbers of plants
across borders in peat based compost in plastic pots.

Regards
//
Jim