I finally found the culprit--now what?

[Judi]

Several weeks ago I noticed some chew marks on the edges of some phals and after exhaustive and fruitless searches I came to the conclusion it must be a night critter; I even took the phals out and inspected the bark medium--nothing. Last night I was up late and about an hour after the grow lights went off I found two weevils, one feeding on a phal leaf and the other feasting on my Slc. Hazel Boyd! The weevils seem to be nocternal, played dead when discovered, and don't seem to fly. I don't have a camera that could take a good picture but I found a picture on the internet that looked like culprits I found. They are ~ 3/8 in. or 1 cm long; and I read they can spread a bacterial wilt. So I have two questions.

1) If there are others are there any suggestions on how I can lure them into some sort of trap? I don't think they live in my chids, and I really can't poison the bark because of two small grandchildren and a parrot.

2) As you can see from the pictures the phal that was chewed the most, it is not looking good--it was fine a few weeks ago before it was chewed--the roots are fine. Any sugestions on how I can revive it?

Thanks for your input!

[Izzie]

Sad day! I have no experience with this, but I hope you can get some help.

i use those exact same sticky stakes.

[Judi]

i use those exact same sticky stakes.

Unfortunately, they don't seem to work on weevils--but at least I know I don't have fungus gnats!

[trdyl]

They really did a number on your plants. I cann't think of anything that is safe around children and birds that would take the pests out.

[trdyl]

I think there are a few concoctions on Ray's Site that you might be interested in. Here is a link.

First Rays' Home Remedies

[Izzie]

Originally Posted by Judi

Unfortunately, they don't seem to work on weevils--but at least I know I don't have fungus gnats!

You could get a GIANT sundew.....

[Junebug]

Hi Judi,

I had problems with some type of exotic citrus weevils last year. During Spring they chewed up the young leaves on my orange trees and by fall they were feasting on older citrus leaves and nearby orchids.

These bugs are hard to kill because they go through several stages of growth/development. Part of their life is spent eating roots underground. As they mature they move above ground. The growth cycle takes about 5 weeks. I couldn't find any documentation on foolproof treatments. My type of weevil is not native, and began showing up in Florida a few years ago. The professionals are still working on effective treatments.

My early treatment was neem oil and it didn't phase them. My trees never set fruit so I moved on to stronger treatments that weren't recommended for citrus. One of them was a systemic insecticide made by Orthene or Orthenex. The systemic did not kill the bugs on contact but I was hoping it would later kill anything munching on treated plant tissue. I then used Ortho Max on my entire lawn. Despite my efforts there were more weevil sightings. Finally, I used a product called Raid Max. This product has several weeks of residual effect and is recommended for indoor use. I thoroughly sprayed my trees with it and it killed those nasty critters on contact.

This spring my citrus trees have new leaves, and the blooms are successfully setting fruit. So far, I haven't sighted any fully developed weevils, but as a precaution I did a repeat yard treatment with the Ortho Max, and will continue to monitor on a daily basis.

I hated using poisons, but couln't find a better effective alternative. Successful treatments must be aimed both above and below the ground. You might have other host plants growing in your yard. Check all of your plants for the tell-tale sign of notched or folded leaves. There was a list of 80+ plants that my citrus weevils were attracted to.

Good luck with your battle.

[Hedge]

Hi, they look like Vine Weevil to me. Over in Britain the only chemical sold claiming to kill these things is Provado made by Bayer, but it is a nicotinamide, and believed to cause nerve damage in bees which causes them to get confused and then die. (God knows what it does to humans in long term exposure?)

The grubs will be in a pot plant somewhere, and the adults may have hitched a ride indoors on some thing other than your orchids. In the garden they are reputed to be very fond of strawberry plants. It may be time to check all your plants, especially if an otherwise healthy plant suddenly loses its roots.

[Judi]

Sounds like they are really hard to get rid of! I'm sure they came from outside. My chids spend the summer outside in a screen poarch, but I do have 3 Clivia and a snake plant that are outside of the screen poarch--the weevils probably hatched from one of those pots--but none of them look like they might have root damage. Next fall I will make sure I use something to kill any eggs or grubs in the soil of my non-chids. I also read on the internet that they are sometimes called strawberry root weevils. I'm sure there are plenty of strawberry plants in the neighborhood. I'll be staying up to look for any additional weevils just in case I have more hiding somewhere! I did move the suspect plants from the house.

[Izzie]

I found a solution.


Have at the little buggers with your future new microtorch.