vine wevil beetles

[sair5412]

What do they and their larvae look like? Do they come into houses and how? What attracts them and how do you get rid of them if you can't track them down to a nest?

[dinteth]

hi sair5412, weevil larvae look like fat maggots with an orange head. ive been infested with them a few times and they devastate everything. the weevil once mature is a dark grey beetle with a long snout and are very tough. they tend to go for anything in pots as they are warmer then they eat there way up the roots. your local garden centre will sell a solution that will kill them but you can not use it on edible plants, i prefer a natural approach of live nemetodes that are microscopic but eat the weevil grub. this can be purchased on the net from www.scarletts.co.uk and its the only thing that has worked for me.hope this helps

[sair5412]

Hi Dinteth,

My grandad came round today and said it wasnt a maggot so that's kind of a relief! However, I have had him adopt Percy the Plant as he must have attracted these beetles/larvae. I hope that will be it now. I have no other house plants but I do love to buy freshly cut gladioli. Will I have to stop buying these too? I'm just TOO squeemish.

[gen2]

Oh dear! You'll have to watch out then because gladioli come with a much greater pest known as a D'medna. The good news is that D'medna's mostly confined to Australia and only makes occasional migrations to these shores.

[dinteth]

hi sair, no you are perfectly safe with cut flowers the little blighters dont like water.