When working in a garden, you need to be wary of the pests that fly around. Different pests thrive among your plants and can bite you. One common pest you’ll likely come across is the vine weevil. But, do vine weevils bite you or are they fairly harmless to humans?
No, vine weevils do not bite humans (or other animals) generally. Their mouths are too small to actually bite.
If you spot vine weevils in your garden, you do not need to worry about whether they will bite you or cause you harm.
These bugs are not known to bite animals or people. Hence, if you have pets, you can easily let them out to play in your garden if have a vine weevil infestation taking over.
Vine weevils are small bugs that you may not even spot with your eye. Therefore, even if the bugs did attempt to bite you, it would hardly be noticeable. But, for the most part, it is unlikely that a vine weevil would ever bite you.
Are Vine Weevils Harmful?
One of the worries associated with insect bites is whether they can spread diseases or infections to you. However, even if vine weevils manage to bite you, they do not carry any disease or parasite that would cause you harm.
Having this bug in your garden is quite harmless and is no problem – to you, at least! There is a small chance that vine weevils would cause you any harm.
The only damage you should be worrying about with vine weevils is the one they do to crops and plants. Vine weevils are found on a range of plants, and they can cause extensive harm to them.
The good news is that the damage is limited to eating the plants only, and there is no evidence as of now that vine weevils have spread diseases to plants.
Do Vine Weevil Bites Hurt?
Vine weevils do not usually bite, but there can still be exceptions. If you get bit by a vine weevil, however, it should not hurt. The insect itself is quite small and is not liable to cause you much harm.
If a vine weevil does bite you, there are a few steps you can follow to treat it:
- The first thing you should do is look for any stinger left behind and remove it.
- Next, since there may be redness in the area, you can slow it down by washing it with water and soap. To ease the itchiness, you may use lukewarm water.
- If you are experiencing any pain, you can use ice or anything cold on the bitten area.
- It is important to tackle the bacteria that could spread with the vine weevil bite; therefore, you can apply an antibacterial ointment.
The important thing you must focus on is to ensure that you clean the vine weevil bite and apply any antibacterial cream to prevent any infection.
But, as always mentioned, getting bitten is both rare and unlikely to be noticeable.
Do Vine Weevils Have Teeth?
Vine weevils being insects, do not have traditional teeth as mammals do. However, these insects do have fangs or mandibles, which are referred to as teeth. In technical terms, these are not exactly teeth but mouth parts that enable it to bite and chew on plants.
The adult vine weevils will cause damage to plants by taking bites from leaf edges. However, when it comes to insect larvae, most of the damage is done at the roots, which slows the growth of plants. This causes the leaves to wilt, and the plant eventually dies due to a lack of nutrients.
The mouthparts which vine weevils have are not big enough to cause harm to you. As aforementioned, vine weevils are small insects, and if they do bite you, they will be harmless.
Summary
One of the insects found in gardens includes vine weevils which are tiny but can cause damage to plants. Many people are concerned about whether vine weevils can bite them as they are working in their gardens.
There is no reason to worry about vine weevils biting because they do not. Moreover, vine weevils will also refrain from biting animals, so any pets you have will remain safe.
There can be rare instances when vine weevils may bite you, but it should not hurt. You can clean the area with soap and water and apply an antibacterial cream to prevent the spread of infection.
You can prevent vine weevils from biting you by using diatomaceous earth, getting rid of hiding places, or applying nematodes.
Anna is a keen organic gardener, avoiding any forms of chemicals when growing both flowers and vegetables meaning she has extensive knowledge on how to deal with pests naturally
