Vine weevils are one of the insects which find their way into gardens and cause all sorts of damage to your plants. But do weevils also cause damage beneath the surface? Do vine weevils eat bulbs, tubers and roots?
Unfortunately, vine weevils do eat bulbs in gardens which can stunt the growth of the resultant flower.
Vine weevils are tiny insects that are mostly active at night. You, therefore, may not see them in your garden during the day, and it may take a while to figure out what is causing all the damage.
Nevertheless, you can always inspect the plant damage and figure out if vine weevils are causing this problem as they’ll cause jagged edges to form on leaves. They’ll also cause plants to wither with stunted growth – this, however, could be the result of a range of different garden pests.
Do Vine Weevils Eat Tubers?
You know that you have vine weevils in your when healthy plants turn weak and begin to wilt. The plants which are under attack by vine weevils will have dropping leaves, and there is no new growth on them during spring.
While adult vine weevils are eating away at the plant above, the younger weevils are enjoying consuming the roots, bulbs and tubers. Vine weevils do not even spare the woody parts of some mature plants!
How Do You Protect Bulbs from Vine Weevils?
Vine weevil damage can be destructive for gardens, so it becomes mandatory to get rid of these annoying pests. Not only do vine weevils tend to damage plants above the surface, but they also eat bulbs and tubers found under the soil.
You must, therefore, learn ways to protect your garden and ensure that you have healthy-looking plants.
You can figure out vine weevil damage by looking at the plants around you. The plants will be suffering from wilted leaves, and they will either experience stunted growth or die. However, most damage to plants is caused by larvae that do not spare the roots and bulbs.
Here are a few ways by which you can protect your garden against vine weevils:
Handpick
Sometimes you will only have a few vine weevils in your garden and will not require any insecticides to kill them. If you do not have an entire infestation in your garden, you will not need to use chemicals, but you can go for manual methods.
Many people are uncomfortable handpicking insects, but you can always wear gloves.
To collect the vine weevils, you can place a sheet of white paper or cloth under a plant and shake it. This will cause the vine weevils to fall off, and you will be able to spot them.
Moreover, you must remember to do this during the evening or night when vine weevils are more likely to be active. Unfortunately, this method can only be helpful if you do not have a large infestation.
It’s worth remembering here, that vine weevils cannot bite so there’s no need to be worried about picking them up.
Nematodes
When it comes to insects, including vine weevils, nematodes are quite effective. You can place traps that comprise nematodes all around your garden to kill the vine weevils.
It would help if you placed the traps below plants experiencing the most damage from vine weevils. When the insects want to hide, they will enter the trap and get killed by the nematodes.
Natural Predators
One of the best things you can do for your garden is to introduce natural predators into your garden. This is the most effective chemical-free way to deter and eliminate pests in the garden.
You can get your hands on these predators from any gardening shop or online. You can also make your garden an attractive place to invite weevil predators such hedgehogs, frogs and birds who love feeding on vine weevils.
Diatomaceous Earth
Many gardeners do not like to use chemicals in their garden, and if you are one of them, you will be happy using diatomaceous earth.
This powder works by killing vine weevils and the larvae by penetrating their bodies and killing them. Also, this method does not include toxic poison and is safe to use.
Summary
If you are wondering what is eating all the bulbs in your garden, it is probably vine weevils. These insects do not only attack surface level plants but will eat until they burrow and reach the roots, bulbs and tubers.
Moreover, vine weevils will also consume the woody part of some mature plants.
There are some plants that are more susceptible to vine weevil attacks, such as strawberries, fuchsias, and cyclamen. You can protect the plant bulbs in your garden by using nematodes, diatomaceous earth or handpicking them.
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
