Aucuba Golden King

that's nice

Karen do you just water the plants with the weevil killer?I've never seen one in my garden but so many people have got them this year, I feel I should take precautions. My mum found some in her garden soil when she divided her ferns.

Ugh, I found two in my kitchen this spring Annie....ugh!! Climbing up my walls...ugh! Yes, you dilute it in your watering can and then just water it on to the pots.

That is a nice variety, we had vine weevils crawling up the garden room walls.....

Yes, it's prettier than the other one with it's crinkly leaves. Horrid aren't they, the way they just crawl along as if they are just looking for a plant pot to infest!! :S

And they are ....lol

I have never seen vine weevil grubs out of the soil. The brown weevil adult lays its eggs on the unsuspecting plant and the grubs chomp their way through the roots killing the plant. If you have a primula or heuchera which looks a bit woe begone if you dig it up you will find these white crinkly looking slug type grubs (i/2" long and they sort of fold in half trying to curl up) with a distinctive brown head enjoying feasting on your plant roots. If you wash the roots thoroughly you can wash out the beasties and replant and the plant should recover. Have a dig around in the soil to ensure you get any siblings before planting any thing there again. If the infestation is over a wider area then use nematodes or a proprietory vine weevil killer but it is expensive to use and the nematodes are only useful in the right weather conditions. I do not think you can use either remedy as a precautionary measure. It is a good idea to google the vine weevil and familiarise yourself with it in both the adult and grub forms and get rid of them as soon as you spot them. Signs of adult vine weevil are usually leaves with chomping around the edges. Both are easily squashed. Don't feed them to the birds because if dropped on another precious plant you are asking for trouble. If I buy plants from sales of work or fetes I always wash the roots before planting in pots to give them a temporary home while I check they are healthy. A neighbour gave me beautiful pacific primulas and they were full of vine weevil. I had never seen them before and by the time I discovered them I had lost the plants and spent a good few hours checking the soil before being satisfied I had rid the area of them. Unfortunately the adults fly so most gardens will have them at some time or another if there are any in the vicinity.